The Triple-A Gwinnett Braves baseball team, the farm team to Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves, was scheduled to move from Richmond, Virginia to Gwinnett County, Georgia between the 2009 and 2010 baseball seasons.
It was a strategic move to bring the team closer to the fans and the franchise. But, first they needed a place to play. In preparation for the move, Gwinnett County and the Atlanta Braves organization set out to build the first minor league stadium in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
The owners wanted a stadium able to seat about 10,427 that included 22 luxury suites, a super suite, two party decks and lawn seating for 2,500 behind the left-center and right-center field walls, in addition to 7,777 fixed seats. This 12-acre Gwinnett Stadium development would be the centerpiece of a 44-acre future mixed-use entertainment district in Lawrenceville. And they wanted a game-ready stadium in just 10 months.
Setting the Roster
Constructing a modern minor league baseball stadium of the size and scope desired in less than a year requires many of the same elements that make a winning baseball team, namely planning, coordination and constant communication.
As well, special measures were taken by all parties to move the process along using design/build procurement methods and the latest in collaborative technologies. From the early days, the design/build team of Barton Malow Company, HKS Architects, and Bliss & Nyitray structural engineers as well as the primary stakeholders that included Gwinnett County, Brand Properties, Gwinnett County’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Atlanta Braves, worked closely to move the project forward as efficiently as possible.
Batter Up!
SteelFab opted to model and detail the stadium’s proposed steel connections within Tekla Structures Steel Detailing BIM software. Zanow says, “We’d been using Tekla for five years in our Atlanta office. Internally, this software now drives our entire process from steel detailing through fabrication with incredible value.” With the 3D model, SteelFab has found that detailing is faster especially on complex structures. The availability of the model has helped open communication lines between detailing staff and the client. Production schedules are better planned.
The Gwinnett Stadium design included a cast-in-place concrete structure with a steeltruss roof system and canopies. The project was designed and produced using Building Information Modeling (BIM) software to facilitate construction coordination with the various trades. To avoid potential delays in steel lead times, Barton Malow and HKS brought in SteelFab, the steel fabricator, during the design phase with the goal of discussing necessary steel quantities, fabrication and erection plans.
“The entire process from detailing through erection is much more efficient, which allows us to do more work. We’re able to deliver in the same amount of time we did 10 years ago with heavier and more complex project and, most importantly, meet owner expectations,” he adds.
A Bases Loaded Jam
A unique part of the Gwinnett Stadium design was the stadium’s two winged canopies that come together at the main entrance of the stadium. Barton Malow’s general superintendent, Forrest Brewer recalls, “It was by far the most difficult area to understand on the drawings and then determine how to coordinate in the field.” At one point, one canopy is designed to intersect with another winged canopy, which is sloping in the opposite direction. These two structural segments come together with about a four foot difference in elevation.
“The structural steel connections for the two wings needed to overlap correctly – and weneeded to understand this point of connection very clearly before we went to fabrication,” says SteelFab’s Zanow. Zanow further explained that it was difficult for the construction team to visualize the required lapping of the roofs which, according to the 2D plans, also contained complex gutter systems for rain runoff.
The Gwinnett Stadium design/build team and stakeholders realized these benefits and more by using the 3D model to connect design concepts with the physical construction process, keeping a fast-track project moving forward as needed. When questions arose by the superintendents in the field, the 3D model moved front and center.
“The model became more than a fabrication tool – it became integral to the construction process,” explains Zanow. “We combined our model with the other disciplines’ models. As questions arose, the design team was able to project the combined model on a screen in the jobsite trailer, where everyone could visually explain the problem and develop a viable solution. This was particularly valuable in the more complex design parts of the stadium.”
“Once the basic information was input into our 3D Tekla model, we were able to detail the steel trusswork geometry and then confirm with the architect that this agreed with the design intent. Without a 3D model, we couldn’t have fit these elements of the design together,” says Zanow. Brewer believes that SteelFab’s detailing effort using Tekla Structures “allowed the design and construction team to better understand the design and how to build the area, which further helped streamline the installation of non-steel related trades in this area.”
Strength Through the Stretch
For SteelFab and the rest of the Gwinnett Stadium design/build team, this project provided
a unique opportunity to push a BIM model beyond throughout the construction process. “From a project manager’s standpoint, the Tekla model is invaluable particularly on a complex design project such as the Gwinnett Stadium. It’s a lot easier for me to explain to the erector in the field what is going using a highly visual, very realistic model as compared to a 2D drawing. Also, if there are questions for the design team, it’s nice to take a picture of the model and send it with the RFI,” says Zanow.
Brewer agreed, concluding, “The availability of the 3D model allowed the entire team to better understand the end result and visually coordinate all the trades. Thanks to the SteelFab 3D modeling during fabrication and subsequent coordination, there were zero field modifications, which greatly helped ensure our aggressive completion date only 10 months after ground breaking.”
The Gwinnett Stadium project broke ground in June 2008 and opened April 17, 2009 just in
time for the 2009 baseball season of the Triple A
The Gwinnett Braves Baseball Stadium received several awards including:
- National DBIA Award of Excellence
- 1st Place Public Sector Project over $15M in the SE (DBIA SE)
- Best Overall Project by DBIA Southeast