Cardiff Design Festival

Brief

As a launch for their brand new karaoke game, Sony Playstation chose Glastonbury Festival to create all encompassing experience based on the theme of 'Cocktails and Dreams'. Our brief was to design a workable, retractable roof canopy. The client required an elegant solution which would work in all scenarios, be visually striking when the roof was on or off, be cooling and shady in the sun and to protect the main area from the rain. The main roof was to be manually removed in under half an hour.

Result

The project was a huge success at its first outing in Glastonbury. The space is instantly transformed from an open air party into an intimate venue when the two wide canopies are fully raised. Even in the rare sunshine experienced at this year’s event, the use of a lightly translucent PVC coated polyester fabric allowed some light to permeate into the venue. This allowed the structure to come unto its own as a cool, shady haven for those looking for a more relaxing experience.

Solution

The main roof features two 300sqm panels which retract manually in seconds. The system has been designed to be easily raised and lowered and has systems to prevent jamming. The system is operated by lines concealed behind the trailers onto which the fabric is mounted, and is simply unclipped from the runner cables after the event and folded into carry bags.

Project website

http://www.architen.com/projects/playstation-singstar-retractable-canopy