In November 2021, the winners of the 75th Annual International Achievement Awards (IAA) were announced at the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) Expo held at Music City Center in Nashville. MakMax Australia, alongside sister companies Birdair and Taiyo Europe, were honoured to receive several awards.
The IAA has recognized excellence in design, technical skills and innovation throughout the specialty fabrics and technical textiles industry for 75 years. This year’s winners were selected based on complexity, design, workmanship, technical skill, uniqueness, and function. Entries were judged by industry experts, architects and design professionals who were chosen for their expertise in a particular field of study or product area.
MakMax Australia taking the Fabric Structures Crown at IAA
MakMax Australia received recognition for two very different but equally impressive projects and was presented two Award for Excellence. St Margaret’s Pool Variable Shade System in Brisbane won the award for the Commercial Retractable Awnings & Canopies category, while the Tensile Structures, 600 – 2300 square meter category was awarded to The Link, Chadstone. MakMax was also honoured to be the winner of Best in Category for Fabric Structures for The Link, Chadstone. These awards are a testament to the MakMax Australia team who collaborated on these projects from concept through to construction, turning the architect’s vision into a stunning reality.
The Link walkway in Chadstone is a visually stunning fabric-over-glulam structure that provides easy covered access for patrons between the Chadstone Shopping Centre and Hotel Chadstone Melbourne. The Link features a beautiful 100m arched walkway that soars up to 15m above the pedestrian zone and covered with high-translucency THV coated PTFE fabric. The high transverse arches transform part of a multi-level car park into a cathedral-like promenade for shoppers and hotel guests.
The St. Margaret’s Pool Variable Shade System was the first project to use the MakMax Velarium Variable Shade System. MakMax designed a retractable roof the swimming pool as part of the new sports precinct development at St. Margaret’s. The motorized roofing panels consists of lightweight, durable PVC mesh that open and close at the push of a button. This project is a testament to the MakMax team to design, engineer, fabricate and install an innovative retractable roofing system using tensile membrane fabric.
Taiyo Europe Double Excellence Award Winner + Outstanding Achievement
Taiyo Europe received three very impressive awards for large scale tensile membrane structures including a renovated stadium roof and two remarkable ETFE structures.
Taiyo Europe was recognised with an Award for Excellence for their work on the new stadium roof at Estadio Ciudad de Valencia in Spain. The existing stadium, which has a capacity of 26,000 seats, was retrofitted with a new tensile membrane roof consisting of 28 membrane panels supported by two arches and fixed in the cable net structure. This roofing structure covers a large area of approximately 9,000 square meters and was designed to integrate with the existing stadium infrastructure.
The Gare De Rennes train station in France was another project that was recognised with an Award for Excellence. The renovation of the train station brought to life a new landscape, created to welcome travellers to find their own “path inside of the forest”. Tree structures were designed with steel columns and branches made of wooden beams to support the sinuous, wavy TensoSky® ETFE roof cushions. The unique design maximises light into the open space to reflect that of the French Bretagne region.
Taiyo Europe received an Outstanding Achievement in Frame Supported Structures for the Swatch Headquarters in Switzerland. The dynamic and innovative transparent façade at Swatch Headquarters features 965 single cushions equalling 37,700 square feet of TensoSky® ETFE film in a unique, three-dimensional design. This structure demonstrates a new development and application of membrane construction.
Birdair awarded Outstanding Achievement in Facades
Birdair Inc, based in Buffalo, NY, received the award for Outstanding Achievement in Facades for its tensile façade panels at the Parmer Pond Grandstands, part of a new training complex for Major League Soccer’s Austin Football Club in Austin, Texas. This award is a recognition of the scope of Birdair’s work on the Parmer Pond Grandstand project. The grandstands consist of eight large façade area and two smaller tensile façade areas. The structure is made up of 96 individual PTFE mesh fabric panels covering 1500 square feet. The unique geometric shaped PTFE mesh panels integrated with the black metal façade created a unique signature look for the soccer complex.
Under One Roof
MakMax Australia, Taiyo Europe and Birdair are all proud to be part of the global Taiyo Kogyo Group, the world’s leading tensile membrane contractor with nearly 100 years of industry experience including design, engineering, fabrication, and installation of architectural fabric structures. The Taiyo Kogyo Group, consisting of 29 companies world-wide, strives to pursue limitless possibilities of membranes to build innovative, sustainable, and lasting structures around the world.