DCI+Madsen was hired by the event organizer, China Arts and Entertainment Group (CAEG) to provide the structural design for the large scale “Lanterns” featured at the 2020 Hello Panda Winter Festival. Dubbed the “largest lantern festival in North America”, the first-ever Hello Panda Festival was held in the parking lot of Citi Field stadium, in Flushing, Queens, between December 6th, 2019, and January 26, 2020.

The festival featured more than 120 lantern exhibits, live entertainment and interactive experiences. The festival celebrates the traditional Chinese art of lantern-making and combines it with displays of light and color. Other attractions included cultural performances and arts experiences, a holiday market, and international food vendors curated by The World’s Fare.

The lanterns were constructed on site using an internal metal framing wrapped in fabric and illuminated from the inside using environmentally-friendly LED lights. The lanterns were anchored to the parking lot slab using a combination of special drilled anchors and concrete blocks. The structures ranged from 10-ft to 60-ft in height and were designed for high wind and snow loads. An Operations Management Plan was implemented with action plans for daily operations, snow and high wind events. Everything was installed in the field in less than 20 days and DCI+Madsen also provided field support and observation during installation.