Great American Tower Tiara
Cincinnati, Ohio

The Great American Tower at Queen City Square became Cincinnati’s tallest building July 13, with the topping out of the 13-story tiara atop the 41-story tower. The tiara structure comprises 15 steel tube arches spanning approximately 158 feet horizontally and 130 feet vertically from the top of the main building roof. Thornton Tomasetti provided structural design services through construction administration to architect HOK for the 1.6-million-sf tower and tiara structure. Additionally, we provided geometric evaluation, final structural analysis with value engineering, connection design and a 3-D Tekla model and steel shop drawings to Owen Steel Company. The design went through many iterations and steel configurations, with the goal of finding the proper balance between aesthetic and financial requirements. After the final scheme was selected, the structural design was completed using 3-D analysis. Results were coordinated with the architect to determine member sizes based on strength and aesthetic requirements. The tower is scheduled to open January, 2011.