Installing Our Spire: A Main Architectural Feature of the New Eden Hospital

Posted on Apr 18, 2012

By Julie Ruiz-Wibbelsmann

Did you know that we will be installing a 125-foot spire made of 43,000 pounds of steel on our new hospital by the end of May?

“Our steel spire was constructed over the course of 10 months by workers in Buffalo, New York,” says Krystal Herrington, DPR project engineer. “All of the steel was made in the United States, except for a few small pieces from the bottom of the spire. These were made in Canada because of their unique size specifications.”

Transporting the spire

Scheduled to arrive on April 27, the 125-foot spire will be delivered in three pieces:

• Center portion of mast
• Lower portion of mast attached to the triangular truss frame (22 inches in diameter at the bottom)
• Upper portion of the mast attached to the triangular truss frame (tapering to 16 inches in diameter, at the top)

The three red boxes show the parts of the spire that will be transported separately. The darker region of the spire represents the triangular truss that rotates around the mast.

Assembling the spire

During the first weeks in May, we’ll assemble the parts of the spire by welding together the pieces. We’ll also cover the truss frame with fabric made of white fiberglass and plastic composite that

• Measures about 0.030 inches in thickness
• Weighs around 1,500 pounds
• Covers approximately 2,000 square feet

We’ll use a special corrosion-proof paint specifically made for steel—called tnemec—in a silver color to match the exterior-skin metal panels of the hospital roof.

Attaching the spire

“By the end of May,” explains Krystal, “we’ll hoist our spire onto the south face of the new hospital, just west of the main entrance. Connecting something as heavy as our spire to the building face takes especially strong equipment. To lift the spire into place, we’ll use two cranes each weighing 265 tons: one with a 157 foot-long telescoping boom and the other with a 171 foot-long telescoping boom.”

We’ll attach the 43,000-pound spire to the five existing beams on the south face of the building around the height of the second-floor level. Each connection will have a total of 12 high-strength bolts, 7.38 inches long and 1.38 inches in diameter, with hardened steel nuts and washers.

Rendering courtesy of Devenney Group

“Once completed, our spire will rise above the building roof, illuminated by four light beams from the top, bottom and center of the spire,” describes Krystal.