A 12th Century French Chateau gets an Aussie made outdoor function room - a 25m x 12m canopy from Billabong Shade

You own a restored 12th century chateau in the south of France and you want to throw a Bastille Day luncheon for 150 of your closest friends. Your old fashioned dining hall will accommodate only 40... What do you do? You move the function outdoors and because it is in the middle of summer you put in a call to Billabong Shade in Australia!

A design was nutted out over via email and phone and the 24m X 12m shade cloth canopy was made in Melbourne and air freighted to Toulouse Airport and erected the day before the event.

Although the canopy was only meant to be "temporary" it remained in place for three months and survived several summer and autumn storms. It has since gone into storage and will be used for functions such as enviromental seminars to be held at the chateau.

The design attracted the interest of the Cannes Festival organisers and is an entry in the Industrial Fabrics Association International Awards this year.