Projects: Nationals Park

Nationals Park

Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.

Wayne Stocks/Thornton Tomasetti

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Thornton Tomasetti provided structural design for Nationals Park, a 41,418-seat stadium, home to the Washington Nationals Major League Baseball team, with joint venture partner ReStl. The one-million-square-foot ballpark includes luxury suites and club-level seating, a 4,500-square-foot scoreboard, team offices, a conference center, a restaurant and sports bar, a picnic area and family plaza, and parking. The exterior makes innovative use of glass, structural steel and pre-cast concrete to create a façade that reflects the architectural heritage of the nation’s capital.

An ultra-fast-track schedule was achieved through design-build delivery, with a construction schedule of only 23 months. The steel design relied on a Tekla Structures 3D building information model that was transferred to the steel subcontractor. Connection detailing and design changes were made in the model and downloaded directly to the fabricator’s shop. This innovative approach significantly reduced the design and fabrication schedule for the stadium’s 7,800 tons of steel and allowed the structural design to be completed well in advance of the final ballpark design.

Nationals Park has achieved LEED Silver status, the first professional sports stadium in the United States to gain this certification. Green features include a 6,300-square-foot green roof above the concession stands beyond left field, regionally produced building materials, and recycled building materials.

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