Complex and Digital

The sophisticated design of the new terminal building in Kuwait was made feasible with the help of complex digital methods and tools. Eric Wolgast (BIM coordinator and project manager at Werner Sobek AG) explains the special features of planning this complex mega-project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iegrpZVZiOQ

The international airport of Kuwait is currently being extended by a new terminal building designed by Foster + Partner. The new terminal is to be completed by 2022. It has an edge length of almost 1.2 km, a clear height of up to 25 m and a roof area of 320,000 m2. The building is characterized not only by its size, but also by the complexity of its roof structure. Despite its large circumference, the roof had to be designed without expansion joints. This had extensive effects on the design and calculation of all components. The roof structure is a statically highly indeterminate system. The interaction between the various components is therefore very complex, so that any change in stiffness of an element has a significant influence on the static load of the other components.