THE CHALLENGE – TRANSFORM A UTILITARIAN FACTORY ENTRANCE INTO AN IMAGINATIVE ENTRY TO LEARNINGThis building once housed a food processing business, so a key challenge was to create a new entrance that felt like it belonged to a contemporary place of learning. The architect wanted to trigger the children’s imagination and remove the rawness of the concrete structure. Practical design development challenges included interfacing a new structural system into an existing building.THE SOLUTION – A SOARING CANOPY THAT’S REACHING FOR THE STARSStructurflex was brought into the project to bring the architect’s vision to life. With the incorporation of innovative elements – such as stainless steel cables and rigging, integrated gutter system and dynamic lighting features – we successfully collaborated with the design and building team to develop a system that satisfied structural and architectural requirements. The final product, a coated PES tensile structure, implies creativity and playfulness that transitions students from the urban streetscape to the stimulation of a vibrant learning center.
