Overview
Walter P Moore wins national Engineering Excellence award for delivering seismic resilience and sustainable design at Intuit Dome.
The American Council of Engineering Companies has recognized Intuit Dome with a Grand Award in the Structural Systems category of its 2025 National Engineering Excellence Awards.
The Intuit Dome, home to the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, has redefined what it means to create a world-class sports and entertainment venue. Realizing owner Steve Balmer’s vision, the 18,000-seat arena serves as a year-round hub for the Inglewood community, combining cutting-edge design and environmental responsibility. The venue anchors a 1.14 million-square-foot facility which integrates state-of-the-art practice and training facilities, team offices, public fan areas, and indoor and outdoor basketball courts open to the community, all under a striking and distinctive diagrid shell roof inspired by a basketball net.
Walter P Moore played a pivotal role in delivering this iconic project, applying structural, enclosure, seismic, and construction engineering expertise to overcome unique challenges. Located just 1.25 miles from the Newport-Inglewood Fault, the arena demanded innovative seismic solutions. Walter P Moore designed a lightweight diagrid shell roof that functions independently of the stiffer main structure during seismic events. This solution, achieved through advanced toggle-brace connections, allows the roof to move flexibly while ensuring lateral and gravity support—a feature aptly described as “swishing like a hula skirt.”
The arena also boasts a groundbreaking “Halo” board, a one-million-pound, 360-degree, double-sided video board with retractable sections suspended from the roof’s trusses. Complementing its technical achievements, Intuit Dome sets a new standard for sustainability as the NBA’s first all-electric arena and the first to achieve LEED Platinum certification under LEED v4. Walter P Moore contributed to a 20% reduction in embodied carbon in the concrete by working with suppliers to secure Environmental Product Declarations for all mixes, resulting in concrete that exceeds California Green Building Code efficiency requirements by 50%.
Opened in July 2024—three months ahead of schedule and on budget—the Intuit Dome has already been tapped to host the 2026 NBA All-Star Game and will serve as a key venue for basketball and gymnastics during the 2028 Olympic Games.
