TRAVERSE CITY, MI

The 14-screen theater building boasts a 484-seat IMAX auditorium, large lobby with concessions and beer service, and a refill station for drinks and snacks. Walls are insulated precast panels on foundations below frost level, and the roof construction is heavy duty in order to accept the loads of lake-effect snow. Designing and building this structure in the middle of winter was a challenge, but well worth the outcome for a much-anticipated local population.