In April, the World of Volvo was inaugurated in central Gothenburg. The complex and asymmetrical building will be a landmark right near Liseberg and is modeled in Tekla Structures. High loads, advanced geometries, material composition and, not least, enormous dimensions placed high demands on both design and implementation.
One of the most high-profile buildings of the year has already opened. In central Gothenburg, just off the main thoroughfare and close to the gates of Liseberg, stands the city's latest pride and joy, the World of Volvo. The building houses an exhibition hall and museum for one of Sweden's most beloved brands, a cornerstone of our economy.
The valuable content is reflected by the spectacular building design.
The World of Volvo is 110 meters in diameter and gives the impression of three giant trees spreading their crowns. The three trunks go into the ground in the form of three tree trunks.
The project consists of a 22,000 square meter main building and a 45,000 square meter parking garage, all in all six floors. Due to the difference in ground levels, the garage is partly underground. The building is located in the Kallebäcksliden, which is a fractured ravine with difficult ground conditions and a deep mud layer. The bottom slab is held in place by deep piling.
Special skills
World of Volvo has required specialists in several areas of the construction sector, and two of Trimble's clients
have contributed with their parts.
The timber frame is designed by Lindner Scandinavia with partners and the rest of the prefabricated steel and concrete frame by Optima Engineering. Both companies have used Tekla Structures for the advanced project and Trimble Connect in the sharing of the model. The client for the construction is BRA Teknik.
- It's a beautiful, challenging and spectacular project that has been great fun to be a part of," says Stefan Abrahamsson, CEO of Lindner Scandinavia, a company that has worked with Tekla Structures for many years.
Enorma dimensioner
The World of Volvo is a building of impressive dimensions in terms of volume and material consumption.
Stefan says that Lindners designed 6000 cubic meters of glulam. This can be compared to a normal-sized football pitch that is covered with one meter of solid wood over the entire pitch. The wooden frame also holds 140 tons of steel that is not visible.
One challenge of the project was that once the glulam frame was dimensioned, all other structural solutions needed to be adapted to it and its well-defined design.
- In the buildable model we see in 3D what it will look like. In this advanced project, it was valuable to be able to test and discuss the model with each other and our partners," says Stefan Abrahamsson.
Precision work
The timber frame could not be placed directly on the ground because the parking garage was underneath, which also required careful dimensioning. Here the Tekla Structures model was of great help.
-- It was good for coordination and to be able to specify exactly the positions we wanted when the glulam was put in place on the concrete slab by embedded bolts at each point. A milled steel bottom detail met the bolts, which were screwed into the metal and not the wood. This made the structure look like it was made of steel. It was an advanced precision job where the tolerances needed to be on the right side," explains Stefan.
In addition, no metal such as bolts or other connections should be visible.
- Normally we have cross braces to take up wind loads, now we needed to solve it with torque-stiff couplings, says Stefan.
Production in Austria
The structural frame above ground was then manufactured by Wiehag in Austria, a world leader in advanced glulam construction. The 3D model was converted into a production model for dimensioning and production, which in turn could be used in software adapted to Wiehag's machinery.
The delivery of the wooden frame from Austria was an exciting chapter. The busy Mölndal Road was closed at night to receive the largest beams on specially built trucks carrying 35-meter-long beams, each weighing 15 tons.
Parametric design
In addition to the timber frame, all surfaces visible above the concrete were also designed by Lindner. These include facades, glass, steel profiles, acoustic panels and the structure on the roof.
The interior work was done entirely in Tekla Structures, except for acoustic panels and stairwell fittings, which were done in Rhino Grasshopper.
- We chose this solution because we needed to work in parametric design as the structure was round and had many varying dimensions. Then that model was imported into Tekla Structures, where we created production and assembly documents. The link to lists and transportation was also of great benefit to us," Stefan concludes.
Coordination of models
While the timber frame was manufactured in Austria, the steel and concrete frame was designed in Gothenburg using Lindner's 3D model and A and K models as a starting point. The coordination was done using IFC files and Trimble Connect.
- It helps to have an accurate model. Lindners was ahead of us in the process with the columns, so we adapted our model to theirs," explains David Broms, designer at Optima Engineering.
The design presented challenges in dealing with the large loads from the timber frame and in calculating these loads. There were also complex geometries with radii to consider.
- We have our own Tekla Structures environment where we develop our own components for our projects. For the World of Volvo, for example, we created customized angle steel for the concrete columns, where the angle steel adapts to the column width and settles at the right height automatically," says David.
Accuracy of assembly order
In a project as complex as this, the order of assembly is of great importance.
To view the model on site, Trimble Connect and BIM Site Vision were used.
The use of 3D modeling, staging and color coding of objects in the model has made it easier for the installers to see which elements should be included in each assembly stage and how to place braces and other components. Both 2D drawings and the 3D model were used for the assembly.
- Again, the benefits of working in Tekla Structures were clear, as we were able to coordinate and give the installers a clear picture of what they should do," says David.
Review in the model
BRA Bygg was also able to use the model to check castings and the like. They were also able to comment directly in the model, which made the work easier.
- The cooperation was smooth and committed from all parties. It is really fun to be part of a project like this and to see the great end result, concludes David Broms, Optima Engineering.
