H&H provided structural and mechanical engineering services for the design and construction of retractable canopies for the Commissioner’s Club and Owner’s Club luxury suite of Met Life Stadium.
As home to the New York Giants and New York Jet’s football teams and their fans, the design required a feasibility study of various fixed and movable schemes to provide the stadium’s patrons with suitable protection from the elements. H&H developed a fitting retrofitted structure into the existing stadium that buoys the fan’s outdoor experience during good weather and shelters them during inclement weather; all while adhering to relevant building and design codes. The structure was carefully arranged to meet these requirements with zero impact to the surrounding patrons and incorporated improvements to the stadium’s HVAC, sound, and lighting system. Additional special consideration was paid to ensure that operational complexities and maintenance for stadium personnel was streamlined and reduced as much as possible.
H&H collaborated with the stadium’s architect to ensure that the retrofit was inconspicuous to the casual observer (both on site and on broadcast television), was finished in highest quality materials, and was in-concert with the overall architectural design language of the rest of the building.
Ultimately, the entire system fulfilled the diverse wishes of the stadium ownership and their demanding stakeholders. The conclusive structure consists of a belt drive– greaseless bearing sliding mechanism framed in structural steel and trimmed in high-grade aluminum and translucent material. It provides 360 total feet of protected seating along the stadium’s sidelines, has proven useful during both rainy and hot and sunny events, and continues to act as valuable snow insurance should the stadium host another Super Bowl event in the future.
