Company:
Grandchamp Chapiteaux

Project Details

Fabric 1

Vinyl
Producer/Manufacturer: SIOEN
Primary Use: Main Fabric


Engineer Company 1
L2C

Design Company
Grandchamp Structure Design

Fabrication Company
Grandchamp Structure Design

Project Manager Company
Grandchamp Structure Design

Installation Company
Grandchamp Chapiteaux


Please describe the project specifications

On the seventh-floor belvedere of a Montreal building, a tent structure rose above the skyline to host a large-scale reception that had outgrown the space within. The intent was as much about experience as it was about capacity: to open up generous new room for guests while turning the setting itself into the centerpiece, with window-fitted walls that slid open to frame a sweeping panorama of the city below. The result was an elevated, open-air venue suspended over downtown, where the event and the skyline became part of the same scene.

The first challenge was anchoring. Standard anchoring methods were out of the question, both because of the structure's weight and because of its perch high above the street. The solution drew on a discreet but exacting ballasting approach: eighty-six water barrels of fifty-five gallons each, set on plywood bases calibrated to respect the regulated load limits per square foot. The structure stood firm and secure, all while honoring the strict constraints of a rooftop setting and leaving nothing of the rigging to intrude on the guest experience.

The second challenge was logistical. Every component had to be brought up by elevator, and access to the heart of downtown Montreal was limited by tight time windows. To work within these constraints, dedicated logistics days were planned using smaller trucks, transporting the material up in stages and feeding the worksite piece by piece rather than all at once.

From the precision of the ballasting to the patience of the staged delivery, this project shows how a demanding rooftop can be transformed into a destination in its own right: a refined, high-capacity reception space lifted above the city, where guests gathered with Montreal unfurling on every side.


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