Past Collaborations

Hoberman Arch

The Hoberman Arch is a 35 foot tall, 72 foot wide transforming curtain that was installed in front of the stage at Salt Lake City's Olympic Medals Plaza in 2002. It provided a magical, artistically engineered performance—including music, lighting, and dancers—to signal the start of the each evening's medal ceremony, witnessed by an estimated 3.5 billion people worldwide. When open, it revealed the Olympic flame.

The conceptual design of the Hoberman Arch combined pioneering mechanical and structural technology; the screen is both a mobile mechanism and load-resisting structure. For this reason, the project required intense collaboration between Hoberman Associates, who conceived the Arch's artistic design and mechanical technology, and Buro Happold, who devised the structural systems. For Buro Happold, the creative challenge was in developing new analytical tools to explore structures that can exist in multiple configurations.. The final cumulative design was successful as it incorporated members as both operable machinery and load-carrying components. The Arch is an example of structure/mechanism synergy in that the main struts provide the operational geometric symmetry and mechanical impulse, and also have the required strength to carry panel loads.

Expanding Video Screen for U2 360° World Tour

Hoberman Associates, in support of Innovative Designs and its parent company Barco, created the centerpiece for the U2 360° tour – the Expanding Video Screen.

While large video screens are a familiar fixture for arena style rock concerts, U2 was looking for something unprecedented for its 360° tour – a giant screen that could change its size and shape.

Hoberman, along with U2's creative team of Willie Williams and Mark Fisher, and Frederick Opsomer of Innovative Designs, collaborated to conceptualize this fusion of architecture, stage scenery and extreme technology. They came up with a design for an elliptical video display, approximately the size of a tennis court that could morph into a 7-story high cone-shaped structure, enveloping the band as it extends.

The screen is constructed of stainless steel and aircraft aluminum, the display is made of 888 LED screens, with 500,000 pixels spanning across them, providing concert-goers with clear and visually stunning images. It has a screen area of 3,800 square feet, and weighs approximately 120,000 pounds.

To create the Expanding Video Screen's atypical design, Hoberman and its structural engineering partners, Buro Happold, had to overcome multiple technical challenges. These included: designing a structure that could withstand high winds and inclement weather, last the rigors of an 18-month tour, and be able to assemble in eight hours and disassemble in six hours for transport.

Rapidly Deployable Shelter (RDS)

Johnson Outdoors, a major manufacturer of tents for both government and consumer markets, approached Hoberman Associates in 2005 to develop a new line of large shelters for military use and crisis relief. Johnson's strategic goal was to enter the growing market for rapid deployment, which they had not yet penetrated. The brief was simple: to outperform the competition in weight, speed, and durability.

Hoberman Associates developed a unique patented system for Rapidly Deployable Shelters (RDS) under Johnson's Eureka brand. With easier deployment and minimal time-consuming secondary connections, the RDS system uses fewer, larger, and more robust parts than competitive products. The result: Durable, affordable tents that withstand high winds, resist snow loads up to 10 pounds per square foot, and can be set up in minutes.

Buro Happold performed a complete structural analysis of the RDS, ensuring that it met strict military load-bearing requirements.

The RDS comes in several sizes, the largest of which deploys to 750 square feet, and folds down to a 3 foot by 3½ foot by 6 foot compact bundle. It won the Bronze IDEA award in 2008 in the Commercial Products Category.