Disneyland Parking Structure Escalator Canopies

The Disneyland Parking Structure, with a capacity for 10,250 cars, was the first major project undertaken by Guy Nordenson and Associates at the office’s inception in 1997. In 2000 GNA designed and engineered steel and fabric canopies for three exterior escalators connecting to the garage at the fifth, third, and second floors. Each canopy consists of a steel truss spanning clear from the face of the parking structure to a single post at ground level and cantilever at the ends. The trusses are three-dimensional, with a large central spine pipe bottom chord connected to the two smaller steel pipe top chords with small pipe ribs. The top chords support doubly curved arches that are the armature for the fabric membrane. The top ends of the trusses are attached to roller supports that allow the trusses to move independently of the parking structure in a seismic event. The canopies were designed, fabricated, and erected in just six months to maintain the scheduled opening date of the parking structure.