The Fabricator- Ethan A. Silva, president of Performance Structures Inc.

Ethan was the only fabricator to rise to the challenge of making “Cloud Gate”. 
He has pioneered fabricating processes that have defined unique and beautiful results.

Millennium Park, Chicago, IL
Anish Kapoor’s “Cloud Gate”
Fabricated by Performance Structures, Inc.

 


Ethan A. Silva built the hydraulically elevated stairway that lifted
Rafer Johnson, enabling him to light the Olympic
flame at the opening ceremony. Los Angeles, 1984

 Ethan A. Silva has designed and built large-scale projects for over thirty years. A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, he majored in physics with sculpture as a secondary area of study. He began to work with steel boat design and construction, including the reengineering of a classic wooden schooner design into a modern steel-hulled research vessel. After completing several commercial boat projects, Silva went on to create rock concert stage components, including many sophisticated mechanical, hydraulic, and electronic moving effects. An expansion into theme park attractions and worldwide events included projects in the U.S., Japan, South Korea, and Australia. In recent years he has applied his experience and expertise to the fabrication of significant fine art. As President of Performance Structures, Inc., Oakland, Ca, he is the driving force behind the structural design, coordination of engineering, detail design, and meticulous construction of each of his projects.

A few of his notable projects include major attractions for Disney World Orlando, the Atlanta Olympic City, and Universal Studios as well as extravagant rock and roll stage structures for the world tours of the Rolling Stones, U2 and Pink Floyd. The 1984 Olympic Flame Lighting Ceremony, televised internationally, was performed on an elevating riser system engineered and constructed by Silva. He then took part in the creation of a Fox Studios Australia amusement park attraction based on the sinking of the Titanic, including a massive hydraulic motion base designed to shake and roll the ocean liner’s third class lounge and its thrill seeking passengers.

A notable Bay Area project is the giant baseball mitt in San Francisco’s Giants Stadium. Silva’s firm built the structural support and assembled the components for this replica of a 1927 glove.

His firm’s most recent major project is Cloud Gate, Chicago’s newest public art located in Millennium Park. This spectacular polished stainless steel sculpture, built for the renowned British artist Anish Kapoor, was first unveiled in the summer of 2004 and has already become a world famous destination.