CREDIT TK 24 OregonStater.org R E S E AR C H BRANCHES OF STEEL Each of these 34 steel Y-shaped columns stands 55 feet tall, mimicking trees as they support the massive roof. Special kinds of “shock absorbers” called seismic isolation bearings atop each column will let the roof shift up to 2 feet during an earthquake. This, plus 150-foot-deep foundations and curtain walls that move with the roof, will allow the terminal to withstand a 9.0 magnitude earthquake. Hoffman Skanska Joint Venture, which employs 16 OSU alumni, led construction of the Y columns. LATTICED TIMBER CEILING Inspired by local weaving techniques, the lattice is made up of 35,000 3-by-6-foot pieces of Douglas fir, which can all be traced back to their forests of origin. The lattice wood came from Oregon and Washington small family forests, local tribes, nonprofits, community forests, university forests and other landowners practicing ecologically driven forestry. A MULTITIERED ROOF The biggest challenge, says Dan Gilkison, ’95, director of engineering for the Port of Portland, which led the project, was installing the roof without disrupting airport operations . Crews built it in modules across the airfield and carefully slid each into place like a cassette — a feat never done before. “It was like running a marathon and doing open-heart surgery,” Gilkison says. “But we didn’t cancel a single flight.” KPFF Consulting Engineers, which includes two alumni, designed and proposed the roof. MASS PLYWOOD ROOF PANELS Freres Engineered Wood supplied the roof’s mass plywood panels (not visible here), a product that company vice presidents Tyler and Kyle Freres first envisioned on a trip to Europe with OSU professors. Under the leadership of JELD-WEN Chair of Wood-Based Composites Science Arijit Sinha, OSU collaborated with Freres to develop the first panels. The Department of Wood Science and Engineering and the TallWood Design Institute tested the panels used on the PDX roof.
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