Raising the Roof at Georgia Tech

The view from Bobby Dodd Stadium has long featured towering Atlanta skyscrapers as Georgia Tech’s Yellow Jackets take to the field below. Soon, that view will also feature an overlook from the new Dr. Thomas A. Fanning Student-Athlete Performance Center, crowned by a distinctive mass timber roof structure that will be a signature of the new facility.

“We’ve got mass timber on both the north and south sides of the building, but the one on the south side is what people will notice,” said Zach Brooklere, a DPR superintendent on the project. “We’re proud that our self-perform crews handled the full installation.”

While the center itself will offer state-of-the-art facilities for Yellow Jacket athletes–including strength and conditioning space, nutrition areas, sports medicine offices, ticket sales, dining, and academic support space–it will offer building occupants an unobstructed view of on-field action… and will be on display for attending fans and national TV audiences.

To that end, quality in delivery has been the gameplan from day one, even before crews were on site.

“The roof is on a radius, so there’s an added level of complexity to begin with,” Brooklere said. “Together with the designer, SLAM, and our structural engineer Walter P. Moore, we worked through a lot of initial challenges early in the design phase and through virtual design and construction.”

Smartlam fabricated the 18 cross-laminated timber panels and 14 glulam beams, all of which had to be flawlessly manufactured, especially for the elements on the south end’s radius.

“Even once materials arrived, our focus stayed on quality,” Brooklere said. “For the beams, we used a number of methods and softeners to ensure no damage occurred during installation. In a couple of spots where beams were installed on top of beams, we took extra care to ensure everything lined up to well within tolerances. We also sequenced the installation of the panels to ensure everything was as designed for the radius.”

The end result is a striking addition to the new facility that will be a hallmark for Georgia Tech athletics for years to come.

The project, under way since fall 2023, will wrap up following the upcoming college football season.