GREAT AMERICAN TOWER AT QUEEN CITY SQUARE ROOFTOP TIARA, CINCINNATI, OHIO

摘要

The steel tiara that crowns the 41-story Great American Tower at Queen City Square—Cincinnati's tallest building—is an iconic presence on the city's skyline. The 400-ton, 130-ft-tall tiara was conceived by Gyo Obata, a founder and design principal of HOK. Obata was inspired by a photograph of a tiara worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, and by Cincinnati's nickname, the Queen City.Several design iterations were required to ultimately produce a cost-effective and graceful crown. Working closely with HOK, structural engineer Thornton Tomasetti helped rationalize the tiara's geometry and produced a structural framing layout that could easily be fabricated and constructed. Thornton Tomasetti also provided HOK with a detailed 3D Tekla model containing all proposed framing sizes, geometries and connection information. The Tekla model enabled HOK to approve the aesthetic appearance ofthe structure before shop drawingproduction, thereby facilitating a smooth shop drawing preparation and review process.