I was commissioned to design The 20th Century Environment at the Carborundum Museum of Ceramics in Niagara Falls, the building designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill. The environment occupied 4200 sq.ft. area 18' high. The structural drawings were prepared in cooperation with Johnson Nehr Nehim Inc. of Buffalo, NY. 20,000 visitors a day were expected to visit the museum.
The fabric environment was fabricated in two sets of 14 panels each. Suspended plywood frames, replicating the ceiling plan, were lowered to 14', their edges serving as runners at the ceiling; on the floor metal angles were installed. The panels were fastened to upper & lower runners with 3/4" Velcro tape, and interconnected panel to panel with 1/2" Velcro tape (see Runners & Attachments). Two people changed the panels in two six-hour shifts. A set weighed under 200 lb., was commercially dry-cleaned, and when folded occupied a 3 cubic feet space.
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