“Architecture Biennale” in Venice is one of the most important events in the world of Architecture and is now in its fifteenth edition. This year, the Silver Lion award went to an “extreme” structure: a floating school on 3 floors entirely made with a complex system of timber trusses.
The contribution of Ergodomus Timber Engineering to the project was crucial, because
we have been chosen for all the engineering aspects (static calculation, construction plans, CNC machines programming, plans for pre-assembly and assembly) and to coordinate all construction activities including research of the suppliers who had to deliver the materials in a very short time.
The project is the brainchild of Nigerian architect Kunlè Adeyemi founder of NLÉ and a replica of Makoko Floating School, a floating structure located in a slum neighborhood in Lagos (Nigeria) and also referred to as the “Venice of Africa“.
The design time and construction have been extremely short: in less than five weeks we were able to complete it all and to put the structure in the water respecting the required deadlines. A team effort that saw us involved not only as “simple” designers but also as assemblers: an exceptional experience that allowed us to learn and improve our way of working.
The structure was assembled on mainland, lifted, fixed on a barge, transported along the Giudecca canal passing in front of Piazza San Marco and finally rested and moored at “Arsenale”.
In the coming months we will show you more pictures and movies but meanwhile we provide you with some interesting data:
- Dimensions: base 10.5×10.5m, height about 11m above the water
- Weight: about 21 tons
- Materials used: larch. The steel was only used for the timber-timber connections
- Floats: buoyancy force is given by 256 barrels in plastic that are the same used in Nigeria.
- Days on the construction days: 6
- Days for CNC machining and pre-assembly: 2
- Bolts: 1544
- Steel plates: 422
- Timber elements: 1173
You can admire the structure until 27th November.
Special thanks to the following companies without whose commitment and support we would never have been able to complete the work:
- Holz Snc strutture in legno di Gallio: Luca and Eros, together with their collaborators, have proven hard-working, highly experienced and excellent organizational skills.
- Bozza legnami: timber supply, CNC cutting and logistical support
- Heco Italia: standard hardware like bolts, screws, etc…
- Ing. Ferrari Nicola: consulting marine works
