City officials are choosing fabric structures as part of revitalization programs that energize struggling urban neighborhoods—to spruce up degraded spaces, provide shelter and act as inspirational focal points. “We get a lot of requests from architects for urban renewal projects,” says Architen Landrell’s Jason Smith. “Tensile structures are brilliant for urban renewal because you can create beautiful and functional structures that bring people together to socialize—rain or shine.”Charles Duvall designed the shade structures for a project to renovate Georgia Street in Indianapolis, Ind., in 2012. The city used its block grant to renovate the three city blocks, which included constructing a center median space with one lane of slow traffic on either side, lined with restaurants and retail shops. Duvall designed 44 wireless retractable shade structures, using a retractable system he developed. The 44 shade structures are deployed each morning and retracted each night, and can be operated from an iPad®.

Because the project would have to withstand snowy winters, Duvall chose Ferrari’s 28-percent open mesh. “The mesh was originally designed for building facades,” Duvall says. “I had always used HDPE woven fabric in the past for shade structures, but needed something more durable for this. The Ferrari mesh is designed for a 20-year life. It also has a nice look and transparency, and we were able to choose a color that blends in with the existing historic architecture. When the light bounces off the fabric at night, it creates a warm environment.”

Although the city in which the project will take place is usually the catalyst for the project, it isn’t always the entity that hires the fabricator. “Sometimes the city has restrictions in the way it is able do things. The process can get a bit confounded with how city projects are funded,” says Fabricon’s Mark Welander. “The city isn’t always able to make projects happen in the same way a private entity can.”

In one instance, Fabricon was hired by a city’s downtown association for a project in the city park. After the company completed the project, the downtown association gifted it to the city. Another typical scenario is that the city will hire an architectural firm, and the firm will subcontract the fabricator as a consultant. “Bidding these projects is usually a two-step process,” Welander says. “The client brings you in to design the project, but it still has to be vetted by the city before you get the bid.”

Sigrid Tornquist is a freelance author and editor based in St. Paul, Minn. She is also the associate editor of InTents magazine, a publication of the Advanced Textiles Association.