"The first major building to come out of the firm with Jahn's name distinctly attached to it, the Kemper Arena established his reputation as an adventurous designer and linked it to space age technology. The three giant trusses, that hold the roof in suspension above and independent from the tiers of seats and support spaces below, serve both a practical function in allowing a fast-tracking of construction that produced the building in under 18 months and an aesthetic purpose in investing an enormously bulky and closed building with considerable visual romance."

— from Nory Miller. Helmut Jahn. p20.

Details

begun: 1973finished: 1974

"Designed for flexibility, the arena seats up to 18,000 people.... The two tiers of seating are part of a concrete substructure. The metal walls and roof, suspended from giant trusses, form the superstructure. The two elements are independent. The three exterior trusses, that give the 325- by 424-foot interior a column-free enclosure, are made of standard tube varying between 30 and 48 inches in diameter and 3/8 to 1 1/4 inches is bolted together with internal tube stiffeners. The trusses are 27 feet deep and set 153 feet on center. The substructure takes no vertical loads from the roof or exterior wall. Loads from the trusses are transferred to steel hangers angles out from the building, leading to pin connections that sit on concrete piles driven 60 feet into the earth."

— from Nory Miller. Helmut Jahn. p20.