The German "Digital Timber Construction" (DTC) Lab headed by Prof. Dr. Christopher Robeller has recently completed an impressive showcase of its research activities. It is a lightweight and environmentally friendly timber gridshell, which is part of the "Timber Structure Interface" (TSI) research project, built in Moritzplatz in the city of Augsburg, Germany.
A unique and extraordinary spiral staircase has been constructed in the KF Aerospace Centre for Excellence in Kelowna, BC, Canada. The staircase consists of a timber-concrete composite system (TCC) and spans a length of approximately 70 ft and a height of approximately 23 ft without intermediate supports.
In June 2018, a new and unique lookout tower by world-famous architect Martin Rajniš opened in the Prague municipal district of Kyje. When designing the tower, maximum emphasis was placed on the use of natural and renewable material.
The lookout tower structure is constructed with acacia logs 3.15 inches in diameter. The main supporting structure includes three legs, where a spiral staircase is also suspended. The tower legs are made of a lattice structure in the shape of an elongated barrel. At the top, the legs are interconnected with three steel hoops and a triangular steel structure.
The tower is 77.1 ft high with the observation platform located 65.5 ft above ground elevation. The observation tower can hold up to 9 people during typical operation.
In 2017, VIC OBDAM was commissioned by BAM to fully design the Kasbank project (total weight about 368.17 t) in Amsterdam. This project included a free-standing steel spiral staircase.
In late 2018, Naikoon Contracting Ltd. announced the location of their new global headquarters in Vancouver, BC, with a grand opening in spring 2019. The new office is centered around a stunning cross-laminated timber (CLT) staircase which utilizes a profound gluing technology developed by Timber Structures 3.0 (TS3). This marks the first time TS3 has been used in North America.
In many industrial sectors, China is the future market. This is also the case for the entertainment field, in which the German company Maurer Söhne works.
The Dragon Flight roller coaster is being built for Romon U‑Park, an urban theme park in Ningbo. It is the first X‑Train Flying Launch Coaster designed by Maurer Söhne.
From afar, visitors see a roller coaster standing alone on a green hill. When approaching, they understand why the atmosphere of a typical fair is missing in its surroundings.
It is not a roller coaster running at high speeds but an accessible construction with a staircase of a total of 705.3 ft. It is impossible, however, to pass through the structure in one run, because the loop is an obstacle that cannot be overcome.
The model includes interior staircases and partition walls.
The following model was analyzed for a load case during a presentation at the Systems fair in Munich in 2002.
The picture shows only a segment of the entire arena. The structure includes a total of 67 load cases and 6 load combinations. The calculation time of all load cases is approximately 2.5 minutes (Pentium IV, 1.99 GHz, 512MB RAM).
The analysis of the roller coaster seat concerned a total of 6 load cases, 6 load combinations, and 1 result combination.
The figure shows deformations due to the self-weight load case.
The model includes 115 load cases and 20 result combinations.