Construction + Civil Engineering

One of the key highlights at the National Garden Show 2019 (BUGA), running from 17^th April – 6^th October 2019 in Heilbronn, Germany, is the bionic research pavilions of the University of Stuttgart. With LignoLoc® wood nails from BECK Fastener Group playing a ‘binding’ role in the self-supporting wooden pavilion.

The breath-taking wooden pavilion stretches like a roof 30m over the summer island of the BUGA 2019 and represents an architectural masterpiece of digital timber construction. The shell construction was entirely digitally planned and consists of 376 tailor-made individual segments, which were manufactured exclusively by robots. At the BUGA the segments were assembled like a 3-dimensional puzzle to a pavilion with 30m span in just 10 days.

As it is often the case with architectural masterpieces, nature is the model also for this lightweight construction project. Thus, the self-supporting construction was modelled on the plate skeleton of the sea urchin. In order to keep the basis weight low, the individual segments were made hollow. They are composed of two panels glued to a wooden frame.

Layer protection with LignoLoc® wooden nails
In order to avoid downtime in robot production, LignoLoc® wooden nails were shot in addition to the adhesive. The wooden nails fixed the moulded parts until the adhesive hardened. 18,000 pieces of beech wooden nails were processed by a robotic arm in the design without unduly affecting the basis weight. Even in the subsequent high precision milling of the segments, the nails could be processed without problems.

The resulting lightweight construction segments were connected with each other by box joints and functions as a form active supporting frame, which also convinces aesthetically.

Until 6^th October the wooden pavilion and the fibre pavilion – another project of the University of Stuttgart – can be admired at the BUGA 2019. Thereafter, the structure can be dismantled without damage and reinstalled elsewhere.