Dive Brief:

• The Atlanta Falcon's new stadium will have a roof that retracts in eight pieces something like the blades of a pinwheel, and its designers won the commission to do it with an outside-the-box presentation last year to team executives.
• The roof, which looks dramatic in motion but uses somewhat conventional sliding mechanisms, was the brainchild of 360 Architecture, with inspiration and expertise from Buro Happold Consulting Engineers PC, kinetic architecture consultant Hoberman Associates and mechanical-electrical-plumbing engineer WSP.
• The design will produce a 105,000-square-foot opening over the field in the $1.2 billion, 1.8 million-square-foot facility or close up tight for both cold-weather and hot-weather usability.

Dive Insight:

Bill Johnson, a senior principal at 360, which is based in Kansas City, Missouri, had helped design the Arizona Diamondbacks' baseball stadium. He did not want another conventional structure and he believed his firm was the dark horse among ones seeking the commission. Since Falcons owner Arthur Blank wanted a landmark home for the team, 360's approach of "Re-imagine the Game-Day Experience" and "Reject Current Thinking" scored a touchdown.