Shedrain VortexVent

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  • 2017

  • Product
    Sport and Lifestyle

Designed By:

  • haythornthwaite design
  • David Haythornthwaite
  • Andrew Haythornthwaite
  • Simon Haythornthwaite
  • Robert John Morrison

Commissioned By:

Shedrain

Designed In:

China

Shedrain has an ongoing commitment into the specialist research of adverse weather conditions, Haythornthwaite Design translated their insights into a challenging design brief for rethinking the archetypal umbrella.

The team developed and tested innovative advancements in frame and canopy design, resulting in the VortexVent – an umbrella to outlast the storm.


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  • CHALLENGE
  • SOLUTION
  • IMPACT
  • MORE

  • An innovative Anti-Inversion-Strut (AIS) system mechanically strengthens the ribs of the frame, limiting flex and ultimately preventing the canopy from inverting in high winds. The unique contours of the AIS slide together with precision allowing for a compact and streamlined collapsed profile.

  • The VortexVent canopy is a reinterpretation of a typical single layer canopy and is comprised of two layers. The base layer is vented to quickly release build up of wind pressure through a full 360°, while a taught outer layer covers the vents and maintains a watertight interior.

  • The 2-ply canopy layers are connected by elastic vent straps, this allows for an enhanced responsiveness and capability to yield to adverse weather conditions whilst ensuring the canopy can reliably retain its form and maintain protection from the rain.

  • Energy Absorbing Shocks (EAS) increase the resilience and life expectancy of this umbrella by safely dissipating wind forces between the Anti-Inversion Struts and joints of the canopy frame.

    The outer canopy is connected to the frame with specially developed spring-loaded tips. This ensures that the fabric remains flexible enough to disperse wind pressure and always returns to a taught and water tight canopy. The frame tips terminate into triangular rubber pockets, borrowing a nautical technique used to spread wind load and prevent tearing in sails. The extra wide, softly angled form offers the additional advantage of safeguarding the eyes of nearby people.