Shale Oaks Winery is a small winery located outside Paso Robles, California. It has a back patio area which is hidden from the wind by two buildings and a tree covered hillside. Because the patio is well protected from the wind there is no motion of the air in this space. The spaces inability to move create a stagnant heat problem during the summer months. The staff at Shale Oaks has a daunting task of keeping customers happy in a patio that bakes them. Due to the enclosed patio parameters and heat of area, the patio area has reached up to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (without considerations of wind chill).

In order to solve the problem of incredible heat in the patio area, many solutions were approached. This project started out with three clear goals: it needed to cool down the patio space,comply with LEED, and be removable for those cool winter months. From those three goals many solutions arose. A tensile structure was chosen due to its light construction and because tensile structure’s parabolic forms lend to movement of air. In order to passively cool the space, a swamp cooling system was chosen because of its simplicity. Many different designs were considered, but a tensile structure creating a thermal trap was ultimately chosen due to its ease of construction and removability. This design coupled with a passive cooling pond proved to be successful in creating an effective cool air flow for the patio customers.