Short articles, YouTube videos, blogs or posts found on the internet or posted on the LSAA Facebook page. (in random order)

If any LSAA member has an article or notices something of interest they could email a link and/or text to blogger @ LSAA.org (no spaces)

The SergeFerrari Group announces the acquisition of Verseidag-Indutex thus strengthing its global leader position in Tensile Architecture and Modular Structures and becoming a key player in non-combustible solutions.

See the Press Release by SergeFerrari

See the Press Release by Jagenberg (Verseidag)

Article added July 31 2020

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New Canopy Holds Up Adelaide’s International Tennis Position.

The internationally sanctioned men’s and women’s tennis tournament will be played under the centre courts new canopy – being designed by COX Architecture.
 
The canopy, which spans 80 metres in length and covers the two existing grandstands and court areas, was highlighted by Premier Steven Marshall as a decisive factor in Adelaide securing the high-profile sporting event and reinstates Memorial Drive as a world-class tennis venue.
 
Tennis Australia Chief Executive Office Craig Tiley believes ‘now that we’ve got the roof’ more high-profile tennis tournaments will be seen in Adelaide.
This new canopy adds to COX-led redevelopments made to the Memorial Drive tennis precinct in 2017.
 
The Anchor project added a new sunken outdoor show court, new match courts and a clay court centre of excellence.Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment David Ridgway said, ‘the newly developed precinct will allow fans to get up close to the action which will take the spectator experience to a whole new level.’
The Adelaide International is a week-long tournament held in January and will serve as a lead-in to the Australian Open.The canopy is currently under construction and will be completed in time for the 2020 tournament.
 

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North Queensland Stadium construction progress, Townsville. From the video you can see what a great location it is relative the city centre.

YOUTUBE.COM - click on the blank image above
Take a bird’s eye view of the North Queensland Stadium. This footage from Friday 1 March 2019 shows the stadium build is about 38% complete! 

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The progress fly through of Al Bayt Stadium that featured at our 2018 conference. The cladding is nearing completion and the bespoke patterned fabric roof soffit is impressive. Click on the blank image below.

Serge Ferrari

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YOUTUBE.COM
Al Bayt Stadium – Al Khor City is almost ready for action. Learn more about this 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ semi-final venue here: https://sc.qa/en/stadiums/...

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LSAA member Tensys have been developing tensile aviary structures for the Mandai Project, as part of the ever expanding eco-precinct in Singapore. If you haven't been before the highlight is the Night Safari.

#MandaiProject #Nightsafari #Singapore #Tensionstructures #CablenetsVisitSingapore

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The rejuvenation of Mandai will involve the integration of the existing River Safari, Night Safari and Singapore Zoo with upcoming new attractions - includin...

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Anish Kapoor's Sculpture, "Sectional Body Preparing for Monadic Singularity", 2015. A steel frame clad in PVC

Lisson Gallery

This morning at Lisson Gallery #AnishKapoor announced his first large-scale solo exhibition in China. Kapoor will open a solo show across the Central Academy of...

See more on LSAA Facebook

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A BBC article on current and future thinking in robotic construction and construction monitoring

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BBC.COM
Will robots, drones and smart diggers create our future homes and workplaces?

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A BBC article on current and future thinking in robotic construction and construction monitoring

About This Website
BBC.COM
Will robots, drones and smart diggers create our future homes and workplaces?

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A tower that used the drying process of timber to make the structure self twist

University of Stuttgart #Timber #LSAA

 
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DEZEEN.COM
 
University of Stuttgart engineers have harnessed the natural shrinking process of wood as it loses moisture to create this world-first self-twisted tower in Germany.

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An experimental temporary structure "TemporActive" was constructed as part of Tensinet's latest symposium in Italy. A single skin form with cable stiffended ribs.

#Tensinet #fabric #lightweight

CANOBBIO.COM

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Google HQ under construction. A steel frame diagrid with a tension form supported by columns at the high points. Also recommend checking out BIG's page for some context https://big.dk/#projects-gce

#BIG BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group

 
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YOUTUBE.COM
 
Google's new California headquarters, designed by the studios of Bjarke Ingels and Thomas Heatherwick, is captured in this aerial footage by The 111th that s...

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The Centaur Pod is the result of a research project between Arup and UNSW. It is a kinematic folded plate structure that defines an internal space such as a meeting room and can change form based on the changing environment or need. The mechanism is powered pneumatically.

#Origamistructures

Click on the blank image to go to a page on the ARUP website
 
ARUP.COM
 
The ‘Centaur Pod’ prototype seeks to challenge a static built environment. The result of a Research project between Arup and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, it’s an origami inspired meeting room that can expand and contract in response to its surroundings and how it is bein...

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Scattered domes, in a beer garden, to warm up in on a beautifully sunny winters day. Darling harbour, Sydney

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Tensinet, our European equivalent, publishes a newsletter twice a year. Even if you are not a member there are a few articles that they share as a teaser

#Tensinet

TENSINET.COM
 

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Just a short note to say that Boxing Day is a day of sporting highlights in Australia - as well as a lot of mahem at the sales.

The first day of the third cricket test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground - The "G" - saw a crowd of some 73,000 watch a slow scoring day on a flat pitch. India batting.

Also Boxing Day is the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart classic ocean yacht race.

From a lightweight structures viewpoint we have the extensive roof structures at the cricket. Also the fast sailing machines with their composite lightweight hulls, prestressed tensile rigging, tensioned fabric sails precisely cut to give a form to generate maximum driving force.

In recent years we have twin rudders and canting keels to maximize the functions of these appendages and in doing so further reduce the weight of the boats.

Some of the super-maxis have very large beams to enhance the planning ability and effects of the crew as ballast. 

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What an iconic venue in the Kings Domain in Melbourne! And Happy 60th Birthday!! WOW

Melb 095

This is a unique tensile cablenet structure was designed by Barry Patten of the Architectural firm Yuncken Freeman Brothers, Griffiths and Simpson. Engineering was done by Irwin Johnstone.

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In Sydney for the past 35 or so years there has been great free pre-Christmas Concerts for families.

The event is held in the Domain, and each year the quite large stage and the canopy is erected.

The founding President of the then MSAA (now the LSAA) was largely responsible for developing the canopy concept.

Vinzenz Sedlak started with a lycra model at a scale of 1:100 and envisaged four masts located near each corner of the stage. Diagonal cross cables spanned between the opposite mast heads and a long front edge cable gave an uninterrupted view of the stage area.

Domain VS 17Domain VS 01

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From the Spire

I recently had a short trip down to Melbourne and took a few pictures of the Arts Centre Spire which was constructed in the late 1970s.

Conceptually, the spire is a sculpture which was intended to indicate the location of something special located under the tall, tapering open lattice structure.

The "upper spire" is from bolted steel tubes with a geometry utilizing tetrahedrons so as to reduce the number of members meeting at a joint. Four joints are at each higher level and these four are rotated by 45 degrees in plan from those at the adjacent levels.

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The LSAA committee has spotted two LSAA member projects in the shortlist of the World Architectural Festival 2018. Congratulations to your respective architects and the LSAA members that have contributed to the project’s success. Please let me know if I have missed a project. #WAF18

http://fabritecture.com/project/westfield-chermside-urchin/

https://www.worldarchitecturefestival.com/

Shopping Completed Buildings: Westfield Chermside Outdoor Dining and Leisure Precinct
- Architects: Scentre Group Design / Urbis / Armada Australia
- Fabrication & Construction: Fabritecture - Custom Fabric Architecture
- Structural Design: Wade Design Engineers

Sport Completed Buildings: Optus Stadium, Perth, Australia 
- Architects: HASSELL COX HKS
- Structural Design: Arup
- Fabric Design and Install: MakMax Australia Tensile Membrane Specialists

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There has been a number of curved and interesting footbridges built recently here in Melbourne. See these pics:

Melb 088

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Lightweight Structures such as cablenets and tensioned fabric structures often exhibit relatively large deformations under changing loads.

Rock climbers will rely on the extension characteristics of their ropes to cushion any fall to a deceleration that the body can withstand.

However the following link points to an extreme case of an engineered net to safely catch a dear-devil sky diver from a 7600m free fall without a parachute.

A parachute is also an example of a tensioned fabric structure which adopts a geometric form in response to applied loads (person plus air resistance).

See: https://www.createdigital.org.au/extreme-engineering-luke-aikins-skydive/ where the source of this image is acknowledged.

Luke Aikins during his record breaking skydive

 

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Project Highlight: Opening of HOTA (Home of the Arts) at the Gold Coast Cultural Precinct

LSAA Member Contributors: Structural Engineer - Arup, Fabric Supply and Installation - Fabritecture, Fabric Design - Wade Design Engineers

Designers: ARM architecture and Topotek1

HOTA Andrew Lane01

Above image by Andrew Lane - see here

For more photos refer to:
http://fabritecture.com/project/gccp/

Also to an article HERE

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Bunjil Place has opened! 

This exciting new facility is designed as a cultural hub for the Narre Warren area in Melbourne’s east, and its opening weekend was celebrated with two full days of exhibitions and performances for the community. 

Centralised from our Melbourne office, LSAA Member TTW’s team contributed
structural, civil and façade engineering services and worked closely with FJMT Studio​ and Multiplex to bring this striking multi-functional building to life. 

The building's dominant feature is the timber gridshell, the first of its kind in Australia.

Congratulations to all involved in this exciting project!

http://www.ttw.com.au/projects/bunjil-place/

Bunjil Place01

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