1 minute read
Fig 33- Beijing National Stadium
Retractable Roof
Modern day architecture allows us to explore kinetic components as design solutions, owing to advancements in sensors, materials, and building control technologies.
Advertisement
A kinetic façade allows movement on a building’s surface by changing dynamically rather than being static or fixed. This helps to generate a skinlike articulation effect, as described by architect Buckminster Fuller and is an extension of the idea that a building’s envelope is an active system rather than just a container. Light, air, energy may all be managed with a kinetic façade. They can help to change the interior environment by reducing sun gain while also allowing fresh air into the structure. To increase performance, the moving pieces of the façade can be programmed to respond to climatic or other environmental parameters, as well as time, levels, and type of occupancy. In case of Al Janoub stadium, the stadium has an operable roof designed by Schlaich Bergermann Partner and a seating bowl cooling system that ensures the stadium it can be used during Qatar’s summer months.
The operable roof has been designed in sympathy with the cladding using pleated PTFE fabric and cables. When its deployed, the roof operates like a sail to cover the oculus above the field of play and create a sheltered environment for football during the summer.
Fig 16- Retractable Roof of Al Janoub Stadium Source- https://www.archdaily.com/917335/al-janoub-stadium-zaha-hadid-architects Fig 17- Considerations for Materiality Source- Stadia: A Design and Development Guide; by Geraint John, Rod Sheard and Ben Vickery (2007); Post-processed by Author
Materiality
Massive columns, beams, and cantilevers can be difficult to incorporate into a cohesive design concept, thus a new tendency has been to replace (wholly or partially) these bold structural features with more delicate lattice or tension structures. These ideas don’t fix all difficulties or guarantee aesthetic success, but they can help you build more shapely and graceful structures that are more human-scaled.
