2018 Archive : Field Station: Dinosaurs

Project Details

Fabric 1

Commercial 95
Producer: Gale Pacific USA Inc.
Supplier: Gale Pacific USA Inc.

Engineer Name 1
Nick Keizer

Engineer Company 1
RNK Structural Engineering

Design Name
Britni Scott

Design Company
SHADE Industries

Fabrication Company
SHADE Industries

Project Manager Company
Dondlinger Construction

Installation Company
SHADE Industries

Please describe the project specifications

Two separate shade structures, consisting of a total of 18 columns and 10 shade sails, provide approximately 4,174 square feet of shade at a newly opened dinosaur adventure park in Derby, Kansas.

What was the purpose of this project? What did the client request?

Field Station: Dinosaurs is an adventure park that features over thirty life-size, animatronic dinosaurs geared towards educating children about these ancient creatures that once graced our planet. We were requested to design shade for the amphitheater and “Dino Dig” areas of the park. Functional shade was designed over the amphitheater, where they stage performances with their baby Tyrannosaurus Rex. The “Dino Dig” is essentially a large sandbox where children can explore their inner archeologists and excavate for dinosaur bones.

What is unique or complex about the project?

The most challenging part of this project was that the job site was 1000 miles away. Careful planning coordinated with architects and the general contractor of this project allowed an almost seamless installation process. The general contractor, who managed the excavation and concrete portion of the footers, mapped out all footing locations with GPS coordinates. Steel was fabricated and powder coated in Phoenix, Arizona, and transported to Derby, Kansas. All-thread, embedded in the footings during the concrete pour, was carefully oriented and allowed us to crane our columns with baseplate assemblies right on top of the footers. Because of the tight deadline of the park’s grand opening, shade sail measurements were estimated in our 3D modeling software and were ordered based on exact footing placement.

What were the results of the project?

Because of clear communication with the general contractor and very careful planning, the installation of the steel columns and fabric shade sails went extremely smooth. Two unique shade structures created specifically for this project now stand amongst life-size dinosaurs!

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