Take Cover: Grimshaw Architects Unveils New Canopy System at Light + Building

Widely considered the world’s biggest lighting and building-tech trade fair, Light + Building took Frankfurt, Germany, by storm last week, attracting some 216,000 trade professionals. But cutting-edge product wasn’t the only draw: Attendees also came out to see Luminale — the Biennale of Lighting Culture — which presented more than 200 lighting installations throughout the Rhine-Main region, including a stunning display at the 18th-century Palais Thurn und Taxis in the heart of Frankfurt.

The special installation was also a product debut of sorts. Over the last year, Grimshaw Architects worked with tensile design company MDT-tex to develop a lightweight yet sturdy and weatherproof canopy system. The collaboration yielded Tensilation Type EV, which was installed in a variety of configurations within the courtyard of the grand palace to demonstrate its potential. Meanwhile, projections by photographer and light artist Laurenz Theinert animated the canopies at sundown.

Grimshaw designed the canopies as tessellating diamond and square shapes that are structurally connected to adjacent canopy units for strength. Each unit stands nearly 13 feet (4 meters) high yet weighs less than 66 pounds (30 kilograms), making it one of the lightest structures in its class — and easy for just three people to erect. The central support columns double as water-draining funnels, and watertight caps protect against leaking at canopy connection points.

Tensilation units can be used independently or annexed to buildings or marquees, making them particularly ideal for special-event and pop-up use, as demonstrated at Light + Building.