2017 Archive : Wickenburg Ranch

Project Details

Fabric 1

Commercial 95
Producer: Gale Pacific USA Inc.

Fabric 2

Alnet Extrablock
Producer: Alnet Pty Ltd.

Engineer Name 1
Nick Keizer

Engineer Company 1
RNK Structural Engineering

Design Company
SHADE Industries

Architect Company
Greey Picket

Project Manager Company
SHADE Industries

Installation Company
SHADE Industries

Please describe the project specifications

This project consisted of 6 unique outside columns, one architecturally accented central column, and five (5) custom shade sails suspended over the water.

What was the purpose of this project? What did the client request?

Wickenburg Ranch is a newly-constructed high end housing community located about an hour outside of Phoenix, Arizona. Inside this community, a luxury clubhouse provides its residents services, such as a spa, restaurant, and community pool, among other amenities. This project entailed constructing a one-of-a-kind shade structure over the patio and pool, creating a comfortable environment whether relaxing poolside or cooling off in the water.

What is unique or complex about the project?

The structure’s large central column sits upon a massive concrete footing that spans 48 inches in diameter and reaches over 10 feet deep. This footer creates the pool’s “island”. Special care was taken when placing the embedded all-threads into the footer, as the orientation of the template directly coordinated with specially designed holes in the base plate. The ½” thick plate accents that fan from the column added significant weight to the piece (weighing in at over 4,000 pounds) and required a significant crane to hoist into place. Designing and manufacturing these sails proved challenging in their own ways as well. A metal spreader bar was designed for the edge of the sail closest to the center column. This spreader bar, which added approximately 30 pounds to each sail, allowed us to tension the long sides of the fabric, while giving a solid anchor point to attach the suspension cables that secured the sails to the center column. Had this piece not been incorporated, proper tensioning of the fabric would have proved impossible. The spreader bar was powder coated to match the sail colors, and ultimately they blend in well with the fabric.

What were the results of the project?

The shade sails are an attractive architectural element to the unique pool area that are enjoyed by both residents and visitors to this high-end community clubhouse. A valuable relationship between the general contractor and our company has resulted in additional awarded contracts.

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