Project Details:
| Built Year: | 2019 |
| Built duration: | 1 day |
| Sector: | |
| Dome Size: | Diameter 14 meters |
| Location: | Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
Project Background
When it comes to portable stages, most people are probably familiar with them. Many temporary events, big or small, depend on portable stages to make things happen. However, in a market where portable stage platforms often look the same, creating something unique can be tough. But at the World Cultures Festival 2019 - The Nordics, organized by the Hong Kong SAR Government’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department, a dome portable stage design stood out and became a huge success.
Challenging Outdoor Performances
The World Cultures Festival has been held every year since 2005, showcasing cultural performances from around the world. In 2019, the festival focused on the Nordic countries, bringing their pure and refined cultural arts to the people of Hong Kong.
Many amazing performances took place at venues like the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre and the Sha Tin Town Hall Concert Hall, which have fixed stages. However, unlike the traditional stages for other Nordic performances, "Nobody but a princess..." required an outdoor setting for its design. Building a temporary outdoor stage for this performance was a big challenge for the event organizers.
Fortunately, Shelter Dome provided the dome stage just in time, letting the dome play a key role in the success of the show.
The Benefits of Dome Portable Stages
"Nobody but a princess..." is inspired by an Andersen fairy tale and tells the story of a modern princess finding herself and true love. The performance is presented by the German multimedia group Phase7 Performing.arts. For this show, a giant dome stage and lighting effects were needed to bring the design to life.
Unlike traditional stage setups, dome stages are quite rare. However, using this dome stage in "Nobody but a princess..." offered several key benefits:
Safety and Stability
Safety is always the top priority in any performance, and for a stage, stability is key. The dome portable stage is perfect for this. "Nobody but a princess..." uses a geodesic dome design, made up of connected triangular frames. Triangles are the most stable shape in geometry, so they help spread out any force on the dome evenly, keeping the stage safe and stable.
Creating a Visual Center
In outdoor performances, it's easy for the audience's attention to drift due to the surrounding environment. That's why it's especially important to create a clear visual center when setting up a portable outdoor stage, to minimize distractions. Unlike traditional outdoor stages, the geodesic dome stage has symmetry and balance, with a geometric design that gives it a futuristic feel. This design naturally draws the audience's focus to the center of the dome. In "Nobody but a princess...", the dome stage successfully created a strong visual focus for the audience.
Ample Space
The geodesic dome stage has a self-supporting structure, so it doesn't need extra support walls or columns. This provides performers with a wide, open space. In "Nobody but a princess...", the dome stage was designed with a 14-meter diameter and over 8 meters in height. Even though the structure is compact, it still offers plenty of width and height, giving performers enough room to move and fully express themselves.
Versatility
The geodesic dome does more than just create a visual center. It can also be used as a lighting truss and outdoor shelter. In "Nobody but a princess...", lighting played a key role. The dome stage arranged the lighting equipment evenly around its 360-degree triangular frame, making it a strong and durable setup where the lights and stage blend together. Even though the performance was outdoors, the dome stage could be fitted with waterproof covers to protect performers from bad weather like rain or snow.
Reusable
Like other portable stages, the geodesic dome stage is prefabricated designed for easy assembly and disassembly. Each metal pipe is carefully measured for consistent length and size. When needed, you can quickly assemble the pipes and parts, almost like building with blocks. When not in use, the DIY portable stage can be easily taken apart and stored neatly for future use.
Outcome
During the three-day "Nobody but a princess..." performance, the geodesic dome protable stage perfectly showed off its amazing structure and visual effects. At night, the open-frame dome blended beautifully with Hong Kong Island’s iconic skyline, creating a stunning visual scene. Bright lights lit up the stage, while colorful fireworks burst around and above it, delivering an unforgettable, dramatic effect that drew many Hong Kong viewers to stop and watch. The performance brought a memorable Nordic-style visual experience to the people of Hong Kong and highlighted the innovative practicality of dome portable stages.
