(continued)

The structural system for the concrete building, designed by KPFF of Seattle, includes 10 radial trusses, each up to 287 feet (86 meters) in length and weighing up to 550 tons (500,000 kilograms). The king truss alone weighs 621 tons (560,000 kilograms).

There are a total of 116,000 cubic yards (88,700 cubic meters) of reinforced concrete in the conference center and 27,000 tons (24,300,000 kilograms) of steel, including reinforcing bar, structural steel, and miscellaneous pieces. The perimeter walls and shear walls are up to 30 inches (75 centimeters) thick.

Supreme Power

The numbers that go with the electrical systems are equally mind boggling. The building contains 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers) of wire and 780 miles (1250 kilometers) of conduit. There are 330 panels for power circuits and more than 300 panels for lighting.

A tunnel system provides for future cable installation and connects with an under-stage mechanical pit used for theatrical machinery and special effects during pageants.

Because of the enormity of the necessary system, an Ethernet network — with multiple levels of redundancy — was chosen to transmit lighting control commands throughout the building. Some signal distribution runs are as long as 2000 feet (600 meters), and use fiber optic cable as a backbone.

If there is ever an interruption in power supply, the show will go on. There is an uninterrupted power supply for critical systems and an emergency diesel generator with an output of 2000 kilowatts.

Dramatic Light and Sound

For seating capacity and sheer size, the main auditorium has no peer in the world. It is seven times the size of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

The distance from the pulpit to the last row of the third tier of seats is the length of a football field. But unlike in a football stadium, people seated in the last row are able to read the facial expressions of a speaker at the pulpit, and hear him as if he is speaking directly to them. For those who do not speak English, there are 60 booths for simultaneous language translation.

A sophisticated signal delay system provides localization of the speaker's voice to the rostrum. An electronic reflected energy system creates and controls reverberation, so that the system gives a perceived shape to the auditorium that is quite independent of its physical dimensions.

While sound is amplified throughout the auditorium, certain parts of the audible spectrum are delayed in the seating areas farthest from the rostrum. While a voice can be heard with intimate clarity, the space "sounds" every bit as large as it actually is.

Lighting is used strategically throughout complex, in all public areas as well as performance spaces and on the exterior. In the main auditorium, a dimmed incandescent downlight system provides house lighting, wood grill wall panels are accented with light, and gold-leafed fiberglass sconces are lit from within. Lighting is controlled by software to respond differently to large and small events.

Site plan. Image: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership Orchestra level. Image: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership Terrace level. Image: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership Balcony level. Image: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership North-south section. Image: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.