Populous' rendering of a eSports arena with a movable ceiling.
Arenas want—need, really—both flexibility and intimacy. But the dutiful black curtain that closes off upper-bowl seating only goes so far in reimagining space, the very reason we can expect to see the movable ceiling turn from concept to reality.
“I think you will see this happening in a large building from the outset,” said Brian Mirakian, Populous principal architect. “The biggest need that our large buildings have, especially the ones in the big markets with a lot of different entertainment options, is the ability to create unique spectator experiences for all types of events.”
The movable ceiling concept helps accomplish that. In the Populous concept, Mirakian plans to mount to the roof structure—in a similar way you mount rigging for concerts or center-hung scoreboards—a high-tension cable system and a series of lightweight fabric panels. The design then raises and lowers based on modular configurations while reconfiguring the interior space.
The concept creates the ability for an 18,000-seat, National Basketball Association (NBA)-ready venue to cut down to half-size, quarter-size or whatever is needed to attract much smaller events without relying on just the black curtains to create a more intimate environment.
“The idea is to really atmospherically change the entire environment spatially by dropping the ceiling down,” Mirakian said. “Then you also have the ability to use mass projection to project content right onto the plane of the ceiling. It really creates a different sort of atmospheric condition to the type of event you are hosting.”
Whether a Disney on Ice, small-scale concert or eSports event, the ceiling not only creates a new size of space, but a fresh canvas for multimedia and the potential to improve acoustics by decreasing the venue’s volume.
Ryan Gedney, HOK senior project designer, said the ceiling plane has always provided an opportunity for something smarter in terms of its ability to change and handle technology. “I think everyone is trying to figure out how to merge these opportunities together,” he said.
In an HOK concept, not unlike the Populous idea, the tension-rigging grids really put a focus on integrating media onto the ceiling, all while allowing for a smarter way to offer house reduction. “We are looking at ways to do that in a more automated way that takes the element and turns it into more than reducing volume,” he said, “but acts as a media canvas. We are really trying to embrace the wave of new technologies and emerging events, particularly in eSports where display technology is trying to find a new way of being deployed.”
Mirakian and Gedney both believe new builds will see this type of concept turn to reality first, as new construction offers the ability to build in flexibility needed in the structural capacity and rigging system from the start. But for existing venues in increasingly competitive entertainment markets, a retrofit isn’t out of the question.
“Concerts and other types of events are being selective and want to have the best event experience for fans and spectators,” Mirakian said. “What we see is an opportunity where a client could be attracted to having a more personalized intimate venue.”
Of course you’ll have yet undetermined capital costs, especially when dealing with a retrofit that must take into account loading capacity. Mirakian believes the return on investment in this case comes in the ability to attract a different type of entertainment event. With mechanized pulleys and metal frames filled with stretch fabric, he said not to expect a “significant cost in terms of the technology itself,” although costs come associated with any premium upgrade. “I think what you’ll find is when you run revenue projections, the ability to attract new events and retain current events with the flexibility in programming; there is a revenue proforma that makes it a worthwhile investment,” he said.
As the concept turns to reality, the final design will come in as lightweight as possible. “Logistically in terms of movement and ease of operation, lighter tends to be better,” Gedney said. Lighter helps with loading, the reason he believes a larger building will enter the fray first, especially as we see a new wave of varied programming enter the market. “The large venues need to become more and more transformable than they already are,” he said. Multipurpose venues already have retractable seating sections, but the ceiling will finish off that transformability on a larger scale.
As event designers continue to explore the possibilities of kinetic movement inside the physical space in order to build a more theatrical experience, the movable ceiling concept has more going for it than theatrics. It has media production capabilities and volume reduction crucial in giving even the largest arenas maximum flexibility and intimacy.