Grand Canyon Skywalk | M.R.J. Architects
Glass and Steel walkway suspended over the Grand Canyon Gran Canyon West / United States / 2007
EN - When an eagle flies, it gathers power, takes off and then glides far above the ground. That’s how Las Vegas Developer David Jin wanted people to feel when standing at the front of the u-shaped Grand Canyon Skywalk on a glass floor, cantilevered 70 feet from the canyon’s west rim and suspended 4,000 feet over the canyon’s base. “There were many logistics to consider,” recalls engineer Bill Karren of Lochsa Engineering. “It took a lot of thinking to determine where to put the supportive box beams, what shape the beams should be and how to get those beams into place. Then, you had to ask yourself, how do you build it? Do you build it in place, or do you build it on the ground and move it into place? And, you had to do it all without impacting the canyon itself. The tribe didn’t want its rock disturbed more than necessary.” “It’s really hard to duplicate the Grand Canyon, “ says project architect Mark Johnson of MRJ Associates. “Working on this project was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. That didn’t hit us initially. We were there to solve the challenge. At the time, we didn’t realize how big it was and how much it really did change our lives. It really was something special to be part of. I would do it all over again without question.
IT- Skywalk è la prima passerella a sbalzo realizzata al mondo che resta sospesa nel vuoto a più di un chilometro di altezza, nonché a 21 metri di distanza dal bordo di un canalone. La struttura in acciaio si presenta a forma di ferro di cavallo, ed è rivestita di 90 tonnellate di vetro rinforzato prodotto in Germania dal gruppo Saint Gobain. Alla saldatura delle travi in acciaio è seguito un processo di costruzione noto come “Jack-and-Roll”: la struttura è stata sollevata (jack) dai sostegni e quindi sottoposta per diversi giorni ad approfonditi test che ne hanno valutato la resistenza simulando le condizioni previste con la sistemazione definitiva. Completato il test, la struttura in acciaio è stata spostata in avanti (roll) rispetto al margine del canalone. Raggiunta la ricercata posizione a sbalzo, è stata fissata alle fondamenta. La avveniristica passerella è in grado resistere alla forza del vento fino a 161 chilometri orari, nonché a terremoti di magnitudo 8.0 che si verifichino in un raggio di 80.5 chilometri. La struttura Skywalk include anche un centro visitatori di 560 metri quadrati circa che si sviluppa su tre livelli. All’interno trovano spazio un museo, una sala cinematografica, una VIP lunge, un negozio di souvenir e diversi ristoranti e bar, tra cui il ristorante “Skywalk Café” che offre ai visitatori un panoramico patio all’aperto.
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M.R.J. Architects
Principal Architect
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Mark Johnson
Architect
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EN - When an eagle flies, it gathers power, takes off and then glides far above the ground. That’s how Las Vegas Developer David Jin wanted people to feel when standing at the front of the u-shaped Grand Canyon Skywalk on a glass floor, cantilevered 70 feet from the canyon’s west rim and suspended 4,000 feet over the canyon’s base. “There were many logistics to consider,” recalls engineer Bill Karren of Lochsa Engineering. “It took a lot of thinking to...
- Year 2007
- Work started in 2004
- Work finished in 2007
- Client Hualapai Tribe
- Status Completed works
- Type Tourist Facilities
- Websitehttp://mrjarchitects.com
- Websitehttp://www.grandcanyonskywalk.com
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