Corporate Event for Palo Alto Fortune 100 Company

Mahaffey’s client, a national production company, stepped in to help oversee the final phases of a large corporate event in Palo Alto, California. The production company received an initial concept design and was afforded just two months of planning before the actual date of the event. Having worked with Mahaffey before for a temporary fabric building, the production company contacted Mahaffey to see if it was possible to construction a roughly 45,000 square foot structure with multiple engineering and site challenges.


 (photo of the site before final construction of the interior)

Given the large footprint, the client had to develop a plan that utilized existing structures in a manner that would meet their end user’s overall vision for the project. In order to do this, there was a couple of weeks of back and forth development to ensure that the final product meet the end user’s vision and also was feasible from an actual production standpoint. After this process was completed, we were only a little over a week from beginning actual install. At this time, a site inspection was conducted and several issues were noted with the site. Multiple trees were in the footprint of the structure. Additionally, the parking lot had a slope deviation of over 6’.


(Installation of the flooring)

There was no margin for error here as the final order was only finalized a couple of days before our team mobilized. First challenge was providing a structure with sufficient width and height to meet the needs of the end user. This required a 164’ wide structure with 17’ side height. This is a very unique structure. The structure also had to be installed over multiple trees that were in the parking lot. The structure had to undergo a special engineering run to ensure that it met the rigging requirements of the event. The floor had to be raised approximately 6’ in order to meet the slope of the lot. Additionally, the floor had to be designed to support scissor lifts so that rigging could be hung. Install time period was just under two weeks.

In the end, the event was a success. Everything was completed on time. If experienced partners are committed to the success of the event, just about anything can be accomplished, no matter the limited planning time.

Want to discover more about Mahaffey's special events, or want more information about how you can get a custom fabric structure for your next project?

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Topics: Entertainment and Events Custom Structures