In the Fall of 2013, we were approached by a rental customer to manufacture several custom tents utilizing over 2,000 meters of fabric for a private holiday party. The ultimate vision of the project was to create an extension of the home itself, with a 1920’s theme for a “Great Gatsby” Christmas Party. Besides building the clients dream tenting plan; the idea was to take advantage of the curves, and color scheme of the house. Upon arrival, guests were ushered through a 12×34 custom marquee entry, which led to the grand stairway inside the home. A 3×15 meter marquee connected the 12×9 meter cocktail tent, and the 15×30 meter dining tent.
The client requested a sophisticated, but relaxed setup that would take advantage of the curves, color scheme, and floor plan of the house. Using our faux wood finish on every piece of aluminum.
The most challenging element of the project was the 170-foot-long single pitch “Casino tent”, along the curved exterior of the home. This custom Lean-To took five weeks to install and three weeks to remove. We designed a tension-mounted structure to avoid marring the home’s facade. And because of the exterior curve of the house, traditional sidewall bars alone were not sufficient, so we created a “flex” sidewall bar to supplement the structure. Each tent and structure utilized custom fabric from France. The client chose their colors of choice, with a blockout layer needing to be added to the translucent fabric.
Temperature control and transitioning from one area to the next, were of upmost importance. The rental company we worked with installed nine sets of our custom double aluminum doors at strategic points to control airflow and provide emergency egress.
Thanks to precision planning, creativity and attention to detail, guests enjoyed an evening reminiscent of the Roaring 20s, complete with cocktails, music, dinner and gaming. The seamless design was complete with faux walnut wood finish on every aluminum element.
