Back-lit stretched-fabric ceiling

Editor note

A specialist stretched-fabric ceiling system with integrated backlighting runs the full 3,900 sq ft of APL SoHo's main floor. The material is functionally critical to the amphitheatre's register: the diffused light produced by the system turns the curving artisan plaster perimeter into a gallery-adjacent surface, softens the Roman travertine base, and makes the five vanity rooms read as lit chambers rather than dressing cubicles. Without the ceiling, the amphitheatre form would collapse into strong directional lighting — the panoptic product visibility argument needs even light to work. The supplier is not publicly disclosed, but the scope is specialist — stretched-fabric ceilings at this area are typically commissioned through firms like Barrisol or equivalent specialists. Plausibly £200k-£400k for a system at this specification area, per the Design & Build reasoning in the case study. Specification is project-led; the stretch-fabric industry is a small circle of specialist contractors.

Specification notes

• Stretched-fabric ceiling, backlit, diffused
• Full 3,900 sq ft main floor coverage
• Critical to panoptic product visibility argument
• Specialist scope; fabricator not publicly named