Case Study: Epic Systems Corporation creates an award-winning underground auditorium with Thornton Tomasetti

Epic Systems Corporation completes 1.2-million-square-foot underground auditorium with Thornton Tomasetti in 29 months

Epic Systems Corporation required a large auditorium for its new campus but needed to preserve the rural landscape of the 811-acre site. The vendor, Thornton Tomasetti, provided structural design, façade engineering, and construction engineering services to help realize this vision for an underground facility.

Thornton Tomasetti's solution involved excavating into a hillside to create a 1.2-million-square-foot auditorium with an eight-acre green roof. A key innovation was the design and erection engineering for a 4,200-ton roof lift, where the entire roof structure was assembled on the ground and strand jacked into position. This approach contributed to an accelerated 29-month schedule from design to completion in 2013. The resulting Deep Space Auditorium seats 11,400 people, preserves the campus views, and incorporates sustainable features like daylighting and geothermal systems.

Epic Systems Corporation