The leading authority for the Architecture & Design community
January 17, 2018
Text: Athena Waligore
Calvin Tsao, Interior Design, and Sunbrella Create Grand Entrance at Hall of Fame
After decades at New York’s Waldorf Astoria, the Hall of Fame gala made a grand entrance at the Javits Center, dressed up by Calvin Tsao.
Rendering of the Hall of Fame gala at the Javits Center by Calvin Tsao. Courtesy of Tsao & McKown.
Three Architects and Designers.
15 Fabric Patterns.
1,000 Yards of Fabric.
1,270 Attendees.
One Night.
Under the supervision of Tsao & McKown, forklifts assembled and hung trusses in the hall outside the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center’s River Pavilion. Photography by Steven Wilsey.
“It was a delight to honor my mentor I.M. Pei in his firm’s building and to collaborate with Sunbrella, one of my most inspiring clients,” says Tsao.
Strips of Sunbrella solution-dyed acrylic were draped from the trusses before they were raised to their final position. Photography by Tsao & McKown.To separate the gala’s VIP section from the main cocktail area, a partition of narrower strips was hoisted 36 feet. Photography by Carrie Draghi.Additional strips formed a niche for one of the four cocktail bars clad in Wilsonart plastic laminate. Photography by Cindy Allen.Map of the Hall of Fame gala space at the Javits Center. Courtesy of Tsao & McKown.The installation completely transformed part of the 1986 building by James Ingo Freed of I.M. Pei & Partners. Photography by Carrie Draghi.
