IN THIS ISSUE:
Bringing life to a vision The Burnham Pavilion 30 Days & Nights A complex design, a complex plan Redefining the process The power of the pencil
If you don’t know... ... The Burnham Pavilion is a celebration of possibilities and a highlight of a vision for a city of change with a commitment to a more livable environment. In short, it is about a dream that can be realized and brought to life. On July 4th of 1909, Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett presented a gift to the city of Chicago. This, the Burnham Plan, is widely recognized as one of the premiere documents of city planning. It laid the groundwork for the protection of the pristine lakeshore of Lake Michigan and created the foundation for the growth of the city. The Burnham Pavilion pays homage to that vision. This issue chronicles the life that was brought to the Zaha Hadid contribution of the Burnham Pavilion.
IN ORDER TO GET TO HERE Fi STARTED HERE
Bringing life to a VISION.
Every day we experience many phases of design. One of the key ingredients that satisfies design is fabrication. Manufacturing a concept can only happen when the right mixture of understanding and ability are added together to create a solution. Until then, concepts are only ideas waiting to be fulfilled. The story begins like this… The Zaha Hadid design was a formation of the Burnham concept as interpreted by Hadid. The challenge was to bring it to life. Fabricating the design was the Mt. Everest of fabrications for FI. Articulating the concept took on many directions with a single focus - finish the pavilion by August 1st. One of the major aspects of securing this project was the importance of maintaining the idea while constructing the exhibit. Manufacturing such ideas takes experience, passion and know-how; only then does an idea or design become reality. This is what endeared the Hadid Architects to Fabric Images. We understood the vision, grasped the concept and had the knowledge to fabricate it Below is the first part of the journey to complete the Zaha vision...
the consideration of success.
Consideration 1: The high profile nature of this project puts the whole project and those
working on it under the microscope. Our reputation is at stake. The existing structure is on site at Millennium Park covered in a large tent with windows that allow the public to watch as we work. There will be distractions and viewings from concerned parties. Be aware of your surroundings but don’t lose focus!
Consideration 2: This project will be done on-site. Normally, our work is done at our 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Elgin, IL with all of our materials and resources close at hand. Organization will be absolutely critical. This will be a team effort and each person is required to take responsibility for their area of expertise. We will need to move equipment and materials on-site.
Consideration 3: With such a tight timeline and the multitude of unknown variables at this
point, the on-site staff will work 10 – 12 hour days . On-site staff would start with 4 Sewing people and 4 Metal working people plus supervisors and at least one Project Manager filtering in and out of the mix. The thought is… to front load this project with labor resources to get ahead of the timeline.
Consideration 4: We are working with an unknown existing structure, not our own. It will
be necessary to evaluate the entire framework structure that currently exists and determine needs and repairs required – (much of this will be in coordination with the city’s engineer Chris Rockey.) “This project will not be about the way WE do it. It will be about the way THEY want it!” – Gordon Hill
Consideration 5: The uniqueness of this project requires a great deal of attention to be paid
to the details. It is essential that we understand the details of this project and capture those details in the end product.
30 Days & Nights
A complex piece takes a complex plan Creating an experience from something that has already been started and making it your own is a challenge. Creating something from nothing and doing it 5x faster than it should realistically take is next to impossible. The Fabric Images team realized the daunting task after their first day of fabrication, but true to FI nature, they responded in full blown crisis mode and were ready to rescue the exhibit. FI’s knowledge and experience would have taken them down a different path. Nevertheless, they had to make lemonade out of bad lemons. They needed to make this work; not to mention, there were many extraneous factors to consider such as lighting, projection, photography, music, sound and the synchronization of all of these in order to meet the time frame. Everything was being called into question. Even zipper details were being modified in order to create the Hadid design. Once they took over the project, FI found that adjustments were needed daily. Everyday brought new obstacles to conquer and details to address. It seemed that each and every day at the work site was a mini-adventure. The teams had plans in place, but never knew how a plan would change throughout the day due to unexpected challenges that would creep up. This uncertainty spawned the complexity of the response to complete it. There wasn’t time to dissect problems, there was only time to make decisions quickly and then act upon them. Looking back, 30 days was a really short period of time. Understanding, focus and teamwork were the benchmarks that streamline the time which allowed them to finish in less than 30 days.
The Zaha Skin: Starfire grey material from TriVantage/Glen Raven The material is a Polyester, cotton blend It has an acrylic topcoat which makes it easy to clean and fade resistant. It is also water, soil, and mildew resistant and cleanable using Fabric Cleaner from 303.
PROJECT TIMELINE: July 25th, 2009 Saturday: HUMOR IS A GREAT STRESS RELIEVER!! It was Venetian Night in downtown Chicago, and with the festivities also came the crowds. As the staff worked diligently, hanging from scaffolds, perched in precarious positions and feeling a bit like they were somehow akin to the monkeys at the zoo as the crowds peered in at them; one staff member began to make monkey noises. That’s all it took and one by one each person chimed in with their own version of monkey lingo. One has to wonder, did people think we were crazy? Maybe – but laughter brings energy and supplies great medicine for the soul.
“No one angle is a straight angle, nothing is linear, there are curves on top of curves on top of curves and beyond all this, we didn’t have drawings that were accurate. We are working from hand sketches with lots of circles – doled out by Gordon - sort of like a short order cook. Aside from all this, gant charts, scheduling and behind the scenes work is continuously being updated and revised as situations arise.” Project chronicle documentarian Diana Noverini
Zaha Hadid’s trademark of organic style lends itself to the medium of tensioned fabric architecture. Her Burnham interpretation gives fever excitement for Chicago’s sidewalk art critics converging to ponder the structure, offer their opinions- good and bad- and, of course, figure out a nickname.
in.ter.ac.tion [in-ter-ak-shuhn] A thought from Fabu Fi - the fabric guru
In the latest Blair Kamin Trib article an interesting
wrinkle has developed. We are drawn to things that we perceive as incredible, impossible or different. The surprise was how the audience of Millennium
Park chose to experience this design. The pavilion was designed as an interactive environment from the very beginning, so it’s not surprising that people are compelled to touch the fabric skin. It is an interesting dynamic to witness people touching the exhibit. Some uncontrollable force of nature to feel what they see draws them. Is it the fabric skin? Is it the soft flowing lines that beg for attention? Whatever the reason, the bottom line is people can‘t help but touch it.
“It wasn’t about us”, it was about those who had the vision. We just brought it to life – it was a privilege to be part of this.
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... the projection uses a combination of Flag knit and spandex to accomplish the palette for the story of the Burnham vision and the testimonials of the individuals contributing to the Thomas Gray production.
“We had to add about 300 crossbars and weldments, and redo 19 out of the 24 trusses, along with adding all the fabric to it.”Hill implemented a temporary, fully functional sewing and welding shop at the pavilion with welders and seamstresses (called dreamweavers) to complete the task. The Fabric Images, Inc.® team worked tirelessly, putting in 12- to 16-hour days to meet the Pavilion Committee’s revised deadline.
28 days 14 hrs a day 1 vision 1 task 4welders6dreamweavers 4 fabricationassistants2project managers 1 vision casting guru 4 sewing machines 1 metal bending machine 2 welding stations 7,000 pieces of tubing 300 support weldments & a whole lot of fabric.
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Bringing life to a vision.