Latest projects

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  • A big fire at a neighboring business discolored and shifted insulation in the old Talisman Centre roof, causing temperature and condensation problems indoors and a dingy appearance outdoors. Renderings: Birdair Inc.

    Athletic coverage in Canada

    The Talisman Centre for Sport and Wellness, a full-service Calgary, Alberta, Canada, athletic facility hosting Olympic-caliber competitors, will upgrade its 1983 fabric roof by installing a material with five times the insulating value.

    March 1, 2010
  • Simon Fraser University’s Students in Free Enterprise are teaching high school students—like this young lady at Queen Elizabeth Secondary School in Surrey—to make reuseable shopping bags from discarded street banners. Photo © SIFE Simon Fraser Univ

    Banner-to-bag business: teachable moments

    Enterprising business students at Simon Fraser University (SFU), Surrey, B.C., Canada, developed a project to teach high-school students about sustainability and the economic value of reusable wastes.

    March 1, 2010

  • Intelligent geotextile builds in warnings

    Geotextiles shape and stabilize large-scale construction projects, but can’t warn of strains or soil shifts in the structures—until now.

    March 1, 2010

  • Lycra installation frames stage at MTV Australia Music Awards

    MakMax Australia fabricated a white lycra installation that provided a frame for the stage at the MTV Australia Music Awards held in Sydney, Australia.

    March 1, 2010

  • Nylon/spandex installation enhanced with dramatic lighting

    Pink Inc. delivered a “party like a rock star” environment in a project for an International Special Events Society (ISES) occasion.

    March 1, 2010

  • Pavilion features modern ETFE canopy

    The “Norway powered by nature” exhibit at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai China will showcase Norwegian woods in the Nanpu Bridge–Lupu Bridge area in the crowded center of one of China’s largest cities.

    March 1, 2010
  • The “Wear in the World” golf adventure pitted adidas and CoolMax performance fibers against 122-degree heat in Alice Springs, Australia, the world’s hottest golf course, and other extreme venues. Photos: CoolMax Fabric.

    Performance fabrics, to the extremes

    For 31 days, Canadian Lindsay Knowlton and American Josh Sullivan played golf on the most extreme golf courses in the U.S., Bolivia, Argentina, South Africa and Australia to test new adidas golf gear made with CoolMax® Extreme performance fabrics.

    March 1, 2010
  • Eco2punch carpeting by Sommer Needlepunch is shown here. Photos: NatureWorks LLC.

    Plant-based products at UN climate summit

    NatureWorks LLC, a Minneapolis, Minn., company making Ingeo™ plant-based fibers and bioplastics, showcased its renewable products to the world in December 2009.

    March 1, 2010
  • Outdoors spaces covered by awnings rather than building extensions don’t require permits from most local government councils in Australia, a point favoring installation of retractable awnings such as the SUNRAIN Bistro.

    Retractable awnings, moving outdoor spaces

    Winter weather kindles human longing for the rites of spring, including lounging with food and friends on decks, porches and patios.

    March 1, 2010

  • Tensioned fabric installation enhances Olympic Festival

    The fire flower is seen as a metaphor for the secret, mystic power in all people.

    March 1, 2010
  • From the lighthearted Tubaloon band shelter in urban Oslo to the stark desert timelessness of the King Abdulaziz Center in Dhahran, Snøhetta designs for the environment. Photos: Snøhetta.

    Tensioned fabric Tubaloon celebrates winter

    Scandinavia House: The Nordic Center in America opened its winter exhibit in February with the innovative architecture and landscape work of Snøhetta, an international design group.

    March 1, 2010
  • Laurelbrook, an East Canaan, Conn., dairy farm, selected ClearSpan buildings to house manure composting operations—a move that controls compost quality, reduces odors and prevents runoff to nearby streams. Photo: ClearSpan Fabric Structures Intl.

    The agricultural specialty fabrics market

    Fabric products help farmers put the green back in agriculture.

    March 1, 2010

  • Unusual bamboo and fabric structure offers design advantages

    Careful attention to joinery and geometry brings a work of art (and a functional pedestrian bridge) to a busy intersection in Colombia.

    February 19, 2010
  • The Opera mobile holiday home comes with a guidebook featuring exclusive camping sites and nearby restaurants and tourist destinations. Photos: Enthoven Associates.

    Camper offers luxury on the road

    Award-winning designer Axel Enthoven’s new mobile holiday home looks like a pop-up camper when compressed and traveling sedately behind a car, but when deployed it becomes a luxury hotel suite.

    February 1, 2010
  • The 3D solar cells developed by researchers at Georgia Tech should reach an efficiency of 7–8 percent after surface modifications take place, lower than silicon-based solar cells but potentially practical for energy harvesting. Photos: Georgia Tech.

    Concealable solar cells offer new power possibilites

    Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga., have developed a new type of photovoltaic system that would allow solar collectors to be embedded in walls or located anywhere, hidden from view.

    February 1, 2010

  • Practicing sustainability

    Sponsored by IFAI Expo

    Achieving sustainability is not a one-time event, but a continuing process. Developing and committing to sustainable practices through designing sustainable buildings, shade products, smart textiles, and manufacturing systems continues to be at the forefront of the worldwide consumer marketplace.

    Our impact on the environment has become a major consideration and is driving efforts in the construction industry to be eco-responsible in mineral extraction, materials and component manufacturing, and building infrastructure development. These developments are creating market opportunities for designers and builders of environments.

    Corporate leaders are instigating key sustainability initiatives through their own organizations and their markets. Company executives are reporting big rewards for their efforts from their employees, communities, business partners and shareholders.

    IFAI Expo continues its leadership in this area with custom-designed educational programs that provide business leaders a platform for addressing sustainable trends, materials, technologies and practices that support business growth. Join the specialty fabrics industry as it convenes at this year’s IFAI Expo, Oct. 27-29 in Orlando, Fla.