Colorado plains on the wing

Winged Melody was designed to be a stunning centerpiece for the community and a social concentrator for a variety of events, including outdoor concerts. The project was recognized as an Outstanding Achievement in the 2024 IAAs. Photos: Bruce Enterprises LLC

On the wind-swept plains of Aurora, Colo., a monumental tensile structure gives the appearance of a giant winged bird alighting atop a performance stage. The site is part of a planned development for multiple parks for Aurora Highlands east of the Rockies of western Colorado.

Measuring approximately 50 by 120 feet, this venue is a bandstand performance space, the first of several parks planned as the centerpiece for the surrounding community, a social center for a variety of events and concerts. Already in place nearby are several pocket parks with artwork that tie it all together, with many of these parks adorned with fabric sculptures by the designers
of this masterwork, Bruce Enterprises.

The central canopy has been dubbed Winged Melody for its shape. “The inverted bow-shaped primary structural steel supports are rotated off parallel [and] are leaning outward away from one another,” says Colin Bruce of Bruce Enterprises. “They are rocked upward to create a higher side of the structure facing the large lawn where the audience gathers for performances on the stage.” A significant challenge for the project came from the “snow loads and high winds common in the plains region east of the Rockies so the fabric membrane could remain deployed for the community for as much of the year as possible.

“Equally important as the form and geometry of the primary supports is how they are connected to their foundations at the stage and how these foundations also become sculptural elements relating to the geometry of the overall bandstand design,” says Bruce. “We [designed] the foundations above ground with asymmetrically pyramidal formed concrete monoliths that elevate the primary supports above head height to both loft the fabric membrane and discourage climbing on the structure.”

As seasons can impact the usability of the venue, “the fabric membrane can be hoisted and lowered from stage level by means of high-capacity winches hidden in voids cast into the concrete monolith bases,” Bruce says.