"Gulliver" Wooden Airship above DOX Center in Prague, Czech Republic
Customer Project
At the beginning of December 2016, a giant wooden airship “suspended” above the Center for Contemporary Art in Prague, Czech Republic, opened to the public.The unique timber and steel airship structure was named “Gulliver” and, just like the early zeppelins, it represents both the eternal human desire to fly, and a certain utopian ideal. Gulliver will serve as space for literary events related to the themes of DOX’s exhibitions. These exhibitions are characterized by critical reflection on the situation of our contemporary world.
| Structural Engineering |
Ing. Zbyněk Šrůtek (timber, steel, membrane) Česká Skalice, Czech Republic www.timberdesign.cz Ing. Pavel Kocourek (steel) Ing. Jana Divíšková (foundation) Prague, Czech Republic |
| Concept Design |
Leoš Válka Prague, Czech Republic |
| Architects |
Prof. Ing. arch. Martin Rajniš MgA. David Kubík Prague, Czech Republic hutarchitektury.cz |
| General Contractor |
STYLBAU, s.r.o. Hradec Králové, Czech Republic www.stylbau.cz |
| Subcontractors |
Timber Structure TIMBER DESIGN s.r.o. Česká Skalice, Czech Republic www.timberdesign.cz Steel Structure ELEKTRO MOSEV spol. s r.o. Hradec Králové, Czech Republic www.elektromosev.cz |
| Investor |
DOX Center for Contemporary Art Prague, Czech Republic www.dox.cz |
Model
Structure
The supporting framework of the airship consists of 14 truss hoops arranged in a transversal direction at a spacing of 7.2 - 9.8 ft. The hoops are connected to each other by lateral and auxiliary elements, which converge together in a top steel ring. The structural elements are made of larch wood, hot‑dip galvanized elements, and stainless and hot‑dip galvanized fasteners.
The framework includes steel cables that ensure the overall spatial stability. The timber frame is coated by larch wood lamellas and is protected against weather conditions by a membrane structure in the upper half of the structure. Thus, the membrane structure consisting of ETFE foil creates something like an umbrella above the entire airship structure.
The timber framework of the airship is anchored to an inclined steel supporting structure at the respective height, which serves as the supporting foundation for the interior timber floor of the airship. The structure is supported by two steel truss columns located along the walls of the buildings in the DOX Center's yard. The columns are built on newly-built pile foundations. A spar and cables in the horizontal direction stabilize the cantilevered part of the steel supporting structure that exceeds the building walls. The airship can be accessed by two side staircases made of steel.
The basic airship body is complemented by a gondola that can be accessed from the airship board by a steel ladder. The airship includes audiovisual and lighting equipment. Due to the installed infra panels, it is possible to operate the airship all year long.
The total construction area is 3,466 ft², the accessible interior area is 1,733 ft², and the space enclosed by the construction is 72,395 ft³.
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Programs Used for Structural Analysis
Main Program
Structural engineering software for finite element analysis (FEA) of planar and spatial structural systems consisting of plates, walls, shells, members (beams), solids and contact elements
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Add-on Module
Timber design according to Eurocode 5, SIA 265 and/or DIN 1052
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Add-on Module
Design of steel members according to Eurocode 3
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Form-finding of tensile membrane and cable structures
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Add-on Module
Stability analysis according to the eigenvalue method
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