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2014-09-17

New Structure of Bus Station in Aarau, Switzerland

A unique roof structure covering the bus station was built in the Swiss town of Aarau at the end of 2013.

The canopy has a cloud-like shape and contains the largest single-chamber cushion in the world. It has a volume of 63,920 ft3 and a roofed area of 11,517 ft2.

Structure

The external dimensions of the roof are l x w = ~ 138 ft x ~ 128 ft. The eave height is 23 ft. In the center of the canopy there is an organically shaped opening. The air cushion is inflated and reaches a height between 4.3 ft and 10.5 ft. Furthermore, a clear and blue‑dyed foil with a finely balanced print was used.

The cushion is enveloped and spanned by an irregular mesh of stainless steel cables that are fixed to the curved pipes on the edge. The edge beams are supported by a load-bearing system consisting of steel girders lying within the cushion.

The entire technical infrastructure for water, air, electronics, and sensor technology has been integrated into the inner steel structure.

The roof is supported by a total of 11 filigree columns made of round pipes with a diameter of d = 11 3/4 inches that are slightly inclined in an axis. The "cloud" seems to float. The ETFE cushion has such an airtight and energy‑saving design that only 15% of the forecast air power needed to sustain the structure is required.

Immediately after the bus station was put into service, it became an exhibit in the Swiss architectural trade show "architektur 0.13" in Zürich.

Structural Engineering Structural Engineering, Workshop Planning Steel, Foil, Cables, Construction Management + Quality Control
formTL Ingenieure für Tragwerk und Leichtbau GmbH, Radolfzell, Germany
www.form-tl.de
Design, Structural Engineering, Construction Giant KONE Elevator Co., Ltd., China
www.giantkone.com
Membrane Contractor Canobbio Textile Engineering
Structural Design Dipl.-Ing. Rainer Zangerle
Graduated consulting engineer for civil engineering
Wiese 329
6555 Kappl, Austria


Project Specifications

Model data

Number of Nodes 6796
Number of Members 9545
Total Weight 59.658 tons
Dimensions 151.46 x 127.34 x 32.16 feet
Program Version 8.03.00

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