A floating ribbon for Peugeot 208

The Peugeot Experience, the car manufacturer’s flagship location in Breukelen, The Netherlands, hosted a birthday party for its newest model, the Peugeot 208. To unwrap the 208, Peugeot wanted something special from Cees Smit®, an Amsterdam-based company providing tensioned fabric solutions, printing and exhibits. Cees Smit developed “Ribbon in the Sky,” a 130-foot curved ribbon structure that seems to float over an attractive array of Peugeot 208s.

The ribbon structure was built with lightweight aluminum tubes and crossbeams, shaped to twist and rotate in space. Cees Smit covered both sides of the structure with white, flame-retardant stretch fabric to resemble a giant-sized ribbon flung into the air. Steel cables strung from above hold the ribbon afloat, but are nearly invisible to visitors. It took a crew of four an estimated six hours to install the ribbon. Cees Smit is on a roll with auto industry clients; the company also produced and installed an estimated 100,000 square feet of printed and tensioned fabric displays at the BedrijfsautoRAI auto show in Amsterdam.