Often used in a school environment, tensile fabric is a flexible material which offers a whole range of possibilities for designers of the school environment. So when ISG Jackson and Halliday Clark became involved in a complete re-design of CTC Kingshurst Academy in Solihull, Birmingham (renamed Tudor Grange Academy, Kingshurst in 2018), they looked at incorporating this exciting building material as an entrance canopy.
Originally Halliday Clark were interested in the pebble-like installation at Whitewater Shopping Centre, however, budget cuts and planning intervention meant that alternatives needed to be sought. With guidance from Architen Landrell, the architects decided to opt for two asymmetric inverted umbrellas, as found in our previous installations at Meadowhall Shopping Centre and the O2 Riverwalk.
The two canopies both measure 6.5m x 6.5m with a column offset from the centre. Installed in opposing alignment but in a staggered configuration they form a covered entranceway to the school building.
Both canopies were manufactured from PVC coated polyester to meet both aesthetic and cost requirements and this also allowed a vinyl applied logo to be fixed to the front of one canopy to reflect the school branding.
As is inherent with all inverted umbrella structures, drainage of rainwater needed to be carefully considered. Our standard water outlet design on this project posed a slight health and safety trip hazard, and as it was not possible to have the outlet underground, it was decided that a mouse hole outlet be designed into the columns which would allow the water to run straight into a drain adjacent to the structure.
Acknowledgments:
Halliday Clark Architects https://www.hallidayclark.co.uk
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