ADVANCE CONSTRUCTION METHODS

SPACE GRIDS/SPACE FRAME

 What is Grid/Frame ?

In architecture and structural engineering, a space frame or space

structure (3D truss) is a rigid, lightweight, truss-like structure
constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric pattern. Space
frames can be used to span large areas with few interior supports.
Like the truss, a space frame is strong because of the inherent
rigidity of the triangle; flexing loads (bending moments) are
transmitted as tension and compression loads along the length of
each strut.
 ADVANTAGES OF SPACE FRAME/SPACE GRID

• These three-dimensional structures are sturdy. They aid load sharing with
maximum precision.
• The steel elements are portable and lightweight. Therefore, their assembly is
modular, secure and efficient.
• It is capable of bearing heavy loadings with minimum deflections.
• The cost of transportation is less as compared to conventional steel structures.
• Space frame/ Space structure also allows odd placement of columns, along
with integral cladding and glazing. Therefore, modularity is achieved with
these structures.
• Efficient, both structurally and functionally
• They allow hassle free erection and a geometric balance. These boost the
aesthetics of the construction and offers flexibility.
• Easily expandable and are built following assembly line approaches with a very
minimum amount of seismic resistance.
SPACE GRID/SPACE FRAME
• a three dimensional structure.
• assembled linear elements are arranged to
transfer the load.
• take a form of a flat surface or curved surface.
• designed with no intermediate columns to
create large open area.
HISTORY OF SPACE FRAME
• Space frames were independently developed by alexander
graham bell around 1900 and buckminster fuller in the 1950s
buckminster fuller's focus was architectural structures; his
work had greater influence.
• It was developed in california during the 1960s and
introduced to the south african market in 1982, specifically
developed for unstable soil conditions, the panels form a
monolithic structure offering superior wall strength in which
no cracking will occur.
DESIGN METHOD
• Space frames are typically designed using a rigidity matrix.
• The special characteristic of the stiffness matrix in an
architectural space frame is the independence of the angular
factors.
• If the joints are sufficiently rigid, the angular deflections can
be neglected, simplifying the calculations.
TYPES OF CONNECTORS ARE:
• Nodus Connector
• Triodetic Connector
• Tuball Node Connector
• Hemispherical Dome
Connector

Members Are Fixed Using Connectors

MATERIALS
• STEEL
• TIMBER

LOAD DISTRIBUTION
If a force is applied to the blue node, and the red bar is not
present, the behaviour of the structure depends completely on
the bending rigidity of the blue node. If the red bar is present,
and the bending rigidity of the blue node is negligible compared
to the contributing rigidity of the red bar, the system can be
calculated using a rigidity matrix, neglecting angular factors.
LIMITATIONS
• A space frame or space structure is a truss-like,lightweight rigid
structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric
pattern.
• Space frame truss can be used for a platform or overhead structure
that spans large distances without need for internal load bearing
support.
• Space frames are advantageous compared to other common
structures by their; light weight, mass production, stiffness, and
versatility.
• Space frames are classified into three types according to the number
of grid layers as follows; single, double, or triple layer.
• Space frame connections can be made by; welding, bolting, or
threading.
• Space frame construction utilize three main methods of erection; 1-
scaffold method, 2. block assembly Method, lift-up method.
VARIOUS FORMS OF GRIDS

Two-Way Grids Four-Way Grids

Three-Way Grids
TYPES OF SPACE GRID/SPACE FRAME

1. Curvature classification
• Space plane covers
• Barrel vaults
• Spherical domes
2.Classification by the arrangement of its elements
• Single layer grid
• Double layer grid
• Triple layer grid
 CURVATURE CLASSIFICATION
1. SPACE PLANE COVERS:
• Spatial Structures Composed of Planar Substructures.
• Deflections In The Plane Are Channeled Through the
Horizontal Bars and The Shear Forces are Supported by the
Diagonals.
 CURVATURE CLASSIFICATION
2. BARREL VAULTS:
• Has A Cross Section of a Simple Arch. Usually This type of Space Frame
does not need to use Tetrahedral Modules or Pyramids As a part of its
Backing.
 CURVATURE CLASSIFICATION
3. SPHERICAL DOMES:
• Require The Use Of Tetrahedral Modules or Pyramids and additional
Support from a Skin.
 CLASSIFICATION BY THE ARRANGMENT OF
ITS ELEMENTS
1.SINGLE LAYER GRID:
• All Elements Are Located On The Surface Approximately.
 CLASSIFICATION BY THE ARRANGMENT OF
ITS ELEMENTS
2.DOUBLE LAYER GRID :
• Commonly Used Space frames Are Double Layered And Flat.
• Elements Are Organized In Two Parallel Layers With Each Other At A
Certain Distance Apart.
• Each Of The Layers Form A Lattice Of Triangles, Squares Or Hexagons In
Which The Projection Of The Nodes In A Layer May Overlap Or Be
Displaced Relative To Each Other.
 CLASSIFICATION BY THE ARRANGMENT OF
ITS ELEMENTS
3.TRIPLE LAYER GRID :
• Elements Are Placed In Three Parallel Layers, Linked By The Diagonals.
• They Are Almost Always Flat.
• Practically Used For A Larger Span Building
SINGLE-LAYER GRID.
DOUBLE LAYER GRIDS (DLGS)
 HEYDAR ALIYEV CENTER
CULTURAL CENTER - BAKU, AZERBAIJAN

Architects: Zaha Hadid Architects

site area: 111,292 m2 built area: 52,417 m2 foot print: 15,514 m2
Year:2013
 INTRODUCTION
Zaha Hadid Architects was appointed as design
architects of the Heydar Aliyev Center following
a competition in 2007. The Center, designed to
become the primary building for the nation’s
cultural programs, breaks from the rigid and
often monumental Soviet architecture that is so
prevalent in Baku, aspiring instead to express
the sensibilities of Azeri culture and the
optimism of a nation that looks to the future.
 Design concept
• The design of the Heydar Aliyev Center establishes a continuous, fluid
relationship between its surrounding plaza and the building’s interior.
• Public interior space and define a sequence of event spaces dedicated to
the collective celebration of contemporary and traditional Azeri culture.
• Elaborate formations such as undulations, bifurcations, folds, and
inflections modify this plaza surface into an architectural landscape that
performs a multitude of functions.
 Geometry, structure, materiality
• One of the most critical yet challenging elements of the project was the
architectural development of the building’s skin.
• To achieve a surface so continuous that it appears homogenous, required
a broad range of different functions, construction logics and technical
systems had to be brought together and integrated into the building’s
envelope.
• The main structure of the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Centre is a mix
of reinforced concrete, steel frame structures, and composite beams and
decks. The space frame is composed of a special steel tube-and-nodes
system
• The introduction of curved ‘boot columns’ to achieve the inverse peel of
the surface from the ground to the West of the building, and the ‘dovetail’
tapering of the cantilever beams that support the building envelope to the
East of the site.
 Geometry, structure, materiality
• The space frame system enabled the construction of a free-form structure.
• To incorporate a flexible relationship between the rigid grid of the space
frame and the free-formed exterior cladding seams.
• Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) and Glass Fibre Reinforced
Polyester (GFRP) were chosen as ideal cladding materials.
• The panels are composed of “various layers of fine-grain high-
performance white cement concrete, reinforced with fiber glass mats.
• “There are about 15,000 panels, each with an individual curved geometry,
in sizes up to a maximum of 1.5 m wide and 7 m long, none equal to
another one.
• There are 40,000 m of 3D computer-generated substructure metal tubes
underneath the panels, no tube equal to another one, perfectly matching
the panels and their fixing positions.
MAIN ENTRY
MAIN ENTRY
 Ericsson Globe Stadium

ARCHITECT: BERG ARKITEKTKONTORSVANTE BERGLARS VRETBLAD

YEAR: 1986 - 1989
LOCATION: STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
 Introduction
The Ericsson Globe Stadium, the largest spherical building in the
world, opened in 1989 and is home to the Swedish national hockey
team. On the arena of this covered stadium Sweden won the world
hockey championships in 2013, handball Europeans in 2002, Nelson
Mandela held a speech in 1990 and international artists perform
their concerts.
Originally known as Stockholm Globe Arena, it is familiarly referred
to by the Swedes as Globen, (The Globe). On 2 February 2009, the
Stockholm Arena Globe naming rights were officially acquired by the
Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson and renamed
Ericsson Globe. Its construction lasted two and a half years and its
large white sphere has a diameter of 110m, an interior height of
85m and a volume of 605,000m3.
Location
The stadium is a symbol for both Stockholm and Sweden, and has been the
setting that has hosted almost all major events during the last decades in the
country. It is located in the Johanneshov district in the center of the Swedish
capital.

Concept
The building represents the Sun in the Solar System of Sweden, the world’s
largest scale model of the Solar System.
 Structure
• Built on 48 main curved columns a space frame Mero supports
the dome-shaped structure.
• The unique hemispheric construction.
• The steel structures in the globe include a lower section, up to
the level of the equator, with heavy welded curved columns,
beam gallery and stabilizing frame equivalent to approximately
3,000 tons of steel.
• The components have been protected by fire retardant paint,
applied before delivery.
• The upper section of the dome consists of a type of space frame
Mero, which includes approximately 600 tons of steel in the form
of round and square tubes interconnected with spherical joints.
 Materials
• The spherical structure was made with steel beams which were
then coated with fire retardant paint before placing the white
aluminum facade.
• In its construction used 28,000 cubic meters of concrete and
3,000,000 tons of reinforced steel that if placed in a straight line,
would arrive from Stockholm to Paris.
• There are a total of 144 skylights in the dome of the Globe. All
the windows are of the type “airplane” to withstand high
pressures and the harsh climatic conditions, remaining hermetic
• For the construction of the SkyView, 42,000 kg of steel were used
to reinforce the original external structure and 70,000 kg of lanes
for rail transport that has been mounted outside the Stockholm
Globe Arenas.