UMD Tyser Tower

Clark completely renovated the existing Tyser Tower and flanked the facility with twin five-story additions. The renovated building contains 68 spectator suites, a 214-seat President's Lounge and several Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant spectator seats. It also provides cover for 701 new spectator seats on the Concourse level. A fully-enclosed fifth level serves as a working press area with accommodations for 148 journalists and offers facilities for home and visiting coaches, public address, scoring, and statistician personnel, as well as radio and television booths with high-definition broadcast capabilities. 

Shortly after being selected to perform the expansion and renovation of Tyser Tower, Clark proposed expediting the design and construction schedules in order to deliver the new facility in time for the 2009 football season. Clark worked with subcontractors from the project's earliest stages to adhere to the aggressive schedule. Key design packages were fast-tracked so that early trades could begin work while the balance of the design was completed. 

The existing Tyser Tower was not designed to carry the structural loads required by the new exterior seats. To solve this challenge, the Clark project team utlized a structural support system common in bridges to erect the new seating areas. Comprised of 3 ½-inch diameter rods, the support system is connected to massive steel frames located under the fifth floor. These rods hang down from the frames to support new tiered seating platforms below them on the third and fourth floors.

Tyser Tower remained operational during the 2008 Maryland Terrapins football season. The project team took extensive measures to ensure the safety of the nearly 50,000 fans that attended seven Maryland home football games while construction operations were ongoing. To access their seats, many of the fans had to walk near or through Clark’s construction site. Clark developed pedestrian safety plans and modified work schedules to ensure their safety. 

This project is another chapter in the long-standing relationship between Clark and the University of Maryland. The company has completed several projects for the University's athletic department, including the original Tyser Tower structure, the Byrd Stadium Expansion, and Football Team Building.

BIM

The use of BIM greatly enhanced and facilitated the delivery of the project. Clark utilized BIM to compare the structural contract drawings with the cast-in-place concrete and the precast shop drawings to ensure the precast was installed correctly. BIM was also voluntarily implemented on the HVAC mechanical coordination. In addition, the structural steel subcontractor detailed the entire package in 3-D to assist the erector and make certain that fabrication drawings were properly detailed.