TENSILE ROOFING for a riding hall

CTU in Prague - Faculty of Civil Engineering

Project idea

The idea is to become a part of the nature as well as to be in a slight contrast to it at the same time.

I am sure we all can see the contrast - the white man made structure. But how is it a part of the nature? The form or a structure mimics the surrounding mountains, it´s open and the lightning reminds us of the star sky above.

Project description

The task was to design a roofing for a riding hall - either entirely closed or opened, but providing enough protection from rain and sun. There is a steep slope on the southeast part of the parcel. The elevation is 9 meters. I decided to use it for sitting/standing and watching the competitions and shows. Underneath the seats, there are some additional spaces - such as a bar, staircase, toilets and other facilities (left just as an idea, focus of the project was on the tensile membrane structure). This way, the building can be approached both from the top and the bottom of the slope.

Technical information

There are more "layers" on this project ( can be seen on a picture with a scheme). The main supporting structure consists of a fabric membrane and steel columns and ropes. When possible, the column (top part of a membrane) is moved back (from the bottom parts), so that the steel ropes can be a part of the fabric membrane. Two corner columns had to be supported by additional ropes.

The second "layer" is a steel net, which doesn´t bear anything, just adds extra structure and is used for lightning.

Technical details with dimensions can be seen in the picture section.

Co-authors

The school project was led by and consulted with:

prof. Ing. arch M. Kopřiva
Ing. arch M. Němeček
Ing. D. Jermoljev, Ph.D.
Ing. M. Urban, Ph.D.
Ing. J. Vecko, Ph.D.

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