Qatar National Convention Centre

An architectural showpiece of Qatar' s Education City, the building ’ s conceptual design incorporates a huge organic tree - like structure in the main fa ç ade, symbolizing the Sidra Tree

Design and engineering of this 250 m long and 20 m high signature entrance structure was a challenge on several fronts: geometric rationalization and engineering as well as fabrication. The challenges were associated with free - form shape, size (with up to 7 m trunk diameter), and major forces running in the structure, roof and the base of the tree. The tree is wholly made of steel, and supports a complex steel plate girder and tie - bar system that supports the concrete roof. Within the architectural constraints posed by this impressive and iconic statement, the designers provided a truly optimum solution incorporating an effi cient structural core that follows the centreline of the tree and an intelligently panelized skin that is supported by it. The goal was resolving the geometry and the structure inside to make sure it will keep ist organic form while being structurally effi cient and buildable. The engineers developed parametric models for the tree geometry that allowed surface smoothing, form optimization including minimizing expensive double - curved panels, detailed fi nite element analysis as well as digital fabrication eliminating the need for drawings for thousands of panels and framing

Source: Liddell, Ian and McCormick, Fergus (2012) Special steel structures in Steel Designers' Manual: The Steel Construction Institute, Seventh Edition (eds B. Davison and G. W. Owens), Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK