Design of a 500,000 m² Iconic Roof for the New International Airport for Mexico City

The roof of the New International Airport for Mexico City is a lightweight steel shell structure and an architectural centerpiece of the new 4,432 hectare greenfield airport development. Visually exposed and structurally independent from the building beneath, it supports a 500,000 m² envelope that reaches a peak height of 45 m above ground level and maximum span-to-depth ratio of nearly 60:1. While it is comprised of several subassemblies, including a 2-layer tetrahedral ball-node space frame and single-layer welded CHS shells, the roof was designed and detailed with the overt intent of achieving seamless visual continuity across the entire system. It is a mile long, nearly half a mile wide, and is achieved with no movement joints. This paper outlines the team’s approach to form-finding and design of the system’s sub-assemblies. It provides an overview of the most significant structural hazards and the analytical methods employed to optimize the system for steel tonnage.