The Minnesota Vikings’ new home, US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, is recognized for its lightweight, steeply-sloped, long-span roof. To keep the roof structure as light as possible, it was decided to ensure that it would shed snow. But with a roof elevation of approximately 200 ft, the snow could not be allowed to drop onto the pavement below. A snow catchment system was conceived with concrete troughs located just below the roof's perimeter. However with the troughs at almost roof height, it was not practical to provide the concrete as cast-in-place. Geiger Engineers developed a composite tilt-up assembly for the perimeter walls of the snow catchment system. Lateral design loads were 450 psf snow and 40 psf wind. Over 200 wall panels were prefabricated off-site, shipped to the stadium, and lifted into place using the construction site's tower cranes. The complex geometry of the stadium means that no two wall panels are the same.
Client
Mortenson Construction