Form and Force

Guido Nieri, Lucio Blandini and Werner Sobek were the authors of a paper on Kuwait International Airport that was presented at the IASS Conference “Form and Force” in October 2019 in Barcelona. The airport’s roof is composed of different large-span non-repetitive freeform shells realized through an innovative prefabricated system made of steel and exposed reinforced concrete elements. These shells are at the same time the characterizing elements of the terminal’s architecture and its principal structur. The sheer size of the building in combination with its structural complexity and the use of innovative prefabricated systems are the reason why this building can be considered one of most innovative and challenging constructions of our time. The paper authored by Guido Nieri, Lucio Blandini and Werner Sobek focuses on the specific solutions used for the design, development, and fabrication of one of the key elements of the building: the shell structure.The full paper can be downloaded by using the following link: https://www.wernersobek.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2019_03-KIA_Stahlbau_Sonderdruck.pdf.