EPICENTER OF FORT BEND COUNTY
Rosenberg, Texas
BEST PROJECT
Sent by: Satterfield & Pontikes Construction Inc.
OWNER The Greater Texas Cultural Education Facilities Finance Corp.
LEADING DESIGN COMPANY PBK Sports
GENERAL CONTRACTOR Satterfield & Pontikes Construction Inc.
CIVIL ENGINEERING Engineering and Development Services of the Republic
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING Walter P Moore
MEP ENGINEERING LEAF engineers
ARCHITECT STOA Architects; Sustaita Architects Inc.
Funded by a public-private partnership, this $98.5 million event center was built on a tight schedule and delivered on time and on budget in August 2023.
Located in the true epicenter of Fort Bend County, the Epicenter will stimulate the local economy by hosting a wide range of events, including graduation ceremonies, high school athletic programs, sporting events, concerts, and rodeo and cattle shows.
The pavilion has more than 8,600 fixed seats and has a capacity of more than 10,000. It features a distinctive silhouette with an angular roofline and a panoramic glass facade. An outdoor pavilion of 38,000 square meters is designed to host livestock shows, equestrian competitions and agricultural events.
Image by Wade Griffith Photography
Spanning 230,000 square feet on a 51.75-acre parcel at the highest elevation in the county, the facility also serves as a vital operations center and emergency shelter during natural disasters, with services such as concessions, reserve water and energy and a capacity for 1,500 cots.
After a 10-month planning phase, construction was completed in just 14 months. Weekly meetings providing three-week advance schedules and proactive project management helped the team stay ahead of any obstacles. At the height of construction, around 400 tradesmen from 39 subcontractors were working on site.
Image by Wade Griffith Photography
Supply chain delays affected the installation of chillers and air handling units. Although the air handling units would have been craned into the top of the building before the roof was completed, they had to be installed after the roof was finished to maintain the flow of the project. Since the air handlers could not fit in one piece, each had to be broken down into four parts, lifted one at a time, and reassembled on the building’s mezzanine before be installed
The Epicenter has five different types of walls: tilt wall, curtain wall, metal panel veneer, brick veneer and plasterboard substrate. It was very important to join them properly so that they were waterproof. The team took extra precautions to ensure its long-term stability.
Image by Wade Griffith Photography
In 316,800 hours of work, the team had zero lost time accidents or OSHA recordable incidents thanks to a site-specific safety plan that met or exceeded all regulatory requirements, including OSHA standards.
