Covered Entrance at Veronafiere
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Covered Entrance at Veronafiere

Technology and Teamwork

Maffeis Engineering

Covered Entrance at Veronafiere
By Editorial Staff -
Pichler has participated in the project

The Veronafiere exhibition center is being upgraded and the addition of a roof over the Re Tedorico entrance was the latest step in this process. The success of this specific project very much depended on the close cooperation of the client with Maffeis Engineering - which produced the design and structural drawings - and Pichler Projects, which took on the construction drawings and actual creation of the structures and cladding.

Covering 6,750 sq. m, the L-shaped roof is made of steel tubes welded together, but the real complexity lies in the “pattern” for the covering, drawing on a Voronoi decomposition, with 36 different geometric modules forming a single macro-module that was repeated until the desired size was attained. Each module has a cushion covering made of ETFE, a lightweight, transparent material that is highly resistant, insulating and light permeable. The film for these cushions was printed, using three different printing processes to provide three different levels of opacity. Each cushion is inflated to a constant pressure using a system of channels connected to four machines that can pump air through the cushions.  Each of the macro-modules is also designed such that the profiles for the cells slope down to create a “basin” where any rainwater collects so it can then be channeled into a collection cell and finally into the siphonic drainage system that is actually incorporated into the metal structure. The roof is held up by multiple steel tube structures that, using irregular geometries, have been designed to resemble stylized trees. The trunk consists of CHS 406 tubes that are joined at the bottom and the top, from where a second level of CHS 406 tubes fork upwards, before also splitting, this time into tapering pipes that are CHS 169 at the point where they meet the roof. Maffeis Engineering provided a parametric design using BIM that Pichler Projects developed into a 3D model of the structure, with the construction details. During this project stage, it was especially important to work particularly closely with the ETFE technical experts as the complexity of the structural work and the minimal tolerance left no room for error.

The steel structures were all produced in the factory and then delivered for on-site assembly, which had to take place in two stages to avoid any interference with the exhibition schedule. This need to combine rapid installation with very precise work was taken into account as early as the design phase, with numerous specific solutions adopted for the individual components.

Teamwork and the resulting synergies were fundamental in meeting the budget and time restrictions, providing clear proof that cooperation and sharing expertise are essential in successfully fulfilling a complex, delicate order.

PICHLER PROJECTS

Via Edison, 15 - I - 39100 Bolzano
​Tel. +39 0471 065000
E-mail: [email protected] - www.pichler.pro

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