Epic, Deep Space Auditorium
Verona, Wis.

Steel erection started this month for the 600,000-sf auditorium on the 811-acre campus of medical records management company Epic. Thornton Tomasetti is providing structural design and building skin services to Cuningham Group Architecture and construction support services, including a Tekla model and erection engineering, to contractor J.P. Cullen & Sons, Inc. Designed to have minimal impact on the farmstead site, the auditorium will extend 74 feet underground and will be covered by a six-acre green roof with up to 16 inches of soil and gravel as well as vertical glazing for daylight. The 275-ft, radial, column-free roof structure will be supported by 25-ft deep trusses specially designed for the entire system to be built on the ground and lifted into final position by strand jack. The foundation systems include an 80-ft tall earth retention system composed of a combination of soil nail, counterfort and cantilevered retaining walls helping to bury the auditorium so it is not seen from the existing campus. The soil retaining system also resists unbalanced earth pressures created by the hillside location. Sustainability features include storm water filtration, natural day-lighting, photo-voltaic solar power and geothermal heat pumps. The building is being designed and built with a strict 25-month schedule, with completion scheduled for fall 2013.