Home to institutions like Wrigley Field, Millennium Park and the Magnificent Mile, Chicago is an urban paradise that stands toe-to-toe with the greatest cities on the planet, but it isn’t called the Windy City for nothing.

Situated on Lake Michigan in Illinois, the city get’s its nickname from the frigid winds blowing off the Lake and sweeping through the city’s streets. During the wintertime, this lake effect drops temperatures way below freezing, creating what locals best describe as ‘Chi-Beria’!

That’s why, when nice weather rolls through, Chi-town residents go above and beyond to savour each and every moment, especially on their 47th floor rooftop terrace.  Located in the heart of the city, our client required a solution that was flexible enough to soak up the sun, protect from the rain, and be resilient to strong winds.

We installed three manual canopies into an existing pergola. We used two 12×10 canopies and one 10×8 canopy to ensure maximum coverage from the elements, leaving little to no space between the fabric and existing structure. To reduce fabric flapping, extra wings were added to the canopy systems. The final touch in this project was finding the right color combination to match the existing space. As a result, we used an ‘almond’ fabric, adding a touch of style and grace to our ShadeFX solution.

“Since having my Shade FX canopies installed, I’ve been thrilled with the end result. The retractable canopies are so easy to open and close and are able to withstand the high winds that I have on my 47th floor rooftop terrace. Once my frame was designed it was easy to specify my three canopy order. Thank you, ShadeFX!”

– Rob Bernstein

Now, these city slickers have a weather solution that will allow them to never leave their urban paradise. For us at ShadeFX, we feel good knowing that our product can stand tall in the Windy City.