Kinetic Design
Kinetic structural and architectural elements are increasingly important in modern-day multipurpose facilities.
Lead Contacts
Successful integration of kinetic features into a facility requires structural and mechanization systems that complement each other. We work with owners, architects and facility managers to clearly articulate functional requirements and their effects on aesthetic goals. We combine our expertise in structural, façade and construction engineering and sustainability consulting to develop an approach that balances aesthetics, efficiency, sustainability, constructability, maintainability and cost. We also provide assessment and investigation, repair, renovation, expansion and deconstruction services for kinetic features.
Ajay Suresh/Flickr
In addition to structural design, daylighting, façade engineering and construction engineering, we performed full-service kinetic engineering for The Shed, an eight-million-pound structure that glides up to 120 feet on 16 wheels, each six feet in diameter. Not only does the entire building move, but each glass-clad exterior wall can be raised to create a venue that is open to the environment.
Thornton Tomasetti
In addition to being a go-to resource for rapid response assessments, we perform continuing inspections of kinetic structures and movable components, such as the roof system at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
©2015 Travis Schoening
TILT at 360 Chicago pivots outward from the John Hancock Tower at the 94th floor to give visitors a panoramic view of Lake Michigan and four Midwestern states from 1,000 feet above the city. We engineered the operable steel-and-glass structure and its hydraulic kinetic system.
© Macbeth Studio
Collaborating with Santiago Calatrava and Alfonso Architects, we provided structural design services for the 160,000-square-foot Innovation, Science and Technology Building on the new 170-acre campus of Florida Polytechnic University. The building houses interdisciplinary classrooms, laboratories, offices, meeting rooms and a large amphitheater.
Our Team
Related Projects
Featured Project
The Shed How do we make an avant-garde arts center so flexible, it’s future-proof? Make it move, of course!
Featured Project
U.S. Bank Stadium How do you make one stadium perfect for summer and winter without breaking the bank? Explore all ideas and open new doors with kinetic design.
Featured Project
Wimbledon No. 1 Court How do you minimize delays on rainy tournament days? With a retractable roof that opens and closes in 10 minutes.