Eventscape, an award-winning art and architecture fabrication company, is pleased to announce their largest architectural installation to date. Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, homecourt for the Cleveland Cavaliers, features a 65,000 square foot metal architectural feature wall, lining the interior of a glass-enclosed atrium. Gensler took the initial concept of the architectural curtain wall and worked with Eventscape to develop and execute the inspiring design. The sculptural metal wall features a dynamic, curvilinear shape that not only guides visitors within the venue along a clear and intuitive path, but offers a link to the surrounding neighborhood and city at large. While the stadium is not currently able to hold sports and entertainment events, it has already become a new community hub, hosting events for the Red Cross and polling for the upcoming election.
“The metal curtain wall is the signature of the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, so when you look at the architectural type of treatment that it provides and the iconic imagery, it's absolutely spectacular,” says Len Komoroski, CEO of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. He acknowledges fabrication partners Eventscape, saying “We worked with so many different people on this project. Working with Eventscape was absolutely a pleasure. They offered a solutions-based mentality for a project that’s so complex and unprecedented.”
The 80-foot tall feature wall is made up of a total of approximately 4,000 unique metal panels, each with a 1-degree bend across the face and over 12,000 unique fabricated parts which come together in a faceted and reticulated geometric display. To manage the complexity of multiple parts, Eventscape designers employed a unique parametrically driven design and fabrication approach. They developed a computational script incorporating a set of rules to generate the design of each unique part, as well as rules for compatibility, orientation and sizing. Using the initial data and inspiration from the design teams, Eventscape took specific measurements on-site, then developed a work-back schedule to ensure the installation sequence aligned with the construction of the exterior glass wall. The curtain wall was then installed in select zones, each zone preceding the construction of the glass atrium surrounding it. Working with the architect Gensler and the general contractor, Whiting-Turner, Eventscape ensured the project was completed on-time and on-budget without change orders or deficiencies.
Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse continues to maintain a strong connection to the community, enhanced by its unique design. The City of Cleveland and the Board of Elections, in partnership with the Cleveland Cavaliers, recently announced that Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse will serve as a polling location for the 2020 General Election on Tuesday, November 3rd. Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse will also host the non-partisan National Voter Registration Day on Tuesday, September 22nd, inviting all voters residing anywhere in Cuyahoga County to register to vote at the FieldHouse that day. Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, in partnership with the Red Cross and Anheuser-Busch, has also hosted numerous blood drives.
“The steel curtain installation is the result of blending traditional hand-craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology,” says Eventscape Founder and President Gareth Brennan. “Between the design partners at Gensler, the general contractors at Whiting-Turner and our team of designers and engineers at Eventscape, we consolidated our efforts to produce a feature that is truly unique and sure to create ripples throughout the architectural community. Our combined efforts are much greater than any one of us could have done alone.”