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Safety and delight in public attractions – with laminated glass

Outdoor amphitheater uses laminated glass 'umbrella' over the stairway/seating area

The staircase leading to the amphitheatre with its cantilever canopy of laminated glass

Architect Eric Owen Moss of Culver City, California designed an outdoor seating, lounging, music-making amphitheater space in his home town, located at the roof level of two continuous warehouse structures that have been remodeled and converted to production and post-production uses.

The laminated glass 'umbrella' cantilevers over the entry ramp – an experimental piece of construction. Seventeen pieces of overlapping laminated glass panels lifted on a steel pipe provides a canopy over the stairway/seating area. Moss says that the strength of the laminated glass made the intense curvature possible, minimizing the risk of breakage and ensuring the safety of tenants and visitors.

The project won an honorable mention in the 2000 DuPont Benedictus Awards. The judges said: "This was an outstanding use of laminated glass – almost spiritual." The laminator was California Glass Bending of Wilmington and the glass engineer and installer was Advanced Structures Inc. of Marina del Rey, both of California.