Design Projects
Warwick Bell, born in Auckland, New Zealand, first apprenticed to the canvas & sail maker trade. Upon his strength, as a conceptual thinker & producer, he established Fabric Shelter Systems in Auckland (now Fabric Structures) in 1993. Having worked collaboratively with architects, designers & artists, his company became known for pushing boundaries within the discipline of fabric & tensioned membrane structures & inflatable objects, notably:
Cameron Street Mall Canopy, 2015 – streetscape shelter & shared public space, Whangarei, New Zealand
Dockside Pavilion, 2014 – floating pontoon & event structure as a temporary installation in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia
John Street Canopy Bridge, 2011 – shelter structure over the footbridge at Town Basin in Whangarei, New Zealand; won the Industry Design Awards LSAA (Lightweight Structures Association Australasia), now an iconic landmark & a well-used community space.
The Cloud, 2011 – tensile membrane event structure with tensioned ETFE & PVC at Queens Wharf, Auckland, New Zealand; in collaboration with Jasmax Architects, won Industry Design Awards LSAA (Lightweight Structures Association Australasia).
Giant Inflatable Rugby Ball, 2007/11 – deployable air-supported event structure for Paris, London, Tokyo & Sydney Rugby World Cup Tour, won Australasia & Industry Design Awards IFAI (Industrial Fabrics Association International).
Louis Vuitton Travelling Trunk, 2004 – large deployable box-shaped structure for Louis Vuitton 150th Anniversary Tour, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, won IFAI Design award 2005.
Besides shelter structures, he was privileged to deliver unique projects such as:
Kura Moana, 2022 by Lisa Reihana, inflatable, Festival of the Arts, Wellington, New Zealand
Medusa Head, 2019, World of Wearable Art, inflatable, Wellington, New Zealand
‘Soom’, 2014, by Seung Yul O, inflatable, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, New Zealand
Rubber Duck, 2011, by Florentijn Hofman, inflatable, Auckland NZ & Sydney Australia
Alien Flowers (Snow Orchids), inflatable Christchurch Arts Festival 2008, in New Zealand
