The 143,000-sf (13,000-sm) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is currently undergoing a significant expansion and renovation, representing a combined 86,100-sf (8,000-sm). LERA was the structural engineer for the original facility, designed by I.M. Pei in 1995, which contains exhibition space, a cantilevered auditorium, a disc jockey booth, office space, a museum shop, a café and outdoor terrace and a public plaza. The new addition building will be made of galvanized steel and will include a rooftop deck overlooking Lake Erie, which consists of a hybrid timber-steel roof structure using CLT panels and glulam beams.

The original design combines geometric forms and cantilevered spaces, including 50,000 sf (4,600 sm) of exhibition space beneath a soaring “glass tent” spanning 260 ft (80-m), which engages an 8-story, 165-ft (50-m) tower containing the Hall of Fame.

On the lakeside, the tower meets the water, requiring construction of concrete caps poured over steel piles that extend into the bedrock. The 125-seat Foster Theater cantilevers 65 ft (20 m) out from the tower over the surface of Lake Erie, 60 ft (18 m) above the lake’s surface.