The glass facade and the glass skylight are supported entirely by the cable structure. This design was conceived as being like a cello's strings fanning over a bridge and fretboard.
The structural analysis of the atrium's steel‑glass structure was performed using RSTAB by Dlubal customer Novum Structures. In addition, Novum was responsible for engineering, fabricating, and constructing the project.
Structure
The two massive steel constructions that house the theaters (Muriel Kauffman Theatre and Helzberg Hall) hold the upper end of a series of parallel cable trusses. The low ends of the cables are anchored externally in the second floor slab after crossing pipe columns that define the line of the glazed walls and act as cable stays. In addition, they form the primary roof and perimeter frame structure. Lightweight steel purlins, spanning between adjacent roof cable trusses, support the skylight glass units, which are secured with Novum’s Edge Clamp Glass System. A secondary cable system of vertical and inclined cables supports the glass wall units and is secured with Novum's Corner Clamped Glass System.
The atrium contains 48,300 ft² of insulating laminated glass that is comprised of 1,147 irregularly shaped segments, each weighing 600 to 800 lbs. The primary rectangular glass panels on the roof are 2 1/16 inches thick. The wall panels are 1 3/4 inches thick.
| Architect | Safdie Architects, USA www.safdiearchitects.com |
| General Contractor | JE Dunn Construction Co., USA |
| Plant Engineering | Novum Structures LLC, USA www.novumstructures.com |
