Rendering of the Giant Magellan Telescope enclosure at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Credit: IDOM / Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation
Architecture and Engineering firm, IDOM, completes successful final design review for one of the largest mechanized smart buildings in the world.
Set to be operational by the early 2030s, the
In June 2024, the Giant Magellan Telescope’s enclosure passed its final design review and is now ready for construction in Chile. The 65-meter-tall enclosure will be one of the largest mechanized buildings ever constructed and able to complete a full rotation in 4 minutes as it reveals the 25.4-meter telescope for unobstructed scientific observations. Credit: Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation, IDOM, OJO, Proven Productions
Design and Engineering Excellence
Once completed, the 65-meter-tall enclosure will be one of the largest mechanized buildings ever constructed and will represent a true feat of modern engineering and precision manufacturing. At over 5,000 metric tons, the enclosure will be able to complete a full rotation in four minutes and be equipped with 46-meter-tall shutter doors that reveal the 25.4-meter telescope for unobstructed scientific observations. The smart building is cleverly designed to control the telescope’s operating environment by protecting seven of the world’s largest mirrors as they track celestial objects across the sky more than a billion light-years away.
Following the successful conceptual design of the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope dome, IDOM continues to make important contributions to the design of astronomical facilities with the Giant Magellan Telescope—built by an American-led international consortium of 14 universities and research institutions. The breadth of talent afforded by the consortium is stimulating America’s economy with construction, testing, and design work on the telescope in 36 states.
Cross section of the Giant Magellan Telescope enclosure, pier, and mount. Credit: IDOM / Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation
Building Strong Partnerships
“We formed a strong and productive partnership with IDOM as the enclosure designer. Their well-known architectural accomplishments combined with their engineering expertise in large and complex movable structures has been critical to the design of this unique structure,” said Giant Magellan Project Manager William Burgett. “The dedication and attention to detail that the IDOM team has demonstrated has been instrumental on our way to becoming one of the most powerful ground-based telescopes in the world.”
IDOM began developing the Giant Magellan Telescope enclosure design over two years ago following a competitive, global search and extensive evaluation process.
“Our team approached the challenge of the Giant Magellan Telescope enclosure knowing that this structure would be responsible for enabling some of the most important scientific discoveries of our lifetimes,” said IDOM North American President Tom Lorentz. “We are proud to have delivered a successful design and look forward to the Giant Magellan Telescope’s success.”
Cross sectional rendering of the Giant Magellan Telescope enclosure and mount at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. Credit: IDOM / Giant Magellan Telescope – GMTO Corporation
Advancements in Construction and Technology
Construction of the telescope components housed within the enclosure are advancing rapidly. For example, over the past year, fabrication commenced on the seventh and final primary mirror in Arizona, while manufacturing of the 39-meter-tall mount structure began in Illinois. Other advancements include near completion of the telescope’s first adaptive secondary mirror and significant progress on a suite of high-resolution imagers and spectrographs in Arizona, California, Massachusetts, and Texas.
These optical technologies will enable the Giant Magellan to boast a remarkable tenfold increase in resolution compared to the
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