Leadership in Engineering
Moving Structures
To create a vibrant, urban, open-air, park-like setting at City Creek Center, yet protect the retail portion during inclement weather, MKA suggested and developed a first-of-its-kind solution that meets both needs in the form of the “world’s most intricate” retractable roof. The 136-m- (446-ft-) long roof is configured in two sections consisting of three sets of glass-covered arching panels that cantilever 10 m (33 ft) from the roofs of two-story townhouses across a 17-m (56-ft) retail concourse. To open, the panels part in the middle and retract, then bow down out of sight from below (video here). Key to success was MKA’s development of moving “whalebone”-shaped ribs that support the traveling glass roof.
The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in Dallas is a miracle of moving parts, driven by engineering innovation. This “building machine” offers complete reconfigurability and true performance freedom. No other venue in the world can host an open-to-the-outdoors, flat-floor event in the afternoon and an intimate stage performance only hours later.
The retractable roof of Seattle’s Safeco Field features a first-ever combination of linear tracking, independent stacking panels and moving “walls,” offering new design options for facilities with indoor/outdoor requirements.
Pedro de Movellan’s kinetic sculpture in Cleveland, Ohio, is fully articulated in three directions and features incredibly tight tolerances. MKA collaborated with the artist to analyze and model the complex geometries and define material properties that could fulfill his artistic vision. To see a model of the sculpture in action, click on the image to the right to launch a video of the sculpture in motion.
For the Minneapolis Convention Center Expansion project, MKA suggested and designed three rotating turntable elements to maximize the flexibility of two back-to-back meeting rooms. The turntables simply swivel 180 degrees to redirect seating capacity from one room to the other.
