Hanging Glass Roof in Heilbronn, Germany

A suspended glass roof was unveiled in the spring of 2001 in Heilbronn in the South of Germany. The roof consists of more than 200 individual glass panes. It appears, however, to be one piece of glass floating above the spectator, because its supporting elements are all arranged above the glass surface and therefore are hardly visible. The panes are held by specially designed adjustable stainless-steel nodes which are suspended from stainless steel cables. These cables span between a tubular steel frame which itself is joined by cast-steel nodes. The hanging glass roof of approx. 1000 m 2 is only stabilised by its dead weight. For horizontal loads it is stiffened by the glass itself. This roof is probably the largest of its kind to date. An extensive test programme was necessary for official approval. This included wind tunnel testing to obtain realistic wind loads as well as real size prototype testing of the glass panes with their steel nodes.