Georgia Dome

Highlights

• The patented roof structure – the first of its kind – adapted tensegrity geometry to the standard oval of stadium design. Triangulated tension cables and floating compression posts are combined with stretched fabric membranes in hyperbolic paraboloid configurations.
• Despite the roof's complex geometry, our engineers optimized the design to maximize repetition, boosting economy and constructability.
• The nine acres of fabric that covered the dome were clamped to the cable structure on-site.
• We designed structural components – node weldments, steel-pipe posts, steel-strand, bridge-type cables and concrete stands – to be prefabricated. This provided considerable savings in cost and set-up time.
• The roof structure’s web of posts and cables were anchored above eye level to a concrete cast-in-place compression ring, 2,300 feet in circumference.
• The ring floated on bridge-type, pot bearings and were supported by concrete columns cantilevered 52 feet from the upper deck.
• Our forensics team assessed the viability of the dynamic demolition plan proposed by Pettigrew Inc. by performing detailed computer analyses of the implosion, which allowed for optimization of the explosive placement and sequencing.
• Our demolition analysis also ensured that surrounding buildings – the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium was only 83 feet away from the Georgia Dome – weren’t damaged during the demolition.