In a sign of the project’s progress, construction is underway on the state-of-the-art retractable roof at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The future home of the Atlanta Falcons will feature a roof design that is very unique among stadiums. The roof will consist of eight panels and open in a fashion that resembles camera lenses. As noted in a Mercedes-Benz Stadium preview from last year, the structure is estimated to open or close in about eight minutes, and the roof materials will consist of EFTE fabric, allowing for translucent light to reach the stadium when the roof is closed.
Construction at Mercedes-Benz Stadium has recently included more work on the roof. The final major steel tress for the fixed section was installed in October, and retractable sections of the roof are expected to start being added in early 2017. Erleen Hatfield, a partner in BuroHappold Engineering, is confident that the roof will completely work perfectly when Mercedes-Benz Stadium opens. More from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
“It certainly is a one-of-its-kind in the way the roof works,” Hatfield said. “However, the bogies (which will move the retractable panels) are on a flat surface, they don’t go uphill or downhill, and we understand how the mechanization pieces all work. So I’m very confident everything will be fine and work as intended when they push the button.”
That would be the button to open and close the roof on the $1.5 billion building.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is expected to be completed in June 2017.