In Tents... Monday, August 31, 2009 Zurich Financial Services wanted to make the most of its presenting sponsorship at the Zurich Classic PGA golf event in New Orleans this year, and strengthening the face-to-face environments on-course was at the top of its wish list. Star Exhibits & Environments answered the call with two tent environments that were well-appointed without being over-the-top, leveraged green elements, and will be reusable for events over the next several years. The big hospitality tents set up at the 9th and 18th greens were the focal points for the project. At the 9th, a relaxed living room vibe allowed VIPs a chance to kick back a bit, while the casual bar at the 18th hole hospitality tent looked out onto stadium seating and a tiered terrace. Inside, the tents featured custom bars, wall panels, crown molding, baseboards, leather seating, cork flooring and carpeting, ceiling fans, and rental furniture—all combined to make visitors forget they were actually inside a tent. “We were able to take an indoor aesthetic in tents, and it looked like a permanent structure. We were able to make it feel like an executive environment, but we kept the structure as temporary as it could be,” says Star Exhibits & Environments creative director Sagoe Hoyle. The 18th hole tent was the main VIP space, so making sure it had that VIP feel was critical. While the look and feel had to be suitable for an executive environment, designers also wanted to keep the project as eco-friendly as possible. “We wanted to make sure the products we were using had recyclable qualities, and we let the client know what elements could be used over the course of the next three years, for added value and greening purposes,” Hoyle says. The architecture and elements within the tent were manufactured offsite and installed inside the tents before the tournament. “This tent was on a hill, so doing the install and build out on a hill outdoors was a challenge,” Hoyle says. Crews used an extended-reach boom to get things inside the tent, and one side of the tent was left completely open to help make the install easier. The environments were set up and ready to go within two weeks, including the rental furnishings. To keep the air flowing inside the tents, ceiling fans were complimented by internal HVAC along the walls. Since many of the design elements will be in use through 2014, flexibility and reusability were high on the priority list for designers. “Things will be updated and customized along the way—the current pieces are built to be interlocking, so we can move things around. Laminates on furnishings can be swapped out, and we could change the paint and furniture and come up with a completely different look, if need be,” Hoyle says.
Main Office: 10 Norden Place Norwalk, CT 06855 Tel. (203) 854-6730 Fax (203) 854-6735 © 2010 Red 7 Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us