About
We design structures where fabric becomes architecture.
ARCVEIL is an architectural membrane practice. We take a shade structure from four points on a plan to a form that is solved, engineered, detailed and built, and we keep the reasoning visible at every step.
01 Approach
Shade is easy. Good shade is geometry.
A membrane is a structure whose shape and strength are the same thing. Change one corner and the whole surface changes, along with the forces at every support. So we start where the structure starts: with the geometry, solved, measured and checked against the sun, before anyone commits to steel or fabric.
02 Principles
How we work.
- 01Geometry first
Before steel, before fabric, before cost. A good form makes every later decision easier, and a bad one makes every later decision expensive.
- 02Never fake engineering
What we show is calculated. What is not yet calculated is labelled as concept, every time.
- 03One coordinated model
Form, shade, structure and fabrication drawn from the same geometry, so nothing is redrawn and nothing drifts.
- 04State the assumptions
Wind, ground, access and materials are written down where you can read them, not buried in a calculation.
- 05Design for the sun
Shade is judged by where it falls on the day you need it, not by how the structure looks in a render.
03 Materials
Few materials, chosen well.
- 01Shade fabric
Knitted HDPE that breathes, lets air through and filters light. For sails over pools, patios and play spaces.
- 02Architectural membrane
Coated polyester that sheds water. For canopies and roofs that need to keep people dry.
- 03Stainless hardware
Shackles, turnbuckles and fittings chosen for the load they carry and the air they live in.
- 04Structural steel
Masts and frames, protected for the exposure of the site.
- 05Concrete
Footings sized for the ground that is actually there.
Designed in Australia.
ARCVEIL is based in Perth, Western Australia. Designs are developed for Australian sun, Australian wind regions and Australian Standards.
Concept visualisation. Coastal foreshore