Sep 11, 2018 _ insights

What Goes Up, Must Come Down

Keeping Cincinnati Union Terminal open to the public during two years of active construction was a key project goal. Achieving that presented a three-fold challenge. The temporary entrance had to:

1. Allow visitors to continue using the main rotunda entrance
2. Isolate and protect them from messy, dirty, often hazardous, work
3. Be structurally sound without anchoring into the historic building’s walls or floors

“We found a creative solution in a conventional material,” says Chris Magee, part of GBBN’s design team working on the project. “Scaffolding.” Using a combination of perimeter scaffolding and steel beams, we created a structure that could “float” inside the historic rotunda and support the temporary entrance. For stability, two, 2,500 lb. hanging weights were placed at each side of the structure. We incorporated a window, so patrons always had a sneak peek behind the scenes and could stay engaged with construction progress. Designed to be easily erected and removed, this entire “project within a project” went up in just two weeks (and came down) in a few days.