Getting It Right the First Time

 

 – By Dave Myers, architect

 

One of my recent projects taught me a valuable lesson in getting it right the first time. As you know, budget and schedule are very important to the success of a project. Getting it right the first time ensures you meet the schedule and the budget. It takes the right people knowing what needs to happen and when.

The Space Shuttle Atlantis attraction at Kennedy Space Center was no different. We had a tight schedule and a million things happening at once. Getting it right the first time was crucial to opening on time.

Getting it right began during the design phase. We designed the theater to be a three dimensional space shuttle experience. The show takes guests to space to witness events only ever seen by astronauts; they get to float inside the space shuttle, and look back at Earth. Four concentric arches spanning nearly 30 feet grow upward toward a large 28ft x 28ft screen. The arches sweep over guests allowing us to fill the room with awe inspiring images. We worked closely with a specialty metal stud company, Radius Track, during the design phase to make sure our forms could be built. We used multiple 3D software programs to get the arches the way we wanted.

Once the project went to bid, it was the contractor’s turn to get it right. Radius Track was hired to implement the construction of the arches. Radius Track used our initial design model as the basis for their shop drawings. They in turn built a 3D CAD model to use for clash detection with duct work, walls, and a very large moving door. The 3D CAD model became a shop drawing. They were less than an inch off our original design.

To save time, we provided our design model to the AV provider, Electrosonic, and the movie producer, Mousetrappe. Using our initial 3D model, Electrosonic determined projector and speaker placement. To turn the room into a one of a kind, gigantic movie, it required 20 high resolution projectors. Mousetrappe, in the meantime, began mapping their imagery onto our model.

It was critical that the actual installation match our original model. The clock was ticking: no one could afford a change in design or schedule. Two and a half months was all we had to get the theater ready for opening. These were the critical steps:

1. Install arches framing first. Large panels of metal studs. Each was different because of the differing curvatures. They went together like a puzzle.
2. Next came the sound absorbing plaster system. A multilayered system of 3/8” gypsum board, one and a half inch sound board and two coats of plaster.
3. Third came the installation of the projectors and speakers. The location of each projector was located during design, checked by the projection engineers in construction, and finally the center point of each lens was located by the media producer’s projection mapping software.
4. To complete the installation, the media producer provided mapping information with a series of numbers and letters so that the AV provider could make one continuous image from the front screen to the last arch.
5. Next, projection masking. In the old days, projectors were masked with physical elements that kept the light from shining onto unwanted areas. Mousetrappe had already done this in their movie content.
6. And to finish, media installation and coordination of the show was last. This was done in a matter of two weeks. All of the upfront work by the media producer and the AV provider made the final coordination step go smoothly.

Consider how long this would have taken if each arch was not built to match our model. A 3D scan of the room would have been required to make sure the content was displayed on the arched surfaces correctly. The media content would need to be translated to the 3D scan information, and all of the projectors would have been adjusted to match the new surface. This would have easily added an extra two months to the project. Two months we didn’t have.

Selecting the right team and right materials for the job are critical to the success of complex projects such as this one.

It’s almost like rocket science.