Mercedes-Benz Stadium Erection Engineering
Creative efficiency in engineering
Project Facts
| Location | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Owner | Atlanta Falcons |
| Cost | $1.4 billion |
| Status | Completed 2017 |
| Capacity | 75,000 seats |
| Certifications | LEED Platinum |
Overview
When the Atlanta Falcons sought to replace the aging Georgia Dome with a cutting-edge stadium capable of hosting a variety of major events, including MLS matches and the NCAA Final Four, our team delivered innovative solutions in record time. With a design inspired by Rome’s Pantheon, our creative engineering approach enabled us to compress the originally slated 18-month erection process into just 11 months, delivering a beautiful and sustainable stadium. Notably, this project achieved LEED Platinum certification, underscoring our commitment to environmental excellence.
Services
About the Project
The architect drew inspiration for their unique design from Rome’s Pantheon. Their solution is a massive, articulated fixed roof structure with an oval opening. The oval is enclosed by retractable “petals” that seemingly open and close like the iris of a camera.
Our analysis of the actual roof structure revealed that the four primary erection towers had to support three to four times the capacity of traditional towers. The solution was to develop a “mega shore” with adequate capacity by creating a double-wide tower constructed from custom, heavy-duty tower crane sections. To increase the jacking flexibility of the tower, we developed a high-capacity hinged jacking system that capped the top of the four “mega shores.” The balance of the roof structure was shored with conventional shore towers.
Our team developed custom digital workflow models to analyze multiple erection sequence scenarios. Each scenario evaluated shoring loads and resulting truss stresses during each of dozens of distinct erection stages. To accelerate this process, we developed several tools to automate the analysis. These tools paid off as we supported the erector in the midst of constantly-changing steel delivery schedules. This allowed us to evaluate and recommend alternate erection scenarios in real time to maintain the aggressive schedule.
