Bryan Trubey is an architect by trade, and an anthropologist because of his trade.

He is the Executive Vice President and Director of Sports and Entertainment for HKS Architects, the Dallas-based firm that designed the $1.1 billion U.S. Bank Stadium, set to officially open in downtown Minneapolis on Friday.

During the design process, Trubey and his team didn't just design a 1.75 million-square foot building, they created a structure that is unique and Minnesotan.

"We want to create buildings that are iconic, a unique expression of the local culture," said Trubey, who also recently helped design Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and AT&T Stadium in Dallas. "Before we are architects, we are anthropologists. We engaged in deep research about the culture of Minnesota to make a building unique to its environment."

Trubey said the stadium's pointed west end gives it the appearance of a Vikings ship and HKS wanted the stadium to evoke images of ice flows colliding on frozen lakes and its traditional Nordic roof structure is designed to melt and shed snow efficiently.

"When people say the building looks like a ship or an ice shard, we like that," he said. "It comes from the brand of the team that plays here and the culture surrounding it."

The building is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified and is the first NFL stadium to open with LED lighting, consuming 75 percent less energy than a metal halide light. Other green initiatives include the shape of the roof, allowing it to easily shed snow; storm water management; efficient public transportation; and the use of ETFE, energy-efficient material.

The stadium's roof is 60 percent made up of transpaprent ETFE pillow-like panels. The panels allow as much light to enter the building as glass does, but are lighter, more economical and self-cleaning.

"This is the largest application of that roof material in North or South America," John Hutchings of HKS said. "It's more than (248,000) square feet. You can see blue sky and white clouds and it reduces our lighting load.

"I've been around a lot of (stadium) construction. The level of craftsmanship in this building is the best I've seen."

A heavy local presence

More than 300 Minnesota companies were involved in the stadium construction process, including Mortenson Construction of Minneapolis, the same company that built Target Field.

More than 8,000 Minnesotans worked on the project over the past four years and at the peak of construction, more than 1,500 construction workers were on-site each day. Nearly 90 percent of the contract dollars went to Minnesota companies.

"Any way you choose to measure the success of a project, this has been incredibly successful," said John Wood, a Senior Vice President at Mortenson. "It was completed under budget and six weeks ahead of schedule, exceeding all of the goals."

The stadium has been selected to play host to the Super Bowl in 2018 and the NCAA Final Four in 2019, events that are expected to bring in more than $600 million total to the local economy.

 

Source : postbulletin.com

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