Posted Nov 8, 2007, 7:51 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Vancouver
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In one of those pics I noticed the tent over the PATH entrance. That was made in Surrey, British Columbia (near Vancouver):
Quote:
A Tentnology crew rehearses the erection of a tent custom-designed for the World Trade Center site in New York.
Wayne Leidenfrost, The Province
Big tent bound for Big Apple
Cloverdale firm provides coverage for 9/11 ceremony
Frank Luba, The Province
Published: Thursday, August 30, 2007
Down a quiet country lane yesterday in Cloverdale, Gery Warner was busy putting up a tent.
But almost as soon as the massive white structure was complete Warner and his "Tentnologists" had to take it down so it could be trucked to New York.
That's where the nine-tonne tent, which is 18 metres wide, 26 metres long and 11 metres high, will be permanently erected at the former site of the World Trade Center in time for the ceremonies that will commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist tragedy.
Warner is president of Tentnology Inc., the internationally known Surrey fabric-structure design company that has been based in Cloverdale for 17 years.
He's made larger and higher tents, notably a structure that covered four hectares in Seoul, South Korea, for an air show.
But the New York tent is special.
"It's a one-off," he said of a structure that had to be as special as the spot it will cover.
Tentnology bid on the Port Authority of New York job last year and won for its design.
"They needed something to show progress and this can certainly do that," said Warner.
"I proposed an alternative that was a little more uplifting and stirring and inspirational," he explained of the soaring tent, which is held up by an aluminum truss system.
It's essentially an "extremely modified" version of the company's "saddle-span" design.
"This is very much like the Children's Festival tents," Warner said, referring to the popular Vancouver event, "only it's like the kids' fest tents on steroids.
"It has to be for New York snow load, New York wind. It's permanent.
"Who knows how long it's going to be there, but it's designed for permanent."
There wasn't enough wind in Surrey yesterday afternoon to ruffle Warner's hair but in New York the tent will be held down by steel cables attached to concrete pylons.
"It's like a big hang glider that's not supposed to fly," said Warner with a laugh. "It shall not."
The tent took about two days to erect but company workers, Warner's "Tentnologists," will have less time than that to put it up in New York.
Tentnology's structures have been used at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, the 2004 Athens Olympics and the World Cup of Soccer that was staged in the U.S.
Warner concedes the World Trade Center tent, which will be over the subway entrance, is a little extra special.
"It's going to a site that everyone knows about, that's for sure," he admitted.
But from a field in Surrey to New York City, it's still just another job for Tentnology.
fluba@png.canwest.com
© The Vancouver Province 2007
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