Kinetic Design

In addition to structural design, daylighting, façade engineering and construction engineering, we performed full-service kinetic engineering for The Shed, an eight-million-pound structure that glides up to 120 feet on 16 wheels, each six feet in diameter. Not only does the entire building move, but each glass-clad exterior wall can be raised to create a venue that is open to the environment.

In addition to being a go-to resource for rapid response assessments, we perform continuing inspections of kinetic structures and movable components, such as the roof system at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

TILT at 360 Chicago pivots outward from the John Hancock Tower at the 94th floor to give visitors a panoramic view of Lake Michigan and four Midwestern states from 1,000 feet above the city. We engineered the operable steel-and-glass structure and its hydraulic kinetic system.

Collaborating with Santiago Calatrava and Alfonso Architects, we provided structural design services for the 160,000-square-foot Innovation, Science and Technology Building on the new 170-acre campus of Florida Polytechnic University. The building houses interdisciplinary classrooms, laboratories, offices, meeting rooms and a large amphitheater.