UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA FACULTY OF BUSINESS - CEILING

Having worked with B&M Architects before, Tension Structures was asked to use their initiative to put forward an aesthetically pleasing design for an enormous ceiling area in the atrium of the University of Botswana’s Faculty of Business. The initial designs made use of combinations of downward facing cones, and taking to the concept immediately, the architects chose this symmetrical combination to fill the volume of the multiple storey space. The ceiling immediately became a powerfully dominant feature in the entrance way leading students through into their lecture halls. Not only was the structure also fire retardant and an insulator for the building; but in a space as large as this the fabric structure was a more cost effective option than traditional ceiling panels; and a far more interesting feature.