The
historic Main Plaza landscape renovation was completed in 2007 and is now a
heavily programmed public space located in the heart of the City of San Antonio
and is connected via a pedestrian portal to the famous San Antonio Riverwalk. Main
Plaza is framed by the 275-year old San Fernando Cathedral to the west and the
historic City Courthouse to the South. The plaza itself was built in the late
1700s. During construction of the new landscape, the old-growth Red Oak trees
that had been providing deep shade in the plaza were damaged and subsequently
died. The
Main Plaza Conservancy engaged Rios Clementi Hale Studios to design several shade
canopies that would provide temporary shade while young trees grow. The canopy
designs needed to reflect San Antonio’s colorful cultural history as well as
evoke the rich artisan tradition of the city. The
design for the shade canopies takes inspiration from San Antonio’s handmade
tradition and rich multi-cultural and ethnic history with a modern twist on a
woven loom married to bi-partate form of the historic trellises and archways. Each
canopy creates an average 800 square foot sized area of shade by using colorful
fabric bands weaving together overhead in an array of sculptural forms. The
canopies provide temporal visual interest that shifts depending on the location
of the viewer as well as beautiful shadow patterns that alter with the location
of the sun.