A Look At Spectral Grove Installation In Philadelphia

 So, this isn't exactly new, the Spectral Grove installation in Philadelphia was completed in 2019, but we just came across it the other day and thought it was worth posting here. It is a permanent outdoor public art installation at Pivot Park in Philadelphia. Designed by SOFTlab and commissioned by Wexford Science and Technology. The sculpture, if that's the best term to use presents itself as a grove of trees, entry point to the park. As a work of design inspiration we're thinking this would be a very interesting way to incorporate solar in to a pergola or canopy like structure - very modern, yet not too cold, colorful. 

Very reminiscent of the park across from Frank Gehry's New World Center in Miami Beach, the pergolas at the park were designed by West 8. And if you go to our flickr page, we have a couple shots of the West 8 design.

Photo Credit: Alan Tansey

Pergola Envy From A Project In Oakville

 Having some pretty good pergola envy on this project by ShadeFX in Oakville. The carpentry alone is pretty great, but also the trellis' in back. The wide spacing of the rafters looks nice, but the real winner is the fabric shade underneath. Needless to say this would be a fantastic pergola to have integrated solar PV, although you would definitely lose some of the light airiness in the seating are space below, we feel it's a good trade off. 

For more info go to their website - Shade FX Canopies