David S. Ingalls Rink shot at twilight tonight.
Designed by architect Eero Saarinen and built between 1953 and 1958 for Yale University, it is commonly referred to as The Whale due to its appearance. The building was constructed for $1.5 million, which was double its original cost estimate. It seats 3,500 people and has a maximum ceiling height of 23 meters. The building is named for David S. Ingalls, Yale class of 1920, and David S. Ingalls, Jr., Yale class of 1956, both of whom were hockey captains. The building was included on the America's Favorite Architecture list, created in 2007 by the American Institute of Architects.
The rink employs an innovative structural system in which a 90 meter reinforced concrete arch, from which a cable net is hung, supports a timber roof. This causes a stable, double curvature form. Exterior cables linking the arch directly to the outer edges of the roof were added during structural design development. These cables address forces caused by asymmetrical wind loads. Fred N. Severud was the structural engineer for the project.
