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000794
2014-03-27

Forum Gold and Silver in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany

The construction of a building with a spectacular facade was completed in the German town of Schwäbisch Gmünd for the 2014 State Garden Show (Landesgartenschau).

The project of the local association for noble metals is supposed to emphasize the reputation of the "gold and silver" town.

The following data refer to the facade construction.

Length: ~ 25 m (82 ft) | Width: ~ 25 m (82 ft) | Height: ~ 25 m (82 ft) | Weight: ~ 55 t (60 US t)
Number of Nodes: 811 | Members: 1,276 | Materials: 2 | Cross-Sections: 7

The building is intended to be used as a presentation area and for events related to the subjects of gold, silver, and design.

The planning office isin Architekten was commissioned with the design of the building after winning a competition. The Klöckner engineering office carried out the structural analysis of the facade support structure using RSTAB, and that of the facade cassettes with RFEM. In connection with a wind report created by the German I.F.I. Institute for Industrial Aerodynamics, the wind loads to be applied were determined with a model placed in a wind tunnel.

Facade Structure
The facade envelops the building like a coat made of gold leaf. In reality, however, it is not gold foil that makes up the approximately 800 facade panels sized 1.5 m x 1.5 m (4.9 ft x 4.9 ft), but an aluminum alloy coated on both sides with DURAFLON®, a fluoropolymer stove enamel surface finish.

The steel supporting structure of the facade consists of 1,276 members altogether, with steel grades of S 235 and S 355. It is fixed to the building at 80 points. Ten round pipe columns with a diameter of 159 mm (6.2 in) absorb the majority of the vertical loads.

The RSTAB add-on module STEEL EC3 was used for the calculation. The 3 mm (0.11 in) thick facade cassettes were calculated using the RFEM add-on modules RF‑IMP, RF‑STABILITY, and RF‑STEEL Surfaces.

The cassettes are reinforced in the bay with aluminum edge profiles. These were designed in RF‑ALUMINUM.

Structural Engineering Structural Analysis for Facade Structure
Ingenieurbüro Klöckner GmbH, Nistertal, Germany
Construction Facade
EBENER GmbH Fassaden-Profiltechnik, Bad Marienberg, Germany
www.ebener.de

Steel Structure
SWW Stahlbau Westerwald, Heiligenrot, Germany
www.stahlbauwesterwald.de
Architect isin architekten, Aalen, Germany
www.isin.de
Investor Edelmetallverband Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany
www.edelmetallverband.de


Project Specifications

Model Data

Number of Nodes 811
Number of Members 1276
Number of Load Cases 14
Number of Load Combinations 2
Number of Result Combinations 247
Total Weight 54,497 t
Dimensions (Metric) 25.172 x 24.972 x 25.499 m
Dimensions (Imperial) 82.59 x 81.93 x 83.66 feet
Program Version 8.02.00

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