Saga Headquarters Folkestone, UK

1998-1999Christina Mahut

Arnaud Baty

Saga Group Ltd.

u Office building with amenity building

u Facing sea-side, in forested area

u Building offers multipurpose rooms

u Canteen, meeting rooms, gymnasium

Architect: Michael Hopkins and PartnersEngineers: Ove Arup and Partners

u Founded in 1951

u Set in Folkestone

u Travel agency and insurance company

u Serves a clientele over fifty years old in the United Kingdom

Main design ideas

u Create naturally ventilated rooms

u Reduce energy use

u Be in contact with the elemental forces (earth, air and water)

u Use materials that provide maximum life span

u Construct a hybrid structure (varying degree of enclosure)

Materials and dimensions u PTFE-coated glass fabric (for the roof/tensile structure):

hydrophobic and non-stick (used for pans)

u Slender steel arches (holding fabric in tension)

Building covered surface 12,000 sq.m

Total length 57m

Total height 56m

Minimum height 3m

Maximum height 16m

Form of shell Anticlastic

Curvature Double curved

About the structure

u Permanent structure

u Estimated life span: 21 to 30 years

u Tensile roof: daylight gains, rain protection, wind protection (cold winters)

u Also offers natural ventilation in summer

u Very flexible structure

More about the structure

u Different forces:

u Fabric is held in tension only

u It is stretched over steel arches that are in compression

u Cables hold the fabric in tension

u Scalloped edges allow movement of membrane

u Prevents over stressing of the fabric and steel

Different types of tensile structures

Olympia Park Munchen, Frei Otto

Resembles a kite or paraglider

Other tensile structures

Canada Place (BC), Expo 86…Tensile structure resembles the sails of a boat

Our model and process

u Our materials:

u Flexible fabric

u Carbon tubes (kite shop)

u Chip board

u Thread (lots of it)

u Tooth picks

Our model and process

u Side and front elevations for approximate dimensions

Our model and process

u Autocad: visualize where arches are and how they work

Our model and process

u Structure, arches, thread, fabric (sewing, lots of sewing…)

Thank you!

References

u http://www.tensinet.com/database/viewProject/4138.html

u http://www.covertexint.com.au/saga-headquarters/

u https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene

u http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/Companies/article1341322.ece

u http://www.lsionline.co.uk/news/story/Saga-Pavilion-steered-towards-Intellivox/87TCH9

u http://www.birdair.com/architects

u https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/kitefor.html

u http://www.muenchen.de/int/en/sights/parks/olympic-park.html

u https://www.canadaplace.ca/fr/a-propos-de-la-place-du-canada/histoire/