On the Wings of an Eagle

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Seismically-Resilient Grand Stair Systems

FJMT’s vision for a complex, double curved metal roof for a civic center just outside Melbourne, Australia.

CHALLENGE

For Bunjil Palace, a $125 million multipurpose arts, civic and community facility in the Melbourne suburb of Narre Warren, the architect FJMT created a highly complex roof design. Inspired by Bunjil, a character in Aboriginal mythology who morphed into an eagle to watch over his people, the shape of the roof required a highly malleable system to support its complex curvatures.

SOLUTION

Intimately involved in the project, John Perry, an associate partner with FJMT in Sydney is a structural engineer specializing in façade engineering. Tasked with achieving buildability for this ambitious design, he and his team specified Kingspan’s KingZip Linea Architectural Roofing System.

“What the KingZip product offers is that it can form conical and curved surfaces very readily,” Perry explains. “The sheet itself, which is essentially a U-shaped trough, can be tapered. Because it is relatively thin, you can ‘spring’ it, so you can get the curvature in the other direction.”

The design comprises two intersecting circles in elevation and double curvatures, i.e., three-dimensional geometry. “KingZip was the only available product we could confidently use to satisfy the design,” stated Michael Shacklock, general manager with the project’s roofing contractor Barden-Steeldeck.

Commenting on the installation process, Niall Horgan, formally a commercial manager with Kingspan Australia, stated, “We were able to install the KingZip system very effectively in terms of detailing and not compromise the overall geometry and scheme that FJMT wanted to achieve. It’s really a one-of-a-kind aesthetic building.”

Through the design process, the team utilized RHINO to evaluate wind, thermal and earthquake effects. For example, wind tunnel testing was performed to optimize the wind loads.

The Vision

The sheltering roof, like Bunjil’s wings, represents the traditions of the past and a vision of the future in providing a protective space where occupants are sheltered from noise and weather as they gather to participate in civic activities. Providing structural support for the roof at two central points is a woven structure of laminated natural timber. In addition to highlighting the lightness of the roof with its organic geometry, it creates a sense of openness for those entering the complex.

The unique building is also highly sustainable, earning a 4 Star Green Star Public Building benchmark. Sustainable features include a high performance façade, low temperature VAV system with an economy cycle, an enhanced building automation system, rainwater harvesting for irrigation and toilet flushing and environmentally-friendly building materials.

ROOFING SYSTEM

Kingspan’s KingZip Linea

Architectural Roofing System was one of the few products capable of achieving FJMT’s complex, double curved design.

Bunjil Palace

Narre Warren, Australia Design Team: FJMT

PRODUCT SPECS:

KingZip Linea Architectural Roofing System

Kingspan www.kingspan.com PROJECT SPECS

 A 3D-printed open lattice material that can take on virtually any shape or form.

 Uses 20 times less material as compared to traditional solid-volume printing while creating the same geometry.

 A test block printed with carbon-fiber reinforced ABS can support more than 3,000 pounds of compressive force, that is a strength-to-weight ratio of approximately 1,500:1.

Fun, New Façade is a Huntsville Design First

The first project in the city to incorporate 3-D printed construction materials.

When someone says, “You can’t miss it,” all too often, it means you surely will. But that’s not so at the Monroe Street Parking Garage. Located in downtown Huntsville, Ala., the building sits smack-dab among an array of entertainment hotspots, hotels, eateries, nightlife, and the popular Von Braun multipurpose event center (capacity 10,000). Incoming entertainment seekers know they’ve arrived upon spotting the parking structure’s unique 12,000 sq.-ft. façade.

The structure’s fresh face consists of panels made from BranchMatrix, an innovative, 3D-printed, open lattice material by Branch Technology. The power of 3D printing allows for an almost unlimited number of options for creating designs. The innovative advancements achieved by Branch Technology mean construction-scale projects—even large commercial projects—are now able to utilize this power at a level not previously thought possible. The Monroe Street Parking Garage displays one stunning example. BranchMatrix can make almost any shape while using 20 times less material than traditional solidvolume layered printing with the same geometry. Shapes can be produced directly from digital files as opposed to shop drawings. This results in extreme accuracy at a higher rate of speed and with significantly less waste than is typical for commercial construction projects.

“Branch allowed us to achieve unique shapes that we wouldn’t have been able to get otherwise,” said Les

Tillery, principal at Fuqua & Partners Architects, the project’s architectural firm, in a press release. “3D printing design options are pretty unlimited in terms of what you can create.”

The façade panels consist of an internal structure made of a 3D-printed carbon-fiber material. This structure is then encased by an expanding foam and robotically machined into organic shapes— shapes approximating those found in nature. After being coated with glass-fiber reinforced concrete, the panels are installed—in this case, on three sides of the parking structure. The outcome is an energyefficient façade that is lightweight and durable.

Branch Technology, Fuqua Architects, and the City of Huntsville all contributed to the project team along with Turner Construction, precast concrete manufacturer Metromont, metal fabricator Ben Parker, and engineers LBYD Engineers and Larson Engineering.

The important downtown structure was completed in October 2021. The project is topped off with LED lighting that adorns the parking deck to add even more to its nighttime presence.

No one comes to downtown Huntsville for the parking garage, but once people arrive, they are sure to be impressed by this facelift. The Monroe Street Parking garage. You can’t miss it.

DESIGN FREEDOM

The construction-tech company—Branch Technology—combines industrial robotics, geometry-based algorithms, and a novel “freeform” extrusion system to enable unprecedented design freedom and resource efficiency for construction projects, including 3D printing façades for commercial buildings.

Monroe Street Parking Garage

Huntsville, Ala.

Design Team: Fuqua & Partners Architects

PRODUCT SPECS:

BranchMatrix, Glass-fiber reinforced concrete

Branch Technology www.branchtechnology.com