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Since its establishment in 1956, Birdair, a roofing and membrane specialty contractor, has been committed to the technological and aesthetic development of custom tensile architecture for use in numerous market sectors.

Walter Bird, a remarkable engineer with a vision, left his position at Cornell Aeronautical Laboratory to found Birdair in Buffalo, New York. From humble beginnings of developing early radomes and rapid deployment command shelters, Bird and his team went on to develop commercial applications in bulk storage and removable sports facility covers. As a result, in 1957, the Buffalo, N.Y., home of company founder Walter Bird was pictured on the front cover of LIFE Magazine. It featured an air-supported pool enclosure in winter, as a glimpse toward life in the future! For the Expo ’70 in Osaka, Japan, Walter Bird aided the late David H. Geiger PhD, a prominent engineer, in designing the U.S. Pavilion to develop a unique roof system. The low-profile air-supported roof utilized a compression ring and was restrained by steel cables; it was ideally suited for a site subject to both high winds and high seismic forces. This temporary structure used a skin of PVC-coated woven glass fiber.

Although Bird was hopeful Birdair would obtain the Pavilion’s construction contract, it was awarded to Taiyo Kogyo Corporation of Japan. The completed U.S. Pavilion served as a pioneer and inspiration for a multitude of air-supported stadiums constructed during the 1970’s and 80’s, which were PTFE-coated fiberglass designed by the Geiger-Berger firm and built by Birdair.

In 1973, Walter Bird constructed the first permanent membrane structure which was not supported by air, University of La Verne College Student Activities Center, still in use today, has dispelled any notion that PTFE-glass fabric would not last.

In 1992, Birdair became a proud member of the Taiyo Kogyo Group, which is led by Taiyo Kogyo Corporation, the same company Birdair competed with more than 30 years earlier at the World’s Fair in Japan. As a result, this merger has created the largest membrane group in the world, a group which provides services to all 7 continents.