Space Grid Structures

Space Grid Structures

This Page Intentionally Left Blank

SPACE GRID STRUCTURES

John Chilton

Architectural Press
OXFORD

AUCKLAND

BOSTON

JOHANNESBURG

MELBOURNE

NEW DELHI

Architectural Press
An imprint of Butterworth-Heinemann
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP
225 Wildwood Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801-2041
A division of Reed Educational and ProfessionalPublishing Ltd
A member of the Reed Elsevier plc group
First published 2000
© John Chilton 2000
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in
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British Library Cataloguing inPublication Data
Chilton, John
Space Grid Structures
1. Space frame structures – Design and construction
I. Title
624.1'773
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
ISBN 0 7506 3275 5

Composition by Scribe Design, Gillingham, Kent
Printed and bound in Great Britain

Contents

Preface

viiAcknowledgements

Meishusama Hall, Shiga Sacred Garden, Shigaraki,
Shiga, Japan 71
Jacob K. Javits Center, New York, USA 72
Oguni Dome, Oguni-machi, Kumamoto Prefecture,
Japan 75
FFV Aerotech Hangar, Stansted Airport, UK 78
Sant Jordi Sports Palace, Barcelona, Spain 81
Biosphere 2, Sonoran Desert, Arizona, USA 88
National Indoor Arena for Sport, Birmingham, UK 89
Lan Chile, Maintenance Hangar,Aeropuerto Comodoro
Arturo Merino Benítez, Santiago, Chile 93
Palafolls Sports Hall, Spain 94
Space grids at Expo ’92, Seville, Spain 99
Markethall, Eagle Centre, Derby, UK 104
Barrel Vault Atrium, The Bentall Centre, Kingston upon
Thames, UK 106
Terminal 2, Manchester Airport, UK 110
Fantasy Island, Pyramid, Skegness, UK 112
Roundwood timber space trusses 114
Atlanta Pavilion (unbuiltproject) 118
Milan Fair, New Exhibition Facilities, Milan, Italy 118
Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia 126

ix

1 Early development of space grids

1

2 Space grid geometry – thinking in three
dimensions 12
Why two-way spanning structures? 12
Aspect ratio 14
Space truss stability 15
Stable polyhedral forms 16
Advantages of using space grids 17
Disadvantages 20
Grid configurations21
Defining the grid 24
Complex geometries 25
Support locations 26
‘Tree’ supports 27
Edge profiles 28
Multi-layer space grids 28
3 Materials and systems

30
6 Deployable, foldable and retractable
space grids 131

Materials for space grids 30
Space grid systems 30
‘Piece-small’ systems 31
Continuous chord systems 41
Modules 43
4 Design and construction

52

Elementstructural behaviour 52
Span/depth ratios for various support conditions
Support details and thermal movement 53
Dimensional accuracy 54
Pre-camber 55
Cladding and glazing 56
Methods of erection 56
Fire resistance of space grids 58
Space grids in seismic zones 59
5 Case studies

53

61

Space frame for the ‘Symbol Zone’, Expo ’70, Osaka,
Japan 61
Nusatsum House, Bella Coola Valley, BritishColumbia, Canada 64
The Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove Community
Church, California, USA 67
The National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham
International Arena, Birmingham, UK 69

Deployable and foldable space grids 131
Emilio Pérez Piñero 131
Venezuela Pavilion Expo ’92, Seville, Spain 135
The ‘Pantadome’ erection system 139
Folding roof for swimming pool, San Pablo, Seville,
Spain...