"The Umbrella" designed by Eric Owen Moss, combined the talents of Advanced Structures Incorporated who did the engineering and shop drawings for the project and Kelly Green, owner of California Glass Bending, who did the fabrication of the 17 unique undulating glass panels.

ARCHITECTURE Magazine featured "The Umbrella" in it's March 2000 issue. In an article entitled "Making Glass Fly At T Minus 30", the author, Sara Hart wrote:

"Until Moss drew him into his dreamworld of bizarrely cascading glass moguls suspended in the air with a minimum of point supports, Green was known for creating flawless glazing for high-end clients in need of simple, but perfect radial bends. When he received the drawings, Green admits, "It was hard to reconcile the design elements with the technology. The design was overly ambitious for the bending process. Glass is not that malleable." The architect was well aware of the limitations while, at the same time he embraced the risk. "There were no antacedents for this." explains Moss, "In principle, if you solve the issues of one panel you solve them for all. But we found that what worked for one didn't necessarily work for the next. You have to have the attitude that you'll figure it out"
     First of all, Green simplified the drawings into workable profiles. He sucessfully conducted several experiments bending 3-foot sections made of 1/2- inch thick laminated units. But when he tried to fabricate the panels as designed - 8 to 10 feet wide and 8 to 12 feet long, it became apparent that at 1/2 inch, the panels could not support their own weight.
     With a simpler profile and an increased thickness of 5/8 inch, production began. The glass was bent by a process slumping. For each panel, two sheets of 5/8-inch tempered glass were stacked on a steel mold created by ASI. Each mold was unique, but all were constructed by verticle steel rods cut to match the intended contour of the glass and mounted on a steel plate. The assemblage was then heated to 1,200 degree Fahrenheit until the sheets softened and slumpted over the mold. "The glass never gets so soft that the two sheets fuse. It's not like cheese in a microwave," explains Green. After cooling he laminated the two identically bent sheets with a sheet of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) in a giant autoclave that uses pressurized steam to bind the layers together"

Due to the experimental nature of the project, it took several months to overcome all of the problems that arose in the construction and placement of the panels. But, all concerned feel that the result was well worth the effort

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