GEODIS Park: A ConnecTID Case Study

Objectives
Accelerated delivery of structural steel often creates the most risk in a large-scale job, yet steel was the material at the heart of GEODIS Park’s authentically Nashville design. GEODIS Park’s 360-degree canopy is supported by slender steel columns and a large, signature X-frame at the back of the canopy. In all four corners, the canopy cantilevers in two directions, creating a protected and dynamic entry feature. With steel as the main feature, GEODIS Park’s architectural expression required precise details on erection, connections, and coatings—all elements that can often lead to scope creep and delayed schedules.

Solutions
Walter P Moore employed its new process, ConnecTID, to revolutionize the structural delivery of GEODIS Park. ConnecTID brought together Walter P Moore’s structural steel design, connection design, and fabrication modeling to create a fabrication-level model at LOD400 as a single source of truth connecting all structural design information during the design process. The model facilitated better communications among the design team, creating the ability to craft steel connections to meet the architect’s aesthetic desire. Fabrication-level details such as steel coatings and connection details were completed well in advance of the traditional project timeline, allowing the team to solve issues otherwise left to RFIs from a detailer disconnected from the design process.

The enhanced modeling of the stadium design lowered risk for the owner and construction manager by creating more price and schedule certainty. Walter P Moore’s LOD400 model allowed the contractor’s six steel bids to come in as much as seven figures below the original steel budget, putting millions of dollars back into the project’s bottom line. Once the chosen fabricator was brought on board, they had enough detailed information to have the first steel ordered for the project in just one week, saving months off the schedule. With anchor rods in the ground early, construction was off to a much smoother start, a theme that carried through the entire project. The fabrication-level model also allowed for an estimated 90% reduced steel-related RFIs and improved coordination resulting in erection finishing four weeks ahead of schedule—all while maintaining design control over the exposed steel aesthetics. Not only did the new process take the guesswork out of building GEODIS Park, but it also facilitated better communications and a more efficient process.

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