Phoenix Central Park in Sydney, Australia, combines several functions under one roof. In addition to an art gallery and a garden, the so-called Performance Space (event room) serves artists and musicians as a space for events and concerts. The event room impresses with its bell-like shape made of 162 layers of free-form cross-laminated timber. For the underlying structure, to which the individual cross-laminated timber elements are fixed, inclined and shaping supports made of glulam were installed in advance.
3D-CLT Elements
During the planning process, the engineers from HESS TIMBER took the architects’ original 3D model and designed the required supporting structure, including all the steel connections that were used to connect the timber structure to the building’s pre-existing concrete shell. The free-form cross-laminated timber elements were cut to size at the factory in a fully automated process using state-of-the-art CNC production technology. To ensure smooth installation on site, each component was printed with an installation sequence code. This enabled the installation team on site to determine the exact position of the individual components. This meant that the huge 3D puzzle could be assembled in a very short time.
"The hours our design engineers invested in three-dimensional assembly planning beforehand have paid off. It's always a great feeling when the interaction between the structural engineering, design, production, logistics and assembly departments works well and results in a project like this."
