Construction of the La Plata Twinstar Dome™

A new 53,000-seat soccer stadium constructed in La Plata, Argentina features

a unique twin-peaked Tenstar Dome. The plan of the dome has been uniquely shaped by the architect, Roberto Ferreira, to provide an individual identity to each of the two soccer clubs scheduled to share the use of the facility. The resulting image is that of a MasterCard symbol.

In order to adapt to the non-monotonic hoops, an arch has been introduced across the pinched waist centerline of the stadium to resist the outward thrust. This arch required the introduction of rigid ribs instead of all cables used in earlier Tenstar Domes where the pinched waist kink was not present. Another distinguishing characteristic of this roof structure is the method of support. A triangulated perimeter space truss resting directly on the top of the seating berm provides resistance against both horizontal forces and gravity loads. Since this truss is about 13m high, VIP visitors’ skyboxes and control booths have been introduced that are hung from its top chord. Finally, the erection of this dome presented unique problems which are described in this paper.