Modern Steel Construction / June 2001

MERIT WINNER

EIFFEL TOWER IILas Vegas, Nevada

Farzad Naeim, Ph.D., S.E.

A540’, 50-story reincar-nation of the GustavEiffel masterpiece nowstands in front of theParis Hotel/Casino in

Las Vegas. This half-scale replica of Eif-fel’s masterpiece, while preserving theauthentic beauty of the original tower,utilizes a modern structural systemconforming to the complex require-ments of the contemporary codes andperformance requirements. The EiffelTower II design had to specifically dealwith the extremely hostile weatherconditions of a desert environment aswell as safeguard against the possibili-

ties of arson and other terrorist activi-ties.

CreativeStructural DesignIn order to create this authentic

replica of the 100-year-old Eiffel Towericon, the design team had to developinnovative ways to create and meettoday’s standards, codes and life safetyissues. While this tower looks like theoriginal, the structural design ismarkedly different than the originaltower. This is a welded structure, al-though approximately 300,000 fake riv-ets are used for aesthetic purposes. Thelower one-third of the tower utilizedtube sections camouflaged with non-structural laces to retain the originallook of the Eiffel Tower. The elevatorsfrom the restaurant level to the top areentirely supported by complex planartrusses that form the restaurant’s floor.Special laboratory tests and nonlinearanalytical studies were needed to vali-date the lacing angles, as used in theupper portions of the original tower,since these angles violate the letter ofcurrent codes.

Automated Fabrication The tower chords and other main

components were shop manufacturedand prefabricated in Phoenix. Numeri-cally controlled, AutoCAD-driven ma-chines were used to automatically cutthe plates to precise sizes. The chordswere then knocked down and shipped

June 2001 / Modern Steel Construction

in pieces to the site in Las Vegas for as-sembly.

Technical InnovationsFive main issues controlled the

structural design of this project. Properaddressing of each of these issues re-quired application of state-of-the-arttechnology as follows:

Extreme Changes of Temperature:70°F day to night, 45° side to side(under the sun or in the shade). Exten-sive finite element analyses of thermaleffects were necessary.

Detailed Fire/Arson Scenarios: 16individual arson scenarios were inves-tigated to optimize the performanceand minimize the fireproofing require-ments. Complex nonlinear bucklingand thermal analyses were needed.

Innovative Welding and Manufac-turing Technologies: Precision-weldingtechnologies utilized in airplane andship manufacturing were specified andexecuted.

Plumbness of the Tower: The toweras constructed could not be out ofplumb by more than one inch along540’ of height in order for the elevatorsto be functional. Laser technology wasused to monitor the tower’s plumbnessunder construction.

Wind Deformations and VibrationControl: Extensive computer analyseswere performed to control vibrationsdue to operation of elevators andachieve optimum resistance to 90 mphwinds.

ConclusionPerhaps no other structure in the

world represents the glory of sheerstructural engineering know-how asthe Eiffel Tower. In contrast with theprevailing architectural practice to hidethe structure within the architecture,this tower standing in front of a mostmodern entertainment center is a vividreminder of the achievements, com-plexity and vitality of the practice ofstructural engineering.

The structural design team facedmany challenges in bringing the EiffelTower to the “Strip” in Las Vegas. Thestructural design used steel, in lieu ofthe originally proposed aluminum, in

order to limit the movement at the topof the tower in a wind, so that the pa-trons would not get sick. The engineerswere also required to make the towerstable if the support of one of the legswas lost due to a fire. These are onlytwo of the many design obstacles thatwere involved in bringing this monu-ment to the desert.

Farzad Naeim, Ph.D., S.E., is Directorof Research & Development with John A.Martin & Associates, Inc., in Los Angeles.

PROJECT OWNER:Park Place Entertainment Corporation,Las Vegas, NV

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER:John A. Martin & Associates, Inc., Los Angeles, CA

DESIGN ARCHITECT:Bergman, Walls & Associates, Ltd., Las Vegas, NV

PRODUCTION ARCHITECT:Leidenfrost / Horowitz Associates,Glendale, CA

GENERAL CONTRACTOR:Perini Building Company, Phoenix, AR

FABRICATOR:Schuff Steel Company, (AISC member)Phoenix, AR

ERECTOR:Schuff Steel Company, (AISC member,NEA member) Phoenix, AR

DETAILER:Schuff Steel Company, (AISC member)Phoenix, AR

SOFTWARE:AutoCAD, SAP 2000, Robot