A New Chapter for Base Structures
Over the last few years, Base Structures has evolved significantly as a business.
Tensile architecture remains at the heart of what we do, but the range and complexity of projects we now deliver has expanded signficantly across multiple sectors, from public spaces and schools to museums, exhibitions, infrastructure and immersive cultural environments. Alongside this growth, we find ourselves working where creativity, engineering and delivery meet. We collaborate with architects, artists, contractors, cultural organisations and commercial teams on projects that are often far more complex than they first appear. With experience across a range of art installations, glazing and steel structures, our work outside of fabric has also grown. We needed a new digital platform to reflect what Base is now.
A New Direction
As our business has evolved, it became increasingly clear that we wanted a new website that accurately communicated the breadth of work are delivering across the globe.
Many of the projects we work on are highly collaborative and technically demanding, but the process behind them can often be difficult to communicate through a traditional portfolio-style website. While finished imagery is important, it rarely tells the full story of what goes into delivering ambitious tensile structures and specialist installations in challenging environments.
We wanted to create a platform that better reflected the company as it exists today, and alongside a revised tone of voice and brand strategy, we are hoping this new website conveys our work as more collaborative, more creative, and more representative of problem-solving expertise that means we're trusted to deliver some of the most complex tensile jobs in the world.
Rethinking How We Present Our Work
One of the biggest drivers behind the new website was improving how users explore and understand our work.
The new website introduces clearer project categorisation, improved sector navigation and stronger user journeys designed to help architects, contractors, organisations and collaborators more easily access relevant case studies and expertise.
Rather than presenting projects simply as finished portfolio pieces, we wanted to place greater emphasis on storytelling and process, highlighting the collaboration and creative thinking behind each project.
This has led to a much stronger focus on long-form project features, behind-the-scenes content, video and clear sector expertise.
“This new platform gives us the opportunity to better showcase not just the finished structures, but the collaboration, creative thinking and problem-solving that goes into making some of our most complex projects happen.”
Rachel Winterton
Director at Base Structures
A New Brand Identity
We knew that we needed more than just a new website. We wanted a fresh look and feel that felt like today's Base, and to help shape this, we partnered with Bath design agency Mud.
From the beginning, they came full of creative ideas and brand thinking that helped refine how the new website was going to come together. The collaboration was focused not just on aesthetics, but on finding practical and creative ways to better communicate the business itself - the common threads of how each and every one of our projects are delivered. Using tensile lines that link elements together through the 'push' and 'pull' of layout and animation, we're mimicing our real world projects and how tensiles work on the new site, and alongside a new colour palette, this significantly adds to the level of creativity we're able to communicate.
We've also introduced a more flexible CMS platform, improved SEO foundations and significantly clearer navigation and user journeys.
Designing for Evolution
The new website is designed to be platform that will continue to evolve alongside the business.
Over the coming months, we’ll be expanding the new site with new project stories, insight articles, behind-the-scenes features and additional content exploring the process behind some of our most ambitious structures and installations.
It means that this launch is about much more than a new website - it’s about creating a clearer and more representative way of communicating the work we do, the sectors we work in and the people we collaborate with to bring extraordinary projects to life.
Explore the New Website
We'd love to encourage people to explore our site, and any feedback do feel free to get in touch.
Why not try out our new projects page, what we do or our revamped blog and insight page.
