Composite Arm claddings for 250 Shading Umbrellas (2007 – 2010)
Premier Composite Technologies was commissioned to build mosaic tiled, external claddings for 250 foldable umbrellas for the Medina Haram Piazza.
These umbrellas provide a convertible roof that shelter 106,000m2 of the piazza from the elements and also improve climatic conditions.
One single open umbrella structure spans an area of 625 m². When closed, the arms cover the membrane while additional claddings on top of the arms form a prismatic casing to protect the folded membrane.
The arm claddings and cladding attachments are built from a lightweight composite sandwich structure of glass fibre epoxy resin laminate, providing high torsional stiffness. They are then fixed to the flexible umbrella arm systems.