The Winter Garden
at the Wells Fargo Center
Denver, CO
Architect
Johnson and Burgee Architects
Area
10,000 sq.ft.
Cost
$80 Million
The winter garden was constructed of curved box and wide flange sections arranged in three quadrants stacked vertically on each other to a height of 150 ft. Each curve was of a 50 ft. radius and connected continuously to form giant arched frames. The frames were supported at one end on specially designed pinned connections at the 7th and 11th floors of the existing Mile High Center office building. On the other end, supports were located on a low-rise existing building. Both existing buildings were analyzed for the additional lateral and gravity loads and necessary strengthening and bracing added.
Both the Winter Garden and the Wells Fargo Center were analyzed for ice and snow formation on the curved roofs. A determination of icicle and snow loads was made using kinematic analysis and the path of their movements plotted and checked for public safety.