The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is a five-story, 250,000 square foot curvilinear building celebrating the history, art and life of Native Americans throughout the western hemisphere.
Unique Challenges
Due to the curves of the building, a curved steel header member with a dog-leg bend at one end that supports storefront framing above and below was needed. The challenge was to resist the bending moments caused by the eccentricities at the dog-leg bend, with a moment connection at one end.
Solution
Larson called for a massive moment connection consisting of a thick steel plate bent to match the curvature of the round concrete column it was attached to with anchor bolts.
