The new Foster + Partners designed Crossrail station at Canary Wharf in London has progressed ahead of schedule and budget since the formal commencement of works in May 2009. The station has been built in the North Dock of West India Quay with four of the six station levels, forming a new retail destination. The roof level of the station will also include a pavilion restaurant and a landscaped roof garden covered by an elegant, semi open-air lattice roof.
Austrian glulam specialist WIEHAG is currently working on site to assemble the glulam structure of the station roof. "The production started in June and the installation began in August," says Project Manager Daniel Nieberle.
A spectacular glulam grid shell covers a park area and still let’s in enough light for the trees and plants below. The landscaped park on the roof of the shops and cafés will use native plant species and water features to help expand the ecological biodiversity of the Canary Wharf Estate and surrounding areas. The dramatic cantilevers at the East and West ends and the four “dog ears” forming the facade elegantly join the roof to the gallery.
“Only a relatively small part of the budget will be used for the glulam roof - but it’s still probably by far the biggest glulam contract in the UK to date” says Johannes Rebhahn, Head of International Project’s at WIEHAG.
WIEHAG deliver’s the glulam frame in a joint venture with the Austrian company Seele who include translucent ETFE pillows and weather louvre‘s. The client benefits from having less interface issues and having one contact for warranties for the whole envelope. WIEHAG / Seele developed a solution in close collaboration with Arup, CWCL and Fosters which fulfils Fosters design intent and CWCL’s budget.
Johannes Rebhahn说， “即使是在经济衰退的时候，我们看到了英国对生态木材项目需求的增加，这意味着木材从钢材经济中赢得了上升的市场份额。
The structure consists of nearly 1525 Glulam members with a maximum length of 9m - some of them are double curved to achieve the desired form at the cantilever, and 450 steel nodes connect the glulam elements to form that incredible geometry. The West and East ends are cantilevering 30m out over the water, which is a design and especially installation challenge.
Johannes Rebhahn said “Even in times of recession we are seeing an increased demand for ecological timber projects in the UK, which means timber wins an increased market share from the steel structure business.
After working successfully eight years in the UK market mainly from abroad we felt that it is time to react to the increased demand and to engage a local Sales Director. With John Spittle on board we have an experienced expert who can give an improved pre contract service in England & Wales”.
“Iconic landmark buildings like the Canary Wharf Crossrail station are an important reference for the whole UK timber industry. A picture tells more than a thousand words and clearly demonstrates the ability of glulam timber in combination with cutting edge structural design capabilities”, says John Spittle of WIEHAG.
