LTB Engineering, PC
LTB Engineering, PC 907 Stuart Ave Mamaroneck, NY 10543 914 777 1933 ltbeng@ltbeng.com

Lombardi Trophy for the 2005 SuperBowl

 

LTB was approached by Moss, Inc. of Belfast, Maine, www.mossinc.com in late 2004 to help in the design and analysis of a Lombardi trophy structure for SuperBowl XLI, scheduled for 6 February, 2005.  This was not your everyday trophy – it was over forty feet tall,  and intended to serve as a gateway to the game; attendees would pass through the legs which were illuminated with great moments from SuperBowls past.   Jacksonville, Florida hosted SuperBowl XLI, in the harshest hurricane zone in the world; the structure needed to be designed to withstand 120 mph. winds.

The structure was based on the Tiffany & Co. masterpiece manifested in an irregular shape of aluminum frame. Graphically printed Samba film was fastened to the frame.  The client was familiar with LTB’s experience in sail design, advanced stress analysis and aggressive timeframes.  This unique combination of engineering strengths were tested in full.

The analysis and design were documented and conveyed to a Florida PE, who endorsed it with considerable compliments, then filed it with the state.  The structure was fabricated at Moss according to plan, transported to Jacksonville, and erected to exceed Moss expectations and to the thrill of the fans. 

 

The opportunity offered by this project to showcase LTB’s unique and innovative engineering approaches has made it one of our favorites.  This project was the perfect vehicle with which to mesh our high energy and creativity to positively improve the fans’ SuperBowl experience.

The challenge presented itself in the unusual structure.  Conventional structures are easily analyzed by way of conventional approaches.  This structure required the derivation of analytic tools from elementary principals of physics.  Through close collaboration with Moss engineering, we developed an innovative and practical approach to control the massive moments and stresses.

Credits:

Brian Murphy of Subject Matter Design in Dallas, Texas  and Cameron Smith of Infinite Scale Design Group in Salt Lake City, Utah provided the original design intent. Moss Inc. of Belfast, Maine fabricated the structure.