2021 Awards

For this award-winning project, we needed to create two custom shade sails with curved steelwork and asymmetrical elements based on a concept our client saw on an architectural website – one for the patio and the other a car park shade structure. The steelwork for the main entrance or patio structure needed to be curved to enhance the design of his home and our client was especially particular that we nailed his vision and design. Both structures needed to be waterproof shade structures and the patio structure watertight up against the building edge, while the car park shade structure needed to provide full protection for two vehicles to be parked underneath it all year round. To meet our client’s expectations the Versatile Structures team supplied design drawings before proceeding with the project. This domestic project came close to a commercial shade sail job, as we had to produce the architectural drawings and designs for client’s approval, get council certification which required a full development approval, consider the engineering to pass the scrutiny of a tension membrane engineer and ensure its strong enough for the relevant wind conditions, produce draftsman design drawings to guide the fabrication of the structures as per all specifications and requirements, manage the complex steel fabrication that ensured the structure was curved and asymmetrical, navigate a PVC or waterproof membrane skin that was not square,  with curved elements to fit the first time it is installed, do a site survey and check measure with our 3D Disto equipment and integrate this into the Auto cad design, do a vacuum excavation and cages installation, as well as adding a high durability powder coat finish to the steelwork to accommodate the coastal location, manage the install the steelwork, and tension the fabric with bolt rope extrusion and high tensile stainless-steel cables to ensure the skin fitted perfectly. What made this project challenging was that we could not meet the client face to face to discuss the project and have it ready when he returned from holiday. Our client was speechless when he saw the structures and ecstatic with the results. He was surprised at our team’s attention to detail and that we delivered a magnificent structure that meets all his functional needs and with easy access for future maintenance. Our Awards Versatile Structures is an annual Specialised Textiles Association Excellence Award Winner since 2017.

It was challenging for our client to find an outdoor awnings supplier in Brisbane who could give them exactly what they were after, as all suppliers they approached told them it cannot be done. They were about to settle for a standard metal structure when they were recommended to speak with the Versatile Structures team. Our brief was to design a custom shade sail to provide cover for a motor home and a vehicle that is four meters high and spanning across a 54 m2 footprint. It also must have only two posts, so to allow for ease of parking, not obstruct the driveway and, most importantly, could you make it look not like a shade sail? Not only was it our job to make this tricky concept work, but also to comply with engineering and Council obligations including fire and combustibility, as well as offsetting distances between the neighbouring boundary line, the main house, and the outdoor shed. Our team brainstorms led to an award-winning, out the box solution: to create a structure like commercial shade sails at shopping centre car parks with two posts, 6m apart and two cantilever rafters to create an overall span of 4.5m from each central post. To ensure the concept is viable we needed to be sure our check measure and dimensions were spot-on. Integrating the 3D Disto surveying measurements into AutoCad resulted in workshop drawings that were given the thumbs up by our clients and instantly approved and Form 15-certified by our tension membrane engineer. To add to our challenge, Council had some objections to overcome including the structure must be a specific distance from the boundary fence line, house and shed, it could only be a certain height, as well the shade cloth being flammable or combustible. Our team jumped through all the necessary hoops and ticked all the boxes to deliver a result that left our clients in awe of her new custom shade sail. Our Awards