Robson Square Domes

Project Description

The Robson Square Sunken Plaza and Ice Rink Revitalization Project consisted of a new, extended ice skating rink, and two new “elliptical” stainless steel domes to replace the previous circular domes. In order to support the new domes, the existing supporting cantilevered concrete beams required substantial upgrading. Challenges were found in tightly fitting an “elliptical” dome into the existing “semi-circular” concrete supporting structure. The geometry of the dome is very intricate and required very precise detailing in order to have all the connections work. To make detailing and fabrication more efficient, the ring beam geometry was approximated by two different radii. Secondary tee ribs and tee on 6.625” diameter members were all straight and segmented. The 3-D model built using the X-Steel Program enabled precise detailing of all members for fabrication.

Each piece of the dome was preassembled in shop to ensure a good fit during installation at site. Because of the shear size and weight of each dome, it was spliced into 4 sections before being shipped to site. The total weight of stainless steel for the project was 144,000 lbs. Once at site, each dome was successfully erected with 8 hours. Final fitting, welding and polishing needed to be completed on time in order to allow for the glazier to drop the glass panels onto the stainless steel dome.