Project Overview

A 13,000 sf visitor’s center to replace the existing skywalk in the Eagle’s Point region of the Grand Canyon. The project was part of a comprehensive studio where students worked in groups of three to bring the design to a level of completion that included detail drawings, material specifications, and structural and mechanical components.  Our structural design implements a tensile cable net structure which was particularly challenging.  Optimizing the design required multiple study models and iterative testing in physics-based digital simulation tools.  We also consulted with professional engineers at Arup to ensure our project's structural integrity.

Building enclosure: 
Digital Modeling in Rhino and Maya
Physical Model 3D printed

Tensile Net: 
Form Finding and Structural Optimization in Kangaroo for Rhino
Parametric Scripting with Grasshopper for Rhino
Physical Model Hand Sewn

Rendering in V-ray for Rhino


[click on image to enlarge]

PROPOSED DESIGN

EXISTING SKYWALK