The Urban Future Lab is collaborating with Weston Urban to design and build a shading structure for Legacy Park directly in front of the Frost Tower in the heart of downtown San Antonio. The beautiful park serves as a spot for relaxation, lunch breaks, and a meeting place for the people working in the surrounding buildings. During the summer, temperatures in San Antonio often rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Especially in urban areas, the heat island effect—a phenomenon caused by concrete and asphalt in cities absorbing and retaining heat—also plays a critical role in the discomfort we feel in cities. Due to these factors, Weston Urban reached out to the Urban Future Lab to achieve a shading strategy and structure for Legacy Park. The Digital Design Studio working on the project during the spring 2022 semester will be led by Urban Future Lab Research Fellow Dr. Bastian Wibranek.
The creation of shadows to cool down a place has been used for centuries, and the Hispanic culture especially is very familiar with the creation of shadows. How can the design process be informed by using digital simulation technologies and fabrication techniques? How do we incorporate regional and geographic design features into the structure? How can it be fabricated with modern tools and 21st century “making”? These are the types of questions the spring 2022 studio will consider in their process to design and build prototypes of the shading structure using digital fabrication tools.
A selection process was used for enrollment in the studio, and students will learn to use digital design tools Rhino 3D and Grasshopper, daylight simulation, sun analysis tools, and computer-controlled fabrication technologies to build the prototypes for the shading canopy. In support of the studio and open to the open to the public, the group will also have guest lecturers, visiting critiques, and engage with various construction companies. In the summer 2022 semester, a second Urban Future Lab studio will closely collaborate with Weston Urban to build the structure in Legacy Park, opening it to the public by September 2022.