Insights
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:
- Allow visitors to continue using the main rotunda entrance
- Isolate and protect them from messy, dirty, often hazardous, work
- 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.