Sector: Commercial

Size: 1,450 sq ft

Location: Hillsburgh, Wellington County, Ontario

Duration: 3 months

Fabric: Commercial Heavy - Charcoal and Red

Owner: Wellington County

Architect/Engineer: Shade Sails Canada Inc. & GM Blueplan Engineering

The Hillsburgh Library is an architectural wonder incorporating restoration and adaptive re-use of a significant heritage structure within the County of Wellington. The library was awarded the Gordon Gouling Restoration Award from the Architectural Conservancy Ontario in 2019. The structure combines an 1892 Victorian brick home with a modern glass expansion design to pay homage to the region’s roots and accentuate the fruitfulness of it’s future.

The County of Wellington approached Shade Sails Canada to provide shade for the entire 2,400 square foot outdoor patio area. The design parameters of the space required posts only on the perimeter of the space which meant that specific Shade Sail shapes and tensioning techniques had to be applied to successfully span the large distances between anchors. The design of the Shade Sail array creates significant shared strength between the four Sails and is rated to withstand enormous wind events.

Four large, interlinked Shade Sails spanning across eight large posts provide the space with a cool atmosphere promoting safety, outdoor reading and play, and welcoming community members to their new shared space.