Wonder WALLS
April 28, 2007 | 12:00am
It was at a lobster festival at Redondo Beach in Los Angeles in 1995 when Melanie de Leon, together with her business and life partner David Kulseth, met Judy Hevenly, the Hollywood psychic known for her accurate predictions of Oscar winners.
Hevenly’s reading was quite accurate, saying that Melanie and David were thinking of putting up a construction business overseas.
What the couple had in mind was, in fact, to bring their business, which is the manufacture and installation of movable walls and room partitions, to the Philippines. At that time, the construction boom was peaking and it seemed just the right time to expand their business here. After a quick consultation with a friend on the phone who had a knack for name-giving, Hevenly came up with the perfect name for it. Thus, Walls in Motion was born.
"Walls in Motion specializes in movable walls, portable partitions, acoustic and cinema products as well as wall accessories," Melanie explains. But these are not just your run-of-the-mill, corner-hardware-store products. Melanie says, "We offer a wide range of quality products and performance-engineered systems to meet specialized interior requirements."
"The main benefit our movable walls offer is flexibility," David says. "With our operable walls, a room that is oversized or underutilized can be divided into multi-purpose rooms for everyday use, without giving up the flexibility of a big room. You may have your convention hall for large gatherings, but you can also reconfigure the same space into smaller units for smaller board or staff meetings."
While most of their clients are large establishments such as hotels and restaurants, convention centers, cinemas, banks, hospitals, schools and churches, Walls in Motion has also made inroads and found practical applications in homes where, for example, the privacy of a large master bedroom is not lost, while part of the space is shared with visiting grandchildren, or an ordinary den can be transformed into an intimate home theater.
Ultrawall, a wall system by United States Gypsum brought in by Walls in Motion, uses relocatable gypsum boards pre-finished with a specified wall-covering such as fabric, wallpaper, or paint. The system can be installed even while the office is in operation. Or, if it is in a home, the residents don’t need to move out even while the interior walls are being installed. "Installation is three times faster," David says, "and there’s no need to worry about dirt or dust. It’s so convenient."
Factory-trained installers ensure that the operable walls go up right the first time. Then the walls can be easily adjusted by anyone, even non-experts, while the company provides professional service and regular maintenance check-ups. "What’s more, you can take the walls with you should you move house or change location," David points out.
The Quikwall partition system consists of fixed and relocatable partitions with aluminum components such as demountable aluminum frames including aluminum wall cornice, baseboard, doorjambs, window frames, and window wall runs. "Individual windows can be custom built according to the desired dimensions following architectural design and function," David explains. "The aluminum track and roller system is also used for sliding wood or aluminum framed glass doors."
With the Porta-Panel, a locally manufactured modular and movable partition system, the panels do not hang by a roller and track system. The panels can be installed in minutes with little or no overhead structural supports. They can be placed in a different layout when required, which makes them ideal for schools, banquet rooms, and church facilities or wherever space needs to be changed frequently.
Another product, the freestanding Quikflex portable partitions, can divide a large hall instantly and create portable rooms in custom sizes suited to individual needs. The partitions are totally free of any exterior connections, costly supports and complicated or limiting track systems. There is also a wide selection of colors and finishes to choose from including melamine, high-pressure laminate, fabric, chalkboard, and even whiteboard finish for movable bulletin boards.
"One of our proprietary products is the Quiktrak acoustical, padded and trackable wall system," David says. "This fast and economical site-fabricated wall and ceiling system is the answer to difficult on-site problems presented by typical pre-manufactured or fabricated panels. The track framework can be shaped or curved and has the ability to delineate a surface effortlessly. This patented product utilizes fabric as an architectural finish. The track is used to hold the fabric in place over a core material or padding that is acoustical, absorptive, and reflective."
The cinemas at Gateway in Cubao and Greenbelt in Makati make use of the Quiktrak system. "It’s also used to eliminate excessive traveling of noise, which is common in hallways, particularly in sensitive or confidential areas and offices," David adds. "Curved surfaces, without acoustics, may lead to the undesirable acoustical condition known as creep. A corridor, if left untreated, can act as a megaphone, transmitting conversations or noise into nearby areas."
"Fabric changeability is another desirable feature of Quiktrak," Melanie interjects. "Its framework and subsurface remain in place and there is no damage when installing or removing the fabric."
Now in its 10th year, Walls in Motion has received a number of awards and recognition for quality product innovations and business excellence. Their list of clients includes World Trade Center, One Esplanade, Dell Philippines, Hewlett Packard, Microsoft, People Support, Hilton Cebu, Cebu City Sports, Casino de Español, University of Southern Philippines auditorium, South Sea Mall in Cotabato, Davao BPI branches, Smart offices, cinemas in Gateway, Greenbelt 3, and Promenade, Miriam Auditorium, the ballrooms of Manila Peninsula, Westin Philippine Plaza, Shangri-La, Makati, Bellevue Hotel in Alabang, and Diamond Hotel, PICC, Bangko Sentral, call centers, and offices.
Earlier this year, a private equity group led by Jorge Lichauco and Honorio Poblador IV bought a majority stake of Walls in Motion, which Lichauco now manages.
Melanie and David, however, remain active in the company as directors. Melanie’s sculptor father, Conrado G. de Leon, founded The House of Pre-cast in 1950 and it was he who coaxed her to major in fine arts at UP.
"While we are together 24/7, " David says, "we also give each other enough space to do our separate thing. Melanie enjoys a breather by traveling with her kids and grandkids, while I love to work and mind the store. It’s a perfect match."
Like their movable walls, they have learned that flexibility can spell the big difference. And as in most successful relationships, they know that walls are not meant to limit one’s personal space but to define it.
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