Structural Design and Construction
A new load resistance arrangement was needed in order to relieve the windows from holding a structural function together with recovery of the lower space. This required a new approach to the supporting structure. The solution was a planar roof surface simply supported on its perimeter as well as on short columns equally spaced along the midline. The small columns are also connected at the bottom, to a beam which transfers the load to the horizontal beams.
All the new members are made with glued-laminated timber, replacing the old solid timber members. The roof is made of five-ply cross-laminated timber panels. Three of the layers are oriented in the direction of the line of the short columns. This solution avoids using a beam on top of the columns to reduce the span of the roof. This also eliminates the need for a hip rafter on the corner intersection of the roof panels. Thus, more usable height is available in the lower space.
The roof was properly modeled by connecting members and surfaces. It required the study of the strong fiber orientation of CLT depending on the existing internal forces. Advanced RFEM functionalities were used to simulate the transfer of loads from the CLT panels to the short columns using rigid surfaces. The junctions between the CLT panels were simulated with linear hinges. The internal forces at the line hinges were used for the design of the bolted connections at the plate edges.
| Structural Engineering | Technical Office and Timber Works Maderas Besteiro S.L. Lugo, Spain www.mbesteiro.com |
| Architecture | gAUArquitectura e UrbanismoSLp Lugo, Spain www.gau.com.es |
| Investor | Xunta de Galicia, Spain |
