Case Study: Stutzki Engineering achieves safe, predictive design of a structural point-supported glass canopy with Dassault Systèmes (Abaqus FEA)

Breaking Architectural Barriers with Structural Glass

Stutzki Engineering faced the challenge of making point-supported glass a structural, load-bearing element for the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s undulating 132-foot canopy—65 triangular, 500-pound laminated glass lites—where glass brittleness and the risk of cascading failure (“zipper effect”) required highly accurate stress prediction. To solve this, Stutzki turned to Dassault Systemes’ Abaqus FEA for detailed finite-element analysis of glass lites, fasteners and fittings.

Using Dassault Systemes’ Abaqus FEA, Stutzki performed fine-mesh stress-peak analyses around chamfered holes, modeled full lites and brackets, and automated permutations with Python scripting—cutting modeling time from a day to an hour—and validated results with physical testing at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. The solution allowed tuned installation (adjusting Belleville springs and load paths), produced reliable, validated designs for the BAM canopy, and supported a successful, award-recognized project while providing measurable gains in analysis speed and predictive accuracy.

Stutzki Engineering

Chris Stutzki

Founder Of Milwaukee