Client Ask: Create an arena house reduction system that looks architecturally crisp and clean, and allows room seating to be reduced in size without the look of a soft curtain system.  The system must appear as a rigid ceiling in storage and must be able to be used for acoustic properties and for projection and lighting effects when deployed.

Moody Center officially opened on The University of Texas campus in April with concerts by John Mayer, George Strait and Willie Nelson. The 530,000 square foot venue is also home to the Texas Longhorns Women’s and Men’s basketball teams, with a seating capacity of 10,000-15,000.

Flyhouse began consulting with the project’s design team in early 2019, working to ensure that the arena’s initial concepts were possible. Later, Flyhouse was awarded three different specification sections for Moody Center. Our work began on site in winter 2021.

Like much of our other arena work, Moody Center includes a vomitory track and blackout curtain system, with some specialty drapes for their premium club area. It also features a half-house curtain system, with typical chain hoists and controller, truss, and drapery, allowing the arena to be transformed in various configurations.

What really sets this project apart is the unique trapezoidal upper bowl closure panel system. This complex, first-of-its-kind upper bowl masking system includes a motorized system of drapery that gets deployed around the circumference of the upper bowl. We were tasked with creating a large fabric panel system that would pivot up when not in use to create a ‘ceiling’ above the upper bowl seating. This ceiling provides acoustical absorption, and frames the upper seating in a way that has not been done before. When the ceiling is brought down to cover the upper bowl seating, it creates a more intimate venue space while also providing acoustical absorption capabilities.

This unique panel system is made up of a series of seven rigid fabric covered panels and four roman shade style curtains. A total of 11 different motorized axes, each a different size and weight, are controlled within the overall system. It also includes a series of fixed panels mounted in the ceiling to give a finished appearance when the panels are in the upper position. In addition, a series of flipper panels are mounted to the rigid fabric panels that flip open to close-off the upper bowl masking when the system is brought down to hide the seating.

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