Pandemic drives new shade opportunities

摘要

Every year, we plan this publication with an eye toward what architects, designers and fabricators want to know about industry developments. Over the past 14 months, the coronavirus pandemic has obviously eclipsed business as usual, but it has also brought to light new opportunities. IFAI member companies and the textile industry at large have always known that the purpose of fabrics is to offer protection-health-related and otherwise-to humans. This purpose has been put to the test with the pandemic, and the industry has delivered! Keeping one's business doors open has been a challenge for the last 14 months as the pandemic spread through communities and government-ordered shutdowns impacted every aspect of the economy. Eventually, however, a transformation started happening in 2020 as homeowners and businesses found new ways to define what their new "hybrid" existences would look like. Fairly early in the pandemic, shade fabric manufacturers and fabricators reported that homeowners wanted to improve their residential outdoor spaces. People were stuck at home and wanted to create ways to extend their living spaces to the outdoors. They also wanted to extend the outdoor season. That meant installing new shade options like awnings or shade sails.