Lightening the Mood for The Greater Columbus Convention Center

Kaynemaile gives huge scope for lighting effects.

The Greater Columbus Convention Center is in downtown Columbus, Ohio, United States. The convention center was designed by Peter Eisenman, constructed in 1993, and expanded in 1999 and again in 2016. It is a huge 1,800,000-square-foot (170,000 m2) facility, including 447,000 square feet (41,500 m2) of exhibit space, three ballrooms, and 74 meeting rooms.

Kaynemaile worked with LMN Architects & Schooley Caldwell along with Eventscape to create custom ceiling features for two of the convention center’s ballrooms. The scope was to engineer, fabricate, and install two custom ceiling features for the 17,700 square foot (1644 m2) Union Ballroom and the (1338 m2) square foot Short North Ballroom. Both ceilings incorporated a custom design with linear metal dividers, Kaynemaile mesh screens and angular fin baffles. The Kaynemaile mesh screens were hung in long continuous strips, without joins. They sit between each baffle in alternating lengths to give an undulating effect.

Color changing RGBW LED lights were incorporated into the dividers to create a sparkling form that can be changed to create numerous lighting effects. The Water Clear Kaynemaile mesh was chosen as it has great scope for lighting effects and has a decorative effect when not lit. The lighting effects were a key component of this project as they help to break up the very large volume of the room.

The geometric angled pattern of the dividers acted like the spines of the ceiling, providing support for the zig-zag shaped horizontal fins and Kaynemaile screens.

As there were over 400 dividers, 3,800 individual fins, 900 brackets and over 12,000 square feet (1115 m2) of Kaynemaile mesh in the project, it was critical to develop a plan to fabricate each piece in the most economical way. Being lightweight and easy to install Kaynemaile was an ideal material choice for this project.