Empyrean Gate

Clark Reder Engineering assisted in the structural design of The Empyrean Gate structure built forBurning Man 2022.The structure, designed by Anthony Feldman and fabricated by Tomcat USA, measured 60ft in diameter and 20ft tall. The design includes an outer truss ring that supports an inner ring and LED lights via cables spanning between the inner and outer truss rings. The space between the rings was covered with light weight fabric sails and over 25,000 LEDs, while the inside of the inner ring remained open to the sky above.The structure consists of a 60ft diameter outer truss ring built with20.5”truss and supported by (8)12”truss towers. The outer ring supports a 13ft diameter inner ring built out of12”truss via cables attached to both rings. The catenary load path, with the inner ring and roof supported bycables, required custom modifications to the outer ring truss, but allowed for the inside of the Gate structure to remain completely open and free of support towers. During the event, the EmpyreanGate structure served as a gathering place for participants with a rotation of visiting DJs turning theGate into a nightly dance party.