Base helps Zaha Hadid create architectural masterpiece

for the Manchester International Festival.

The Team
Jack Thompson, Technical Director, MIF
Tracey Low, Senior Producer, MIF
Melodie Leung, Architect, Zaha Hadid Architects
Gerhild Orthacker, Architect, Zaha Hadid Architects
Kevin Hemmings, Architect, Base
Andy Traynor, Installation Director, Base
Tony Hogg, Engineer, Tony Hogg Design
Benedict Whybrow, Designer, Tony Hogg Design
Michael Whitcroft, Acoustic Engineer, Sandy Brown Associates
Nick Croker and Paul Thomas, Site Supervisors, Base

Project highlights
• Stunning and theatrical interior fabric installation designed by Zaha Hadid Architects
• Base’s innovative fabric and framing system achieved the dramatic forms visualised by the architects while
enhancing acoustics
• Swift and smooth installation – 3 days with 2 teams of 4 riggers working day and night shifts
• Praised by arts critic
• Structure has since been installed at the Amsterdam Festival in 2010 and is due to visit Abu Dhabi in March 2011 as
part of an ongoing worldwide tour.

Call us for honest, professional advice on +44 (0) 117 971 2229
or email us at mail@basestructures.com
www. basestructures.com ©Base Structures Limited
The background
Manchester International Festival (MIF) is an artist-led, commissioning festival which presents new works from
the performing arts, visual arts and popular culture. It was launched in 2007 and takes place every two years. As
part of the 2009 festival, Zaha Hadid Architects was commissioned to design a contemporary salon to house solo
performances of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music.
The installation was to be housed in a 25m x 17m ‘black box’ in the Manchester Art Gallery. Zaha Hadid Architects
responded with a stunning design consisting of a 110m long white ribbon which would wrap itself around both the
stage and the audience, creating a dynamic yet intimate performance space.

The brief
The architects explored a number of materials to realise the design’s form and had to reject a rigid skin on cost
grounds. Having already successfully collaborated on the Serpentine Gallery project, Zaha Hadid Architects
approached Base to gain the team’s technical expertise on the design’s buildability – with the performance of the
‘ribbon’ being pivotal to its function. Transportability was another consideration for Base, as the installation would
also be reinstalled in other venues.

The solution
Kicking off with a design meeting, all parties contributed their experience to the project, ensuring any anomalies
were designed out as early as possible. Base’s recommendation was to combine a light aluminium frame with a
stretch Lycra® fabric skin. With preliminary costs coming within budget, Zaha Hadid Architects commissioned Base to
develop the design through to cost certainty.

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or email us at mail@basestructures.com
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 Image by Zaha Hadid Architects

Ensuring buildability
The first challenge for Base was to transform the architect’s complex 3D model into a buildable structure that
retained all the fluidity of the original design. With the help of experienced tensile engineers Tony Hogg Design,
Base constructed a framework that replicated the model exactly. And to be certain of the fabric’s suitability, Base
fabricated and wrapped a prototype section of the frame to test fabric compensations.

Expert engineering
For the ‘ribbon’ to perform as intended, it was imperative that a smooth change of curvature was maintained
throughout the structure. So Base’s solution featured a series of eye shaped rib frames, connected with a top and
bottom rail each rolled to a specific radius. Speed of installation was essential too, so turned nylon spigots were
employed to connect the frames with a push fit connection. Likewise the fabric was designed to be applied rapidly
by only having nine ‘fields’ which were zipped together with a discrete plastic closure, utilising Base’s expertise from
the banner finishing side of its business.

Swift installation
The frame was hung by 2.5mm stainless steel cables from suspension points in the gallery ceiling, incorporating an
easy to adjust fastener. Base also supplied the stage platform and fitted rigid acoustic reflector panels inside parts of
the ribbon, directed by acoustic engineers, Sandy Brown Associates. The structure was installed in three days with
two teams of four riggers, working day and night shifts.

Call us for honest, professional advice on +44 (0) 117 971 2229
or email us at mail@basestructures.com
www. basestructures.com ©Base Structures Limited
 Image by Zaha Hadid Architects

Base solution at a glance

• Fire rated cotton Lycra® delivered the ‘ribbon’ look while a specially designed plastic closure detail made junctions
virtually invisible
• Aluminium frame with innovative spigot and fabric zip details helped achieve desired ‘floating’ effect and speedy
installation/dismantling
• Acrylic acoustic reflectors hidden in strategic areas within the depth of the frame to tune sound quality
• Hung by 2.5mm stainless steel cables from suspension points in the ceiling with an easy to adjust fastener
• Installed in three days with two teams of 4 riggers

The results
The result was a single continuous ribbon which swirled around one of the main rooms in the Manchester Art
Gallery, creating layered spaces cocooning both performers and the audience. Base’s successful realisation of Zaha
Hadid Architect’s design was largely due to the combined experience of the team, ranging from engineering; detail
design; fabrication of the frame; assembly of the fabric; and the professional site crew. The project’s triumph was
also recognised by one arts critic in particular, stating that the structure not only worked as a sculptural object but
acoustically as a chamber music venue. The structure has since visited the Amsterdam Festival in 2010 and is due to
continue its tour, scheduled for a visit to Abu Dhabi in March 2011.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Base Structures on the J.S. Bach Chamber Music Hall. They have a positive
attitude and flexible approach towards challenging proposals. Their creativity, breadth of experience, and attention
to detail were invaluable to the success of the project.”
Melodie Leung and Gerhild Orthacker, Zaha Hadid Architects

Call us for honest, professional advice on +44 (0) 117 971 2229
or email us at mail@basestructures.com
www. basestructures.com ©Base Structures Limited