The Baltimore Visitors' Center

Job Facts
Tons of steel: 120 tons
Owner: Baltimore City
Architect: Design Collective, Inc.
Engineer: Hope Furrer Associates, Inc.
Contractor: Roy Kirby & Sons, Inc.
Project Manager: Mike Pine
Subcontractor: B&B Welding Company, Inc.
Roller Bender—Whitefab, Birmingham, Alabama
Erector: B&B Welding Company, Inc.

In the great race for tourist dollars, Baltimore — our fair city — boasts some world class tourists’ attractions: Camden Yards, Fort McHenry, and the Inner Harbor. But until now, no Baltimorean could brag about the city’s former visitor center. For years, tourist were welcomed to Charm City by a shabby construction trailer with no charm.

So the city took action, holding a design contest for a new visitor’s center. Design Collective of Baltimore submitted the winning design — it’s signature feature: an alternating convex and concave roof. Like a wave, the roofline rises and sinks, creating the illusion of a building afloat over the Inner Harbor. To fabricate the complex cantilevered roof, the construction team of Roy Kirby & Sons called on B&B Welding Company, Inc. Partners on past projects, Roy Kirby & Sons knew they could count on B&B (and its in-house detailing company, Chesapeake Design Services) to get the job done.

“The roof was a real geometric puzzle of tubular steel,” says B&B Vice President, Dennis R. McCartney, “The challenge was to get the steel to achieve and maintain the complex roof curvature that the architect had called out.” To create the wavy roofline, B&B fabricated roof beams of tubular steel that fitted into a grid system. To support the cantilevered north end of the roof (the high point in the wave), B&B constructed two sloping ten-inch pipe columns with stainless steel pins. To hold up the main building, they created architecturally exposed 16-inch steel tubes, or columns.

But this is not only a story not only of a complex roofline: it’s a story about adding value to the job. As Dennis worked the detailing, he discovered inconsistencies in the east and west line curvatures in relation to the steel in the north-south radius. Utilizing B&B’s sophisticated file sharing capabilities, Dennis brought together the architect and the engineer in a virtual conference. All three gained instant access to an online 3-D model of the job’s detailing, walked through the questionable fittings, and, as a team, remedied the questionable fittings — almost immediately.

On a high profile job like the Baltimore Visitors’ Center, reputations are on the line. Already over budget, the last thing the parties involved wanted was a last minute surprise — glass or steel fittings that didn’t quite fit. But with B&B Welding on the job, projects simply go smoother and faster. In fact, with so many last minute design changes, it was remarked the B&B Welding — thanks to its range of CNC machinery, its sophisticated file sharing interface, and its on-campus detailing shop — was the one place in town that could have handled this job. With B&B on their team, architects, engineers, and project managers can sleep easier. Because in the end, B&B Welding reduces your risk.

Today, the City of Baltimore has a new signature building — one that greets tourists with pizazz and welcoming arms. The 4.5 million dollar project — constructed during the ravages of hurricane Isabelle — sits like a work of sculpture in the Inner Harbor. And it’s not just tourists who are impressed. The National Institute of Steel Constructors, or NASCC, recently came to Baltimore and showcased the new Visitors’ Center at its 2003 conference. At B&B Welding, another chance to add to our city’s skyline makes us proud.