Event Communications Ltd approached us to help them develop a series of 9 fabric wave sculptures to embody the water element of the new Viking exhibition, menacingly titled The Raid!, and which opened June 2021. The waves help create a dynamic & natural flow for visitors as they follow the tour.
Our solution utilised similar details from a project we were proudly involved in with Zaha Hadid, the JS Bach Music Hall – Zaha Hadid | Base Structures, and encompasses a light aluminium modular framing system. Double skinned stretched spandex fabric, patterned specifically for the complex organic geometries, provides a soft sense motion and defines the exhibit space the museum were looking for.
The finished fabric forms add theatre to the installation with a sense of the ocean to fit with the origins of the Vikings. A separate blackout skin fitted between the spandex allows the museum to project imagery onto the fabric as part of the exhibit and because of the modular design, the structures can be used again for future exhibitions.
City placemaking is the art and design of creating public spaces and is often driven by community projects. Whether that’s through decorative art installations, creating…
As part of an exciting £4.5 million transformation of Birmingham’s NEC, Base Structures has installed a stunning fabric façade to the exterior of Halls 1…
When we put fabric structures up, we do all we can to ensure their lifespan is as long as it can be. The key to…
How thrilled we were to receive the phone call asking us to create a bespoke exhibition fabric sail for the Talisker whisky distillery! The only distillery on the Isle of Skye, Talisker create three and a half million litres of premium island single malt Scotch whisky every year. A popular visitor attraction on the Misty Isle, the distillery enables tourists and whisky aficionados alike to see how the unique spirit is created.
As part of a revamp to the visitor centre a distinctive display illustrates the history of the distillery whilst reflecting elements of the beautifully rugged island location. Envisaged by Scottish designers Contagious, we manufactured and installed an arching, tensioned fabric sail printed with artwork, located behind a dramatic wave that sweeps up from the wooden floor. A rolled stainless steel tube attached to the floor rises to the ceiling whilst the fabric sail is tensioned through the use of rigging screws. We were also fortunate enough to find two members of our install team who don’t enjoy the ‘water of life’, thus ensuring they didn’t require “just a couple of days longer to tweak the tension”.
Reminiscent of a small boat sailing across Loch Harport with a precious cargo of single malt, reading about the history of whisky has never been so dynamic and spirited.
The annual Commercial Vehicle Show at Birmingham’s NEC is a big event. Many brands use this show to reveal their latest vans, which is why Ford the UK’s Commercial Vehicle leaders, wanted to showcase their latest big-budget advertising campaign.
NEC contacted Base Structures and asked us to remove two existing banners from the vehicle entry doors on Halls 1 & 5 either side of the main entrance and replace them with two of Ford’s new striking fabric advertisement pieces.
We manufactured and installed the 15 metres by 10 metres advertisement banners which have nestled in perfectly within our 3D fabric facades, a previous project commissioned last year.
Local architect Paul Campbell of Argyll Design Partnership was commissioned by the Town Council to come up with a design, so that a fabric canopy could be reinstated on the bandstand site in Keynsham Memorial Park.
We helped the client team select a Snowdon canopy design from our pre-designed range to suit. The result is a crisp and elegant solution that provides a suitable focal point for the public performance area. Features include a hanging rail for theatrical lighting and rainwater collection via a rear column. The structure was built and installed within a very tight programme and was completed in time for the town’s annual music festival.
We were asked to build a touring canopy for a champagne bar to be used for various commercial events and entertaining. The fabric structure needed to be stylish and versatile to provide an impressive feature for any event.
We designed, manufactured and installed the canopy in its initial location. We also provided training to our clients events crew on how to dismantle and re-erct the structure.
The canopy creates a sense of sophistication and style whilst remaining practical in providing shade and shelter to the bar – so please raise your glass to toast a job well done!
Designers MC Squared asked us to design, manufacture and install two canopies located at the 02 Arena for their client Brandwidth. One tensile canopy consisted of an inverted cone fitted to the underside of the existing services towers. The other was a freestanding conical canopy supported on a central mast and perimeter tripods.
Our scope of works included the membranes, supporting steel and fittings including the cables to support climbing ivy.
The transformation of the service tower was visually dramatic and enhanced the very popular venue. The client went on to propose additional structures on the site and at other venues.
Large advertising hoardings are not everyone’s cup of tea but in terms of sheer scale this one takes the biscuit! At over 6000m2 of roadside advertising area, this project was widely lauded as the largest Out Of Home opportunity available in the UK at that time. Sitting adjacent to the main arterial route from the M60 into Manchester and exposing full frontal glory to the new City of Manchester Stadium, this is one bill board that is impossible to ignore. Exposure was even claimed for airline passengers on the flight path into Manchester Airport!
During the planning application process our client had to guarantee to the Gas-o-meter owners Transco, that clothing the structure would in no way detract from it functioning as originally intended. Therefore prior to receiving approval, extensive structural engineering calculations were produced which predicted that by wrapping the skeletal steel frame within a web of suitably tensioned stainless steel cabling the structure would not deflect sufficiently to stop the rise and fall of the gas chamber within. Thankfully the calculations were spot on and the resulting fully clothed gas holder continued performing unhindered and as unabashed as it had when naked!
An additional USP of this site was that the cable net devised for carrying these super large printed banners allowed for quick, 8-hour removal and re-installation of the media so that a pair of eyes seeing it on the way to work in the morning would be exposed to a different campaign on the way home in the evening. Striking visibility has always been the life blood of the advertising industry.
We were asked to build a circus tent for a new development at Bioscope Leisure Park in Alsace, France, called the Learning Zone. This colourful fabric structure provides a fun and interactive learning environment.
Our scope of works included the design and manufacture of the PVC fabric tent, steelwork and associated fittings. We also supervised and helped our client with the installation.
A re-mountable pavilion was required for events in the garden of an English manor house that could be erected and dismantled when needed. Base were approached to create a custom built, fully engineered, re-mountable tensile fabric pavilion of the highest quality to replace an existing marquee.
Rectangular in plan sitting on a paved base, the temporary pavilion measures 36m long by 14m wide and over 5m high with an undulating fabric roof consisting of six conic forms, each topped with a golden finial.
The front wall of the pavilion is entirely made up of sliding glazed doors to offer perfect views of the garden and the landscape beyond from anywhere inside the pavilion, not to mention flooding the interior with light.
Our brief was to install a tensile fabric roof structure to the new ice rink and events arena at the Eden Project in time for the National Lottery’s 10th Anniversary celebration 2004.
Our scope of works was to pattern, manufacture and install the fabric membrane over the steel frame supplied by ESS. This was a large project with an immovable deadline and it took a huge team effort to get it done on time. It was a very rewarding job to be involved in and it looks great.
The fabric structure serves not only as a roof but as a new feature attraction at the site. Choosing a fabric building has allowed the client to go for a unique, contemporary and impacting design. It also compliments the existing Eden Project structure and ESS were delighted with our quick and professional installation.
in Bristol
