No one has built a mass-timber structure of this type at this scale in North America, says the engineering team. “It’s going to be an eye‑catcher for sure,” says Lucas Epp, StructureCraft’s vice president and head of engineering. 

The Vancouver-based company is the structural engineer-of-record and timber design‑builder for the superstructure. Smith Dalia Architects designed the project. Bailey Construction is the general contractor and Gibson Co. is serving as the owner’s representative.

Crews install curved timber components during the construction of the timber gridshell, a key feature of the venue set to debut ahead of the World Cup.
Photo courtesy of StructureCraft
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Inside the Timber Gridshell 

A gridshell behaves much like a continuous shell, relying on curvature to transfer forces through a lattice rather than through solid material. In StructureCraft’s bending‑active system, the form begins as a flat mat of 3‑in.-by-3‑in. timber laths that is lifted into place on a ring beam, allowing the grid to take shape as it rises.

“It’s kind of an elastically bent structure, which is formed into shape as it’s lifted into place,” Epp says.

A curved timber gridshell section is installed and temporarily braced, illustrating the precision required to assemble the structure’s complex geometry.
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The grid follows a Chebyshev asymptotic pattern, allowing the timber members to shift from square cells at grade into diamond‑oriented cells in the finished shell. That scissoring action and in‑plane rotation enable the elastic‑bending behavior.

A more familiar approach to this saddle shape is a hyperbolic paraboloid, the geometry architect Felix Candela used in his thin concrete shells in Mexico. StructureCraft evaluated that option alongside others, comparing structural efficiency, initial stress state, aerodynamic behavior, and constructibility before selecting the asymptotic grid. Computational fluid dynamics analysis and wind‑tunnel testing informed the aerodynamic assessment. The shell’s saddle form behaves somewhat like a hat that wants to be blown off in the wind, Epp says, making aerodynamic performance a key selection factor.

A crane hoists a timber gridshell section during installation, illustrating the scale of the curved wood structure as construction progresses.
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Design and Precedent

The shell’s geometry emerged from computational modeling and a series of physical scale models—built at 1:80, 1:50, and 1:10 using StructureCraft’s in‑house 3D and laser printers—iterating across surface and grid‑patterning options before arriving at the final form.

The lineage of bending active timber gridshells is short. Frei Otto’s Mannheim Multihalle, built in 1975 for the Federal Garden Exhibition in Germany and derived from hanging chain models, is the seminal example. Two more followed in the United Kingdom over the next three decades: the Weald and Downland gridshell and the Savill Garden gridshell.

Workers guide and secure timber members as a curved gridshell section is positioned during installation.
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“After that, these types of lath gridshells kind of almost died, and nobody really dealt with them worldwide,” Epp says. He attributes the gap to limited engineering and construction confidence in the approach and to the structural complexity of a building type in which the construction process is inseparable from the design process. When design and construction are handled by separate parties, he says, structures like this become very difficult to execute.

Some asymptotic gridshells have been explored in academic research and a few built in steel, Epp adds, but he is not aware of any significant timber precedent at construction‑project scale.

The curved geometry of a timber gridshell emerges during installation, with the wood lattice shaping the structure’s "Pringle" profile.
Photo courtesy of StructureCraft
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Fabrication, Ring Beam, and Ground Interface

The doubly curved glulam ring beam that receives the grid posed the most significant fabrication challenge for the project. Instead of sourcing custom members, StructureCraft produced the components in‑house at its Abbotsford, British Columbia, facility. Western Forest Products supplied singly curved glulam billets, which were cut into 60‑ft shippable segments. StructureCraft’s master carpenters then developed a proprietary method to create the required double curvature using custom plywood jigs, finishing each segment with a chamfered visual surface shaped through CNC and hand planing.

The ring beam’s six segments splice together and connect to precast concrete plinths at grade. Tolerances had to be tight enough for the timber grid to meet the beam accurately while still accommodating construction variability, so StructureCraft designed adjustable connections at both the plinths and the intersegment splices.

A curved timber gridshell section is set in place on site, shaping the structure’s architectural form as construction progresses.
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The precast plinths were cast with curved profiles matching the ring beam and set on foundations using a grout‑pocket detail, enabling precise shimming and surveying prior to grouting. The plinths transfer shear, moment and torsion from the shell into the foundations to resist overturning under wind. A subsurface rebar tie links the two foundation points to resist the horizontal thrust generated by the arching shell. The structure’s light weight relative to its footprint meant there were no significant geotechnical demands on the Doraville site.

To confirm that the 3‑in.-by-3‑in. laths could sustain bending demands, StructureCraft conducted full‑scale testing in Abbotsford. Epp says bent timber introduces complexity beyond standard analysis: stress is initially locked in when wood is curved but dissipates over time. Engineering had to keep initial stress levels below cracking thresholds during erection while ensuring the structure retained enough reserve capacity to handle wind and live loads.

A rendering illustrates the completed timber gridshell pavilion, where the sweeping wood shell defines a civic space for public events.
Rendering courtesy Smith Dalia Architects
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Erection and Rigging

Getting the flat timber mat to lift cleanly and morph into its final form as it descended onto the ring beam required what Epp calls the most complex rigging scheme in StructureCraft’s nearly 30‑year history. The system had to permit substantial movement and shape changes throughout the lift sequence while precisely controlling its geometry to land the grid on the beam’s six connection points.

“It was an incredibly complex rig to allow that amount of movement,” Epp says. “We figured it out, which is actually pretty fun.”

An aerial view shows the curved gridshell taking shape as crews install roof decking and complete the wood lattice.
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The team ran multiple pre-lift iterations on site. Epp flew to Atlanta and spent two days working through rigging techniques with the team before they arrived at a workable approach.

Atlanta’s rainfall shaped several design decisions. The finished shell will be clad in custom stainless‑steel shingles for long‑term durability and to create dynamic reflected light throughout the day, according to Smith Dalia Architects’ project description.

Workers install decking and structural elements as the gridshell’s curved geometry is assembled on site.
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Status and Outlook

The structural grid was set the week of May 19, with crews scheduled to install the plywood diaphragm the following week, followed by roofing and secondary components. Substantial completion is targeted for June 8, ahead of FIFA World Cup viewing events planned at the venue.

After the tournament, the bandshell becomes a focal point for local performing arts. Smith Dalia Architects describes the programming as ranging from movies in the park to full‑scale concerts.

Epp says he hopes the Doraville project helps revive interest in bending active timber gridshells—a typology he argues has been underused for decades. StructureCraft is currently exploring the concept for an airport project in Africa and is in discussions on a separate structure in North Dakota. “It's beautiful. It's incredibly efficient. I think it can be iconic if used in the right ways," he says.