Lyman-Morse Technologies Division’s Canopy Greets Boston commuters.
Mike Nile takes a break from a busy day to discuss a project that recently came out of the shed at the Lyman-Morse Technologies division in Thomaston, Maine: a 160-foot by 32-foot composite canopy, constructed of fiberglass and carbon fiber, that withstands the raw elements Mother Nature spews at it. The structure is not unlike the stunning yachts the company has built since 1978. But, it’s not a yacht.
True, the diamond-shaped canopy over the Kendall Square MBTA station in Cambridge, Massachusetts, may seem as far removed from the salt-stained nautical world as it gets. Yet, as Nile, the project-manager on this massive undertaking, suggests, take another look at the strong, durable, lightweight structure and you’re sure to recognize the telltale elements that only a successful semi-custom boatbuilder would think of.
Looking at the canopy, it soon becomes clear that something as mundane as an entrance to a subway station can justifiably claim it’s status as a piece of architectural art. It is also clear that this is yet another stellar example of how Lyman-Morse’s innovation is increasingly finding broader purpose.
It also becomes clear why Samir Gupta, head of Lyman-Morse Technologies, a company division that’s a leader in state-of-the-art applications of composites manufacturing, along with Nile, would accept a commission like the Kendall Square project again in a heartbeat.
Talk to Gupta or Nile about the project, and they’ll excitedly recount the timeline and constuction details as if it left the shop yesterday. In fact, Lyman-Morse’s involvement in the project reaches back to 2018, when discussions first began. Over the course of a four year period, the project went from the drawing board to the 13-hour installation that took place under the cover of darkness on a cool fall night in September, 2022. The canonpy is one of the standout results of a multi-year, ongoing redevelopment of the Cambridge neighborhood that is being led by noneother than the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Key Parties Come Calling
The project began when Lyman-Morse was approached by NADAAA Inc. and Perkins + Will, the project design architect and architect of record for the Kendall Square/MIT project, respsectively. The two-phase design and build proposal required input and planning from several Lyman-Morse departments.
Structural engineering firm Simpson Gumpertz & Heger provided the Lyman-Morse team with a design criteria, and a list of proposed materials for the project that included carbon fiber, fiberglass, stainless steel, aluminum, resin, and PET foam for a fire redundant core. From there, the Lyman-Morse team was able to conduct their initial research.
Our engineers tested their proposed design for manufacturing the carbon fiber canopy via finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. “We had to know how the structure was going to perform in high wind, loaded with snow, and any other outdoor conditions it might encounter,” Nile says.
Meanwhile, our design department determined that it could create both halves of the diamond in succession out of one mold, for which it would custom build the tooling. Via the inhouse computer numerical control (CNC) machining process, Lyman-Morse’s teams fabricated the frames of the mold out of AdvanTech plywood. Lyman-Morse designers were also tasked with ensuring the canopy would slot in seamlessly with the support columns.
“Our design team made sure this canopy was laid out precisely,” Nile says. “The canopy is 30 feet in the air and sitting on 26 columns coming from a cement base layer. They had to line up directly into the canopy where we needed to bolt them in, and we had to get it right the first time. Our designers, working with our skilled craftsmen, are the reason we got it right. Design manager Kevin Houghton was there from start to finish.”
Creating the Canopy
Anticipating a weight of 15,000 pounds for each 80-foot by 32-foot half, Thomaston’s on-site teams kept busy through fall and winter 2022.
“We set up what’s called a ‘strong back,’ which is basically like the floor joists in a home,” Nile says. “Then we put all the frames on it, we sheathed the whole mold, which is basically the female version of the part, with fiberglass and infused resin into it, then pulled the part up out of it. Just like a boat hull.”
The number of workers required for what would become Lyman-Morse’s largest architectural project to date ebbed and flowed depending on what part of the project they were working on.
“In the lamination stage, you might have a certain number, then you’re all-hands-on deck for the infusion of the part, and that took maybe 10-15 people,” says Gupta. “On days you’re pulling the part out of the building, flipping it around, coming back in, the crews have to be even larger because you have the crane crews, logistics and safety personnel, and team members from the fabrication division.”
The technological marvel known as additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, also crept into the job order.
“A complicated snow retention system was designed for the top of the canopy,” Nile says. “And we had a design for a snow fence part which runs around the exterior of the canopy, on the top-most outer edge. When it came to the tight radius of the nose, there was some cut and bend, and we didn’t like the overall finish when they were welded together. So, we had stainless steel 3D printed pieces made for both tips of the canopy.”
Adds Gupta: “It worked out very well, and though it was a very small part of the project, it was an important part.”
Unlike a boat’s hull, this particular structure is free of the complicated systems that are typically present in new marine builds.
“The canopy itself houses nothing,” Nile says. “Everything is either suspended from the bottom or attached to the top. Underneath it is a complex lighting system engineered by MIT-founded SOSO Limited. That’s basically the only system that’s in it, other than two drains that go down through the middle on each outer gutter.”
The interactive LED installation by SOSO Limited, powered by open-source code, features rotating illumination in contrasting hues.
Launch and Delivery
Every excited, nervous owner will tell you that a boat launch and maiden voyage is a special occasion requiring coordination and organization. In the case of the canopy, the finely tuned effort took on epic proportions. Moving it out of Thomaston, hiring two barge companies to get it to site, choosing an installation date that didn’t conflict with boat races, road races, outdoor events, shutting down roadways, acquiring permits from private, municipal, and state organizations resulted in a “mountain” of paperwork, Nile says.
“It just all fell in place really well,” Gupta says of the surprisingly seamless installation. “Mike [Nile] had brilliant planning throughout and really, coordination was the key.”
“It was a great project for the company, not only from the scale of it—it covers an area close to 3,000 square feet—but also because it affirms everything that we do here in terms of craftsmanship and the ability of our teams to deliver spectacular pieces on time, and on budget,” Gupta says.
“When the last bolt went in and the leading manager at Turner Construction, the general contractor, just looked at us, the feeling was ‘I can’t believe we pulled it off perfectly!’” Nile adds with a laugh. “They were just completely thrilled. All of us at Lyman-Morse should be very proud of what we accomplished. I don’t look at it as just a cover over a T station, that’s for sure.”
Installation video by NADAAA, a Boston based architecture and urban design firm, which acted as the Design Architect for this project:
Team:
Design Team: NADAAA Inc. (Design Architect), Perkins&Will (Architect of Record)
Structural Engineer: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH)
Lighting Designer: Sosolimited
General Contractor: Turner Construction Company
Canopy Manufacturer: Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding
Project Management: Northstar Project & Real Estate Services