NRG Park Mixed-Use Development

[SpaceCity]

http://en.wikipedia.org/upload/0/04/Reliant_Park.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/upload/d/df/PictureofReliantStadium.JPG

Above & Beyond

Roof covers new ground by bringing unique elements into play

By DAVID BARRON

Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

As you drive at night along the South Loop and gaze at newly built Reliant Stadium, you may think that you see one building that, in the words of its designer, twinkles like a giant jewel box amid Houston's skyline.

What you really see, in the orderly, mathematical world of David Manica and his colleagues at HOK Sports, is two projects -- the stadium, which is impressive in its own right, and the roof, which is unlike anything in the history of American sporting palaces.

Roofed stadiums are, of course, almost old hat in Houston. Reliant Stadium, after all, towers over the building that broke -- and redefined -- the mold, the Reliant Astrodome. From the upper regions of Reliant Stadium's north side, it is possible to see downtown Houston and the baseball complex now known as Minute Maid Park.

Reliant's roof, however, is unique in the small circle of retractable-roof stadiums.

It has two retractable panels, as opposed to three at SkyDome in Toronto and six at Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix. The panels retract in opposite directions, similar to the BOB's roof but unlike the two moving panels at Minute Maid and Safeco Field in Seattle, which travel in the same direction. Miller Park in Milwaukee also has two moving panels, but they retract in a fan-shaped pattern.

Manica's first challenge in designing what would become Reliant Stadium actually came back in the days when the NFL's return to Houston was little more than a pipe dream.

In 1997, the stadium-to-be was a decidedly different project. For one thing, the roof was fixed, not retractable.

"That was the initial design," he said. "But the tenant requirements between the football team and the rodeo were such that the rodeo would require the roof to be closed. They were not interested in being a part of an open-air facility. INS &

"Houston was competing with Los Angeles at the time to get the team, and there is no doubt that the NFL prefers an open-air stadium with natural grass. So the best way to solve that problem was to design the new building here with an operable roof."

Manica's first drawings of a roof that would open and close began in the summer in 1997 and proceeded in fits and starts for the next two years as Texans owner-to-be Bob McNair wooed and eventually won the rights to the NFL's 32nd franchise.

HOK's original plan for the roof called for an "accordion-style" roof -- one that, in visual terms, would simply "fold up and go away" when opened. That plan, Manica explained, would prevent the roof from "overpowering" the stadium by setting too heavily, in a design sense, over the rest of the building.

"But that started to present some interesting engineering complications and cost and maintenance worries," he said. "And so we moved away from the accordion to the simple roof panel."

To be exact, two roof panels -- each 240 feet long and 385 feet wide. From midfield, one panel slides to the north and one to the south along a set of tracks placed along the 967-foot long "super trusses" that frame the roof structure.

When the roof is fully retracted, the open space above the playing field is 350 feet wide by 500 feet long -- 175,000 square feet. Unlike Texas Stadium, which has trusses that span the open portion of its roof, the Reliant Stadium roof is completely open to the elements when the two panels are retracted.

And, unlike the roof at Minute Maid Park, which whether open or closed is easily the defining element of that stadium, the Reliant roof is just that -- a top that doesn't overwhelm everything beneath.

Smiley N. Pool / Chronicle

Reliant Stadium is completely open when two of the roof panels are retracted, a process that takes only seven minutes.

"We keep the visual weight of the roof down by not stacking panels, like they do with the roof at Minute Maid Park," Manica said.

The second unique element -- at least as it applies to retractable-roof stadiums in the United States -- is that the roof material is made of fabric. Specifically, a Teflon-coated, fiberglass fabric manufactured by Birdair Inc. of Amherst, N.Y.

"We wanted to have the feel of an open-air stadium, even with the roof closed," Manica said. "When you walk around the Astrodome, you walk through circular, dark concourses. We wanted to have more light with the comforts of climate control, and the fabric was an important part of that design."

Birdair fabrics were used in the United States for the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, the Metrodome in Minneapolis, the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis and Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. Elsewhere, the company installed fabric roofs on the Millennium Dome in London, Olympic Stadium in Rome, Hiroshima Stadium in Japan and Shanghai Stadium in China.

"We used a high-translucency version of the fabric, which requires a lot of special care to install as opposed to the standard fabric," said Clark Martens, project manager for Birdair. "It allows 24 percent to 25 percent of the outside light to get through. The Georgia Dome roof, by comparison, allows maybe 10 percent."

As with all projects, there are tradeoffs in using fabric, Manica said.

"Fabric is more expensive than using a hard roof surface of decking and membrane," he said. "However, we found that not needing the additional amount of structural steel to hold up the weight of the roof would offset the cost of the fabric. So we came up with the most cost-effective roof that could be designed for this building."

This particular element of architectural haute couture cost about $10 million. However, Martens said, it is engineered to carry full hurricane loads, including winds of more than 100 mph. Try that with your garden-variety Armani frock.

The fabric also creates a vaulted frame over the roof frame to help shed water and to "give a sense of space for those inside inside the seating bowl," Manica said. A series of 10 steel cables, each two inches in diameter and capable of exerting 200,000 pounds of pressure, secure the fabric to the roof structure and create the series of peaks and valleys.

"This is relatively new for the United States, but if you go to Europe, fabric roofs are much more of the norm," Martens said. "The next domed stadium that will be built in this country will be the football stadium in Phoenix, and that also will be fabric. We think it is a cost-competitive system, and it gives you a lot of nice attributes, such as that feel of natural daylight."

The job of making the roof panels and their giant fabric swatches move to and fro fell to Cyril Silberman, president of Uni-Systems Inc. of Minneapolis, who also designed the transport system at Minute Maid Park.

This system, however, is as different from Minute Maid's as football differs from baseball, Silberman said.

For one thing, the Reliant Stadium roof is lighter -- 3,000 tons, as opposed to 9,000 tons at Minute Maid, including the sliding glass wall that runs along Crawford Street. That difference made for some, as Silberman gingerly described it, challenging design problems.

"The Reliant roof could depart the stadium under a number of different circumstances if we didn't do something special with it," he said. "In winds of 50 mph from the right direction, in theory it could sail away if you didn't have a retention system. And you have 50 mph winds at least 10 times a year during thunderstorms.

"Consequently, this roof has a very complex electrical and mechanical system that measures the wind and keeps the roof gripped firmly on its rails and moves it with timers and sensors that make it absolutely impossible for the roof ever to get away."

Another challenge in designing the transport system, Silberman said, is that buildings are subject to lateral defractions.

In other words, they wiggle.

"To build the trusses strong enough so that they wouldn't have had any movement would have required 400 to 600 extra tons of steel and concrete," Silberman said. "But, by allowing this to be a semi-flexible structure, they saved a lot of money and complexities and erecting hazards."

The roof is designed to allow 21 inches of lateral wiggle room as the building expands and contracts. To cope with those changes, Uni-Systems installed what it calls a four-bar linkage system on the north roof panel that keeps the roof on track as the building breathes. The south edge of the roof is on a rigid series of transports engaged to a rail that does not allow movement.

"We only needed (the release mechanism) on one side," Silberman said. "The other side has to be rigid. Otherwise, the building could fall over sideways."

The roof track also has a series of what Silberman describes as hurricane hold-down clamps that are not present on any other transportable roof in the United States.

"It's like a series of giant scissors with teeth under the railroad track (on which the roof moves)," Silberman said. "There's enough clearance for the roof to move, but not enough for it to leave the track. When the roof comes to a stop, they clamp on tightly."

If you're concerned about leaks, don't be. When the roof panels come together, it activates a system of inflatable seals, powered by a system of six to eight 15-horsepower air blowers, to keep fans protected from the elements.

Silberman's transport system can close the roof in seven minutes, as opposed to 12 minutes for the one-way system at Minute Maid Park. He estimates the total cost of the roof, including the transport system, the fabric and the structural steel, at about $48 million.

http://images.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/02/reliant/img/opensky.jpg

Reliant Stadium is completely open when two of the roof panels are retracted, a process that takes only seven minutes.

http://images.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/02/reliant/img/rooftop.jpg

Even at night, it's clear that the Reliant's fiberglass roof shaped up to look very different from the fixed-glass one that covers the Reliant Astrodome.

http://images.chron.com/content/chronicle/special/02/reliant/img/roofrail.jpg

The retractable roof rides this rail when it is set in motion.

[Montrose1100]

Those pics are awesome!

[CincoRanch-HoustonResident]

Reliant Stadium is a nice place.

[Subdude]

From today's Chronicle:

Recycle, fill in Astrodome

The Astrodome, like a lot of great monuments from the past, has served its purpose and should make way for progress.

The Dome is an eyesore. It is often hidden from public view by the selective use of camera angles.

The steel in the Dome could be recycled to build bridges or offshore platforms.

An auction could be held to recycle many of its components and to turn them into usable objects.

The big hole left after tearing it down could be filled in. It would provide some much-needed additional parking spaces.

DALE L. WOOD

Houston

Link

[ricco67]

This person simply does has no appreciatation for a body of work when it comes to construction. if you're going to use that logic, then by all means, disassemble that tower in Paris that was supposed to only last for the duration of the world's fair!

Ricco

[westguy]

That attitude is what's making Houston an architecturally backward city.

[YakuzaIce]

The big hole left after tearing it down could be filled in. It would provide some much-needed additional parking spaces.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ahh yes, an even larger relatively treeless parking lot, muuuch less of an eyesore.

[westguy]

So are the offshore platforms.

[Rehan]

Ahh yes, an even larger relatively treeless parking lot, muuuch less of an eyesore.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not that I am for tearing down the dome, but if it were torn down that would add a huge amount of space. The entire parking lot could then be redone with landscaped islands throughout. It wouldn't happen, but oh well...

[dbigtex56]

The Astrodome is a real pain in the neck.

It's no longer suitable for its intended purpose, and no one has come up with a convincing better use. And stadia are like roads or bridges or anything else people build; they require maintenance. Our tax dollars cover (at least I hope they do) the dreary need to fix leaks, retard corrosion and generally protect our investment. Eventually, we need to ask "is this in our best interest?".

I'd hate to see the Astrodome destroyed. I think of it as being like Paxton's Crystal Palace, a significant milestone in architecture. The 'dome helped put Houston on the map. It's audacious and beautiful and influential. When I was a kid, there were three structures being built that really captured my imagination; the St. Louis Arch, the World Trade Towers, and the Astrodome. I've been to two of the three (I've still never been to the Astrodome). People were awestruck; "An indoor, air-conditioned baseball stadium?" The future seemed possible.

Until...unless...someone comes up with a great proposal, and has the $$$ to back it up, the 'dome will remain a pain in the neck.

[H-Town Man]

Parking Spaces! Parking Islands! I never thought about that!

Houston can always replace its most defining piece of architecture. What it really needs, though, are parking spaces and parking islands.

Tear 'er down!

[UrbanLandscape]

The Astrodome, like a lot of great monuments from the past, has served its purpose and should make way for progress.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, like that awful Empire State Building, or how about all of Washington, D.C! It's so very outdated! At the very least, tear down the Capitol Building. That could be a parking lot!

[Montrose1100]

Yeah, like that awful Empire State Building, or how about all of Washington, D.C!  It's so very outdated!  At the very least, tear down the Capitol Building.  That could be a parking lot!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Those landmarks are (well not nyc) hundreds of years old... and serve a major purpose...

Why pay for such a huge structure that isn't being used, and throwing money out the window? If the Empire State building's leases ever got emptied (back then) I'm sure it would have been empolded... or if the Capitol moved from DC, what purpose would they serve? nothing... but they did, and thats why there still here today.

[midtown_resident]

Comparing the dome to the Capitol bldg is ridiculous. Let's put some things in perspective here...

[Montrose1100]

Comparing the dome to the Capitol bldg is ridiculous. Let's put some things in perspective here...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thank you...

[Duce]

Just a note, high school football is still played in the Dome. And Friday Night Lights was filmed there. However, I think it should be a parking garage.

[Lowbrow]

Maybe Lakewood will buy it

[h-townrep]

I think it should go back to it's past glory and be a fighting Arena. I'm sure they could get George Foreman to back the idea, since he use to puch for events there. Still can promote college and highschool games as well as circus and fairs and bullfighting and non-rodeo riding events. Get a minor league baseball team in there. So much can be done with it. Can still host concerts.

[ricco67]

I still think that the rodeo can hold additional events there, different acts or whatever. It just needs a bit of renovation on the inside. hell, if The Garden in Boston has endured all these years, surely the Dome can still be used for a few more years.

Ricco

[Heights2Bastrop]

Anybody ever see the Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo?

Well, I have. We drove out of our way just to go by and see it. It is ugly. It is gaudy. But it was there, and I had never seen it, so I drove over just to see it because it was famous.

[dbigtex56]

Anybody ever see the Cadillac Ranch outside Amarillo?

Well, I have. We drove out of our way just to go by and see it. It is ugly. It is gaudy. But it was there, and I had never seen it, so I drove over just to see it because it was famous.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

While this is an interesting topic, please remember this thread is about the Dome.

[Houston19514]

I still think that the rodeo can hold additional events there, different acts or whatever.  It just needs a bit of renovation on the inside.  hell, if The Garden in Boston has endured all these years, surely the Dome can still be used for a few more years.

Ricco

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Do you mean the Boston Garden that was demolished in 1997... is that the Boston Garden you are referring to? ;-)

[ricco67]

LOL.

I was refering to Madison Square Garden. I was a little drowsy when I wrote that.

I am still very partial to their holding multiple events there during the Rodeo or maybe during some "Mega" events where they can counter program eachother. If you're not interested in what's going on in the stadium, just waltz over to the Dome.

Ricco

[Heights2Bastrop]

dbig, you missed the point. Visitors want to see the Dome, not because it is beautiful, but because it is The Astrodome. Most first-time visitors I have known said the two things they really wanted to see was NASA and The Astrodome.

[dbigtex56]

H2B, I see your point now.

I agree, the Astrodome is probably still more of a tourist attraction than Reliant Center will ever be. It's iconic.

Stanley Marsh 3's Cadillac Ranch is about 10 years younger than the Dome, and (from what pictures I've seen) is showing the ravages of time. This is perhaps acceptable for this particular work of art, but a decaying Dome cannot be a good thing. In Neil Young's words, "Rust Never Sleeps". According the the County, to maintain the Dome is very expensive, whether it's in use or not. I'd be perfectly happy if it were to remain purely for its visual presence; but even doing nothing with it is terribly expensive.

[HOUCAJUN]

how about tearing it downand turning that space into a park like the one planned for downtown near the GRB? just a thought.

[houstonsemipro]

Houston a finalist to host another Super Bowl

By The Associated Press

(12/09/04 - HOUSTON)

[ricco67]

Well, Atlanta doesn't have a chance. After all the problems during the olympics and their traffic snarls (worse than Houston's as I've been told by Atlantians) I don't think they'll get it. I doubt Miami will get it "back-to-back" (I know, I know - there's a 2 year gap - you know what I mean..).

So that just leaves us & Tampa, which in my opinion is a tough one.. I can't seem to find a list of past superbowl hosts. Has Tampa hosted before? I could see the committee having a pity party for Tampa if they've never hosted. Although, in the past, they've selected New Orleans 9 times & Miami 8...So maybe Houston's a repeat - I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Glen

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Here is the information you looked for: Superbowl History

Ricco

[Talbot]

How come all but 2 have been held in the sunbelt region?

[713 To 214]

I think that Houston's a lock for 2009. The city received too much good publicity after this year's Superbowl.

[h-townrep]

How come all but 2 have been held in the sunbelt region?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Because of weather. Since when is San Diego in the Sunbelt region.

[Talbot]

Well I was just using califonia in general for sunbelt, but you're right, its not all sunbelt.

[Lowbrow]

Sun Belt =

southern tier of the United States, focused on Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, and extending as far north as Virginia. The term gained wide use in the 1970s, when the economic and political impact of the nation's overall shift in population to the south and west became conspicuous. Areas near the Mexican border have received millions of immigrants since the 1960s. Economic growth in many Sun Belt cities since World War II has stimulated interregional migration from the NE United States and the Rust Belt ; by 1990, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio were among the ten largest cities in the United States. During the 1990s the fastest growing cities in the United States were in the Sun Belt. The warm climate has attracted large retirement communities, especially in Florida and Arizona. In addition, the birth rate in the Sun Belt is about 10% greater than that in the rest of the country. Attracted by the relative lack of labor unions and the prospect of cheaper labor than was generally available in the north, manufacturers began to locate in the Southeast in significant numbers after World War II; aerospace firms and defense contractors were drawn to the vicinity of military bases in S California and throughout the Southwest. Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma benefited from the oil booms of the 1970s. In addition, the enormous tourist industries of the Sun Belt (especially Florida and S California) have brought the region considerable wealth. Although overall the expansion of the Sun Belt's economy in recent decades has been dramatic, the distribution of the region's prosperity has been uneven; of the 25 metropolitan areas with the lowest per capita income in 1990, 23 were in the Sun Belt. The rapid fall of oil prices in the 1980s hurt the economies of the energy-producing areas of the Sun Belt; Houston was especially hard hit. By the 1980s, the Los Angeles area, beset by problems ranging from air pollution to a growing population of unskilled immigrants, came increasingly to resemble some of the troubled metropolitan areas of the North. Politically, the rise of the Sun Belt has generally been viewed as advantageous to the Republican party, especially in presidential elections. Since 1970, the Sun Belt has gained more than 25 electoral votes, mostly at the expense of the Northeast and Midwest.

[tamtagon]

I think that Houston's a lock for 2009.

[ricco67]

I think one of the main reasons that they want to hold the SB's in warmer climes is because they can turn it into a high profile event where people can go to venue to venue without having to worry about the weather TOO much.

It's easier to go around in rain in about 40-50F as opposed to Snow @ 10-20F!

I think one of us discussed this fact in another thread in old HAIF and whoever said it had a very good point. (God, I hope it wasn't HJ!)

Ricco

[Talbot]

That's true.

[houstonsemipro]

I think Houston has the edge too, but Atlanta is a pretty strong contender and the NFL folks will be courted by Atlanta organizers wanting to showcase their city with as much vigor as those wanting the game in Houston.  The downtown Atlanta area near the Georgia Dome and Centinneal Olympic Park has received a constant stream of some pretty serious development since the Superbowl XXXIV was hosted by the city in 2000.  By 2009, this part of Atlanta will house at least two new tourist attractions: a gigantic Aquarium, and a new Coca Cola Museum.  Just like Houston and Dallas, Atlanta is receiving a new coat of mid & high rise residential buildings, many of which are being built in that part of town.  Atlanta also has the benefit of train service from the airport to the downtown(s) with major hotels, as well as train service to the Georgia Dome.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Don't forget about the new $30 million Museum Asia House by Yoshio Taniguchi will breakground in 2006 in downtown houston, and be well ready for the 2009 superbowl for the tourrist.

Plans for the Houston project call for a 28,000- to 30,000-square-foot museum with two galleries

[CincoRanch-HoustonResident]

Houston will host it in 2009, no doubt.

[The Great Hizzy!]

The fact that it is a finalist is a good thing, regardless. Say that Tampa or Atlanta were to be chosen, that would give Houston a stronger stake in the 2010 or 2011 game.

However, 2009 has been stated as a likely date for the game to return to Houston. The Chronicle's John McClain (the Chron's lead NFL journalist) has stated this repeatedly since the SB ended earlier this year.

[111486]

All cities are great choices, but I say Atlanta is out of the question. They have the most populated downtown out of all cities listed, but it is still dead. I think it will go to Houston, just because of the venue and we offer just as much as the other cities. It would have helped if Reliant was built in downtown though.

[tamtagon]

Another thing favoring Atlanta is that the owner of the Falcons made possible the new Aquarium by a $250 million donation. [Atlanta's High Museum of Art, also nearby, is currently undergoing a larger expansion than Museum Asia House adds in Houston (however the High Museum pales in comparison); and a state of the art "world class" symphony Hall is under progress too.

Probably in any blow by blow comparison of civic improvements between Atlanta and Houston would find the cities relatively "equal", but the Falcons owner may have a stronger hand within the league - I dont know.... I just hope Houston hosts superbowls enough to pay back the public investment.

[Subdude]

It would be difficult to have a park sitting in the middle of a fenced-in parking lot that you have to pay to enter.

[HOUCAJUN]

It would be difficult to have a park sitting in the middle of a fenced-in parking lot that you have to pay to enter.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

an extra patch of greenery for tailgators, rodeo ,and festival goers wouldn't hurt.what is your suggestion ,sunshine? there are other events that go on at reliant park than football you know. isn't that what you favor? more greenery?less concrete?make up your mind.

[Guest danax]

The Dome is probably the number 1 piece of architecture that people around the world associate with Houston. We need to keep maintaining it until some private party can do something with it. Its at that dangerous age for buildings, 40-50, where they are not quite old enough to be appreciated as historic but old enough to need lots of work. The area surrounding it is currently kind of a dead-zone but that seems to be changing for the better.

I think generations of future Houstonians will be cursing (crusing?) us if we bring it down.

[HOUCAJUN]

yeah, you're right. my bad.

[DaTrain]

The Dome is probably the number 1 piece of architecture that people around the world associate with Houston. We need to keep maintaining it until some private party can do something with it. Its at that dangerous age for buildings, 40-50, where they are not quite old enough to be appreciated as historic but old enough to need lots of work. The area surrounding it is currently kind of a dead-zone but that seems to be changing for the better.

I think generations of future Houstonians will be cursing (crusing?) us if we bring it down.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is pretty nasty for taxes to be high for maintaining the Astrodome years after falling into disuse. IMO the Astrodome should not be torn down, but it is time the Dome goes back into use as something else other than just being fenced off, being owned by Reliant Energy [Park] and just being a tourist attraction. What would Houston be without it? It would be nothing; the Dome should at least become a historic landmark for these reasons: (1) It is the very first air-conditioned sports stadium; (2) Eighth wonder of the world. All the other domed stadiums after it got torn down, like the Kingdome for example; the Dome should not meet the same fate as all the other torn down stadiums of the past. You can say it's just a stadium, but this Dome is deserves special treatment.

[houstonsemipro]

Wow. Alot of people really posting about the Dome, and there's no news about this famous architecture. I'll wait until some news about the Dome get's out first, then I post.

[jmancuso]

Those landmarks are (well not nyc) hundreds of years old... and serve a major purpose...

Why pay for such a huge structure that isn't being used, and throwing money out the window? If the Empire State building's leases ever got emptied (back then) I'm sure it would have been empolded... or if the Capitol moved from DC, what purpose would they serve? nothing... but they did, and thats why there still here today.

he's talking figuratively of course and i agree with him. the dome represents houston

[CincoRanch-HoustonResident]

Just a thought, maybe a museum could be made in the Dome. I don't know how they could do it, but like from its beginning, to the end of its life.

[tw2ntyse7en]

...