Inside the Chicago Bean: Structural Blueprints Reveal Its Massive Scale
By Alexander Ross
Turning flat plates into a seamless liquid mirror required tooling normally reserved for high-performance naval hulls and aerospace fuselages. Fabrication was handled by Performance Structures, Inc. (PSI) in Oakland, California.
PSI technicians used three-dimensional computer modeling and precision computer-controlled roll-forming equipment to bend the 168 plates. Because no single plate shared the exact curve of its neighbor, workers measured every plate against laser-scanned templates. Once shaped, the components were cut with plasma jets and shipped across the country via flatbed trailers.
Assembly on the AT&T Plaza took place inside a climate-controlled white tent erected over the site. Contractors from MTH Industries craned the frame sections into position, mounted the plates onto the internal tie-rod system, and began the welding process.
Full-penetration keyhole welds fused the 3/8-inch seams together. Crews then attacked the raised weld beads in progressive stages, starting with coarse aluminum-oxide grinding discs and finishing with high-grit rouge buffing pads. Workers hand-ground millions of square inches of metal until the seams vanished entirely. By the time workers buffed out the final pass in 2006, the exterior shell acted optically as a single continuous piece of metal with no visible joins.
Alexander Ross has covered the video game industry for a decade, writing deep dives on game design, esports tournaments, VR developments, and gaming culture.
