Have you been to Pip’s Island yet? An experience that Broadway World described as “an unparalleled immersive and interactive journey based on the wild imaginations of its enthusiastic participants-the explorer, dreamer, artist, scientist, and action hero in your life.” The Broadway caliber, immersive children’s theater opened this past spring at their flagship location in New York City. MARTOS provided the structural engineering services for the project. The space itself is 15,000 sf and consists of the first two floors of a 28 floor, mixed-use building in Times Square.
The attraction is an hour-long interactive journey where children lead the way through a magical island and experience a variety of different immersive adventures, i.e. man a flying ship, design giant cakes, and explore the deep sea, all while encountering performers, puppets, and animated characters. Broadway World described Pip’s Island as “an unparalleled immersive and interactive journey based on the wild imaginations of its enthusiastic participants-the explorer, dreamer, artist, scientist, and action hero in your life.”
Our scope of work involved the structural design for the construction of two new mechanical mezzanines within the existing concrete framed building, as well as the design of a new steel suspended pipe equipment grid. The mezzanines are approximately 167 square feet and 417 square feet, the framing for both platforms consist of light gage metal framing with supplemental structural steel as required. The platforms are designed to be supported from building vertical framing elements, such as concrete columns and walls wherever possible. Where no such support is present, hangers were designed to provide suspended support from the floor framing above. The equipment grid consists of structural steel round tubes, interconnected to clamp fittings, and suspended using hanger rods.