Suncraft
Project name: Wanaka Residence
2022 Awards for Excellence Highly Commended – Awnings Retractable
What did the client request?
Our clients have a large North-West facing deck that they could not enjoy as it was too exposed to the sun. There is also floor to ceiling windows along the side of the house facing the deck, causing extremely hot temperatures inside during summer. They asked for a stylish solution that could shade the deck and also improve the indoor climate, but that could be closed or put away when not required. Being a new high-tech home, they also requested an operating system that had the ability to be fully automated.
What is unique or complex about the project?
Usually, the system type we used for this project has the rolling shaft mounted on the side of the house. However due to the hand folded zinc cladding on the house, this was not possible as the cladding is very hard to modify once installed and is a very expensive to replace if damaged. To avoid any damage to the cladding we redesigned the system to be free-standing on 4 poles.
In order to integrate the poles into the existing decking we needed to carefully cut the decking timber to fit around our tear shaped poles and engineer plates to fit around the base of the poles on the deck.
A unique feature of this project is the ground screws we used instead of concrete foundations. The ground screws are drilled into the ground and our poles slot in and are fixed ensuring no movement when the sail is opened and retracted. They can be easily removed should the system need to be moved or taken down for any reason and reduce the carbon footprint of the project by avoiding the use of concrete. We used the ground screws for all 4 pole foundations.
Operated by a Smart Phone App and Wind sensor, the user can set a range of “rules” for the sail’s opening and closing sequences, such as day/time, wind speed and the level of sunlight, along with being able to control the system remotely at any time.
What were the results of the project?
We worked very closely with our clients to ensure we captured the overall look and function of the shade system they had in mind. The result absolutely fitted the brief, and our clients have a unique, elegant, and functional shade system that blends perfectly with their property that they are very happy with. Using a retractable system allows for shade coverage over their deck and inside the home on sunny days, while rolling up tidily on cloudier days.
The Smart Phone App met their expectation for a high-spec operating system, and they enjoy being able to control the sail from wherever they are (at the property or away).
