Umbrella Canopy - 2020

This is the conceptual design of the circular Umbrella Canopy, a large sunshade which can be deployed and retracted with minimal effort. The design is inherently gravity balanced, which means that gravity and the weight of the structure and covering are not relevant for the actuation. The kinematic design is such that for each pose the center of mass is always at the same height, i.e. there is no risk that the mass or the structure 'could fall down'.

The design of the Umbrella Canopy has been published in the following scientific article:

Van der Wijk, V.: Inherent Gravity Force Balance in Moving Architecture with New Designs. Proc. of the ATI 2020: “Smart Buildings, Smart Cities”, August 27-29, Izmir, Turkey (2020)