Modern Awnings: Sails Shade the Home
Today's fabric awnings add movement, color, and just the right amount of protection from the sun
Bud Dietrich, AIA
January 17, 2012
Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. I am licensed to practice architecture in Illinois, Florida, New Jersey & Wisconsin. Since 1996 I have worked from my home office and provide full architectural services exclusively to the single family residential market. My passion is to transform my clients' houses into their homes. I strive to have the "new" home accommodate my clients' lives without fighting them at every junction. I look to add curb appeal to encourage a beautiful streetscape. And I design any addition to look and feel like it has always been there.
Our projects have won numerous design awards as well as having been featured on television (CBS News Sunday Morning, HGTV, CLTV, etc.), in magazines (Better Homes...
Houzz Contributor. My name is Bud Dietrich and I am an architect located in the Tampa... More
A fabric awning is one of my favorite architectural elements. These awnings have so many terrific qualities. They are kinetic, so not only can they be raised and lowered but they will move with the wind much like sails do. They add spots of bright, exciting color to any building. And fabric awnings have an impermanent and transient quality that plays nicely against the solidity and stiffness of a building. It's like the awnings are the soft counterbalance to a building's hard structure.
And what's really cool (pun intended) about fabric awnings is that they were born out of a need to control the amount of sunlight entering a window. By shading the window during the hot summer months when the sun is highest in the sky, an awning keeps the interior cooler and more comfortable. This saves energy and money. So from a simple and humble technical problem that needed a technical solution, fabric awnings developed into wonderfully decorative and functional objects.
Big and bold, awnings today reflect new technologies, materials and design sensibilities.
Browse awnings and shade sails in design
And what's really cool (pun intended) about fabric awnings is that they were born out of a need to control the amount of sunlight entering a window. By shading the window during the hot summer months when the sun is highest in the sky, an awning keeps the interior cooler and more comfortable. This saves energy and money. So from a simple and humble technical problem that needed a technical solution, fabric awnings developed into wonderfully decorative and functional objects.
Big and bold, awnings today reflect new technologies, materials and design sensibilities.
Browse awnings and shade sails in design
Colorful, adjustable and big, the awnings at this California home go beyond mere window shades.
Whether mostly down or up, these awnings can change the appearance of the house for the differing times of day and seasonal changes in the sun's movements.
With a location several feet forward of the exterior wall and by providing both horizontal and vertical shading, these awnings can wrap the entire elevation in shade or ...
... completely in sunlight.
They are certainly very different from the traditional fabric awning.
The traditional porch relied less on the awning and more on the architecture to create the enclosure and space.
The modern update uses the fabric awning. Fabric awnings can be used to cover large outside spaces using a simple structure. The fabric will allow the light to filter through, keeping the space shaded but not dark.
It's important to note that the fabric will determine the quality of light for the exterior space. A white and gauzy type fabric will create an ethereal light.
A darker and more tightly woven fabric provides more shade.
Blacksheep
A loosely draped fabric will yield a very different quality to the space. The massiveness and severity of the structure is softened and made welcoming by the draped fabric awning.
Like sails, the awnings can be in any shape that fits and complements the overall architecture.
And like sails caught in a fair wind, the fabric awning can add life and movement to the immovable house.
More architecture guides and inspiration
More architecture guides and inspiration
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Colorful awnings are the best. I agree that this style is different than the traditional fabric awning. However, that's why I think that's what makes it unique. http://www.wilfords.com.au/products
I love how you said that residential shade sails can actually help keep things cool during the summer and that this idea came from curtains keeping the inside of a home warm. My wife and I have been trying to think of clever ways to keep our patio space cool during the summer and keep some of the snow off of it in the winter. It had never occurred to us to try something made of fabric to keep things cool and tidy. We'll have to look into it a bit more after the winter ends next year!
http://www.domainshadesails.com.au/residential