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Inman Square severely lacks plants, seating, and sun protection, making it hostile to those trying to spend their time outside. Most of the events taking place happen at night. Sylvan Solar Shade is a shaded pavilion that mimics the light diffusion of leaves of trees to protect those sitting under from the sun and to create a community area. The leaves in the design are those found on trees in Inman Square, where the pavilion is located. The solar shade will cover seating that will be provided by the city, and to create shade and weather cover for those sitting in Inman.
Sylvan Solar Shade is constructed with a waterproof, durable fabric and aluminum sheets and bars. The structure takes up most of the space in front of the storefronts for The Lilypad and Gather Here. The structure takes on the style of a trellis, utilizing crossing bars and is 100 inches wide by 100 inches long. The highest point on the roof is 96 inches tall. Underneath, a few tables and chair sets will sit. Sylvan Solar Shade will act as space both for anyone who would like to sit and as space for events when they are hosted in Inman Square.
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Sylvan Solar Shade is a collapsible shade pavilion designed to improve the public patios in Inman Square, Cambridge. The ongoing efforts to create outdoor public spaces within Cambridge has been aiming to create a comfortable and enjoyable environment. However, within Inman Square the limited shade cover and declining number of trees in the area has made the seating increasingly hostile to potential users. Sylvan Solar Shade was designed to address this problem.
Sylvan Solar Shade’s structure utilizes a compact design and collapsible architecture to make installation accessible and easy. Additionally, Sylvan Solar Shade’s shade cover mimics the way that sun rays pass through the leaves of the honey locust tree in order to create a calming and cooling place to relax. The solar shade does this by layering two separate pieces of fabric on top of one another. The first layer is a stretched nylon with cutouts in the pattern of honey locust leaves to allow the sun to pass through. The second layer is a thin piece of UV-reflective canvas. In tandem, the layers allow for light to project the patterns of tree leaves onto the interior of the pavilion, while shielding the occupants of Inman Square from the heat and UV rays of the sun.