Oval Roof at Messe Frankfurt – North Gate
The new oval roof at the Messe Frankfurt North Gate is a striking landmark visible from afar and with high recall value. Along the main access road towards Frankfurt’s city centre, this large roof is situated on top of a road bridge and signals the exhibition grounds. It also includes a red guard building that is in service around the clock. An intensive collaboration process between architect, structural engineer, and contractors led to a prefabricated oval steel construction measuring 42 × 18 meters. The design is characterized by a girder grid consisting of intersecting flat steel slats. The irregular arrangement of slats enables the structure to adapt to different geometries and support configurations. In this regard it represents a matrix for further roof structures at different locations along the exhibition grounds. The girder grid is supported by four steel columns with a fixed base to support horizontal loads and a triangular cross section that tapers upwards. In order to reduce stress resulting from temperature shifts, the girder grid is mount on slide bearings along two of the four columns. The position of columns is derived from possible load transmission points into the existing bridge. The roof decking consists of non-load bearing wood panels featuring individual triangular skylights. Indirect lighting along the underside of the roof accentuates the impressive structure and supports its signal effect during nighttime.
