The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building’s roof, designed to resemble the billowing clouds of Texas—and including 23 separate structures—proved to be this museum project’s biggest challenge. “Ultimately we went with a lightweight concrete over metal decking supported by a complex structural grid of beams that tied into double-segmented helix curve roof trusses,” says Brian Luney, project director at McCarthy Building Cos. It went off “without a hitch” he says, citing the pre-work done on the design, engineering and integration with the concrete walls as key. The structure’s clerestory glass was delivered to the jobsite flat and cold-bent to conform to the roof’s geometry when installed.
The building sports unique features both above and below ground. The 130-ft tunnel connecting the Kinder building to the existing Caroline Weiss Law building—one of two tunnels added—was hand dug underneath an active roadway in 6-in. sections. The exterior facade features roughly 1,100 semicircular glass tubes, creating a “cool jacket” attached to the concrete wall.