What's Happening

University of Idaho Kibbie Dome Renovation

March 1, 2010

Under the Dome

Remodel breathes new life into iconic Moscow structure

By Joe Evancho

The 33-year-old William H. Kibbie-ASUI Activity Center in Moscow, Idaho (aka the Kibbie Dome) is undergoing a $12-million renovation that will make the northern Idaho icon safer, more functional and pleasing to the eye, inside and out.

Slide Show

Photo courtesy of the University of Idaho

 

 

Located on the campus of the University of Idaho at the edge of the Palouse in northern Idaho, and the home of the Vandals of the Western Athletic Conference, the facility is used primarily for football, basketball, tennis and indoor track and field.

Portland, Ore., contracting, engineering and architecture firms have led this first phase of the project. The general contractor is Walsh Construction Co., the architecture firm is OPSIS Architecture and DCI Engineering provided structural engineering.

Workers from Walsh Construction have been renovating the Kibbie Dome since November 2008, with prior planning and design feasibility testing as far back as spring 2007.

Ray Pankopf, U of I director for architectural and engineering services, says the building is used mainly by the university and also by the community for local and regional events.

On the Shelf
Phase two, scheduled for construction as soon as the university has the money, involves replacing dangerous combustibles in the east wall and adding Kalwall there as well. “Phase two is sitting on the shelf, ready to go,” Pankopf says. When the university will get the funding to finish phase two is unclear as of yet, thanks to the unsteady economy, but he estimates this year or next.

Alec Holser, principal-in-charge for OPSIS Architecture, says designers had to figure out a way to replace the combustible wood structure as well as make physical and aesthetic improvements to the Dome.

“Because of the lack of natural light in the facility, it was really hard to feel the shape of the Dome when you were inside,” Holser says.

Bob Krippaehne, senior lead project manager for Walsh, says the university wanted local people involved in the project. “We were fortunate that the Palouse area has some qualified subcontractors,” he adds. “I think we subcontracted half the contract value to local subs.”

Fire-Safety Upgrades
The structure was named the American Society of Civil Engineers Outstanding Structure of the Year in 1976 when it opened. Its barrel-arched roof is made primarily of laminated wood on a framework of tubular steel. The huge arches span 400 ft across the center and are 150 ft above the surface of the playing field.

Krippaehne says the first phase of the project is primarily safety upgrades. “Our work will bring the building up to code,” he says. “The original building was almost 100% wood frame without smoke control, fire sprinklers or proper egress for evacuation.”

“If there is a fire, smoke will be removed through these giant fans, and people will be able to exit safely,” Krippaehne says.

Work to reduce fire hazards, upgrade fire alarms and improve exiting paths by adding three sets of exit stairs and handrails began in 2007 after the Idaho State Board of Education approved funding for improvements and expansion. According to U of I officials, the total cost of the first phase, including engineering and design, is about $12 million.

The projected price tag for the total effort is $52 million and includes adding 3,600 seats to increase capacity to 20,000; lowering the playing field to accommodate the new seats and improve sight lines; and updating concourses, restrooms, media facilities and lighting.

Plans include an additional 306 club seats, 34 loge boxes and six suites for donors and alumni, along with a 9,000-sq-ft premium level Vandal Hospitality Club Room with upscale lounge and concessions.

Before renovation, the Dome had a floor area of 93,550 sq ft and a seating capacity for football of 16,000.

Panel Work
Walsh Construction started work on the west wall portion of the project in the spring of 2009 by replacing the wooden wall with a noncombustible structure.

Safway Services LLC of Spokane built 16-story scaffold towers inside and outside the wall for crews to deconstruct then reconstruct the wall while the building was occupied.

Scaffolding was constructed so that anything that fell during the removal was contained within the scaffold walls. Crews lowered the old pieces with a tower crane, disassembled them and replaced them with new steel and translucent panels.

Bill Melrose, onsite project manager for Walsh, says that because the work had to be done while the facility was up and running, crews faced numerous safety issues, primarily keeping the dome users safe while they tore down the west wall, then replaced it.

The west wall will provide a new west-end approach to the Dome with reserved VIP parking. Translucent fiberglass panels replaced the old walls, opening the Dome to natural daylight to give it a larger, open and lighter feeling. “The surface of the wall measures 50,000 sq ft and will require 200 tons of structural steel,” Melrose says.

University President M. Duane Nellis says the activity center “is a symbol of the university’s commitment to provide our students and our community with a leading living and learning experience. The Kibbie is a vital part of the university’s full life—athletics, academics, community and more. We are pleased to have this icon shine.”

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