GEOSTRATA Magazine

Wooden coasters have existed for over a century, steel coasters about the same. For as long as coasters have been around, so have coaster enthusiasts, some of whom purport the concept of negative g's. But those of you who hold the same opinion should go back and take a refresher course in statics and dynamics. By simple logic, there's no such thing as negative gravity because a person or an object cannot weigh less than zero. The confused coaster enthusiast mistakes weightlessness or “airtime” for negative g's.

Wings Over Washington is a new state-of-the-art flying theater that simulates the feeling of soaring with a bald eagle over the Washington State landscape. The theater uses a 33-ft-tall screen and surround-sound speakers to provide an immersive experience. The hydraulically controlled seats create movement and, combined with visual, auditory, and physical effects, give a realistic sensation of flying.

The multiuse Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and MLS's Atlanta United soccer teams, opened in 2017 and is used as a sports facility and major entertainment venue (Figure 1). With a seating capacity of 71,000, it's the first Green Buildings Council LEED Platinum-certified professional sports stadium in the U.S. Some of the Stadium's unique aspects that contribute to its immersive fan experience include a camera-aperture retractable roof consisting of eight approximately 220-ft-long retractable sections, a 16-story window offering views of the city, and an almost six-story, halo video board circling the roof opening.

A software company based outside Madison, Wis., had a need for an auditorium as part of its campus expansion in 2011. The 829,000-sq-ft, 11,400-seat “Deep Space” auditorium was to be built underground, into a hillside, to preserve the views of rolling terrain and the farmlands beyond. It would feature a green roof and rockwork facing that mimic local geologic formations. The six-story building would require up to 74 ft of earth retention, including 60 ft of excavation beneath existing grades.

SoFi Stadium, one of the two newest venues in the National Football League, opened in September 2020 after breaking ground in November 2016. The stadium hosts NFL games for the Rams and Chargers, and will be the venue for a variety of other events, such as concerts, Super Bowl LVI in 2022, potentially the 2026 World Cup, and the 2028 Summer Olympics. The state-of-the-art stadium seats between 70,000 and 100,000 people and boasts what may be the largest video scoreboard in pro sports. At a cost of over $5 billion, it's located in Inglewood, Calif., at the site of the former Hollywood Park Racetrack, near Los Angeles International Airport. The project owner, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, contracted with the Joint Venture of Turner-AECOM Hunt to design and build the stadium.