Aspen Music Festival (Benedict Music Tent)

Award-winning Benedict Music Tent, which opened in 2000, is the Festival’s primary concert venue and seats 2050. The tent replaced an earlier tent designed by Herbert Bayer, which in 1965 replaced the original smaller tent designed by Eero Saarinen. Concerts are held in the Benedict Music Tent on a nearly daily basis during the summer with additional seating on the lawn just outside the Tent, where many choose to picnic during events. The design has open sides; the curving roof is made of (PTFE) Teflon-coated fiberglass. The octagonal geometry of the audience seating area was retained from an original tent, designed by Eero Saarinen in 1949. The central section of seating is partially surrounded by five steeply raked seating sections covering more than 180 degrees. The stage geometry was changed from the original tent to better accommodate full orchestra and eliminate focusing conditions off the previously curved up-stage wall. Birdair's scope of work included design, fabrication, and installation of the PTFE fiberglass membrane, structural support cables and clamping.