Chicago's Millenium Park

Chicago Team Struggles To Impose Order On Chaos, ENR, February 9, 2004, describes the challenges faced in the construction of Chicago's $475 million music amphitheater designed by Frank Gehry. According to the article, success of the project depended on "computer enhanced" techniques such as three-dimensional solid object modeling, "net" meetings conducted over the World Wide Web, high-tech surveying of in-place construction, and computer aided fabrication.

The article describes some of the positives and challanges of working on a structure with complex geometry. On the plus side, steel system RFIs were reduced to 125, from an estimated 10,000 if computerized modeling had not been employed. On the other hand, misalignments in fabricated supports required as built modeling of the in-place structure so that it could be tested against the original design model, and then descrepencies identified and corrected.

The article continues on at some length regarding structural design and analysis, constructability issues, temperature- and load-related movements, steel erection strategies, panel fabrication, and more. For those interested in the new digitally driven design and construction methods, this article is a good reference.