Client: Inflate for Unipart
Engineers: Webb Yates
This impressive 25m diameter inflatable dome was designed and made by Inflate for Unipart to house their exhibit at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Our role in the project was to design and manufacture the main central aluminium truss as well as the front and rear entrance arches. For transportation purposes and general manageability the complete aluminium truss is constructed from 9 smaller curved sections, each made from 50x50x3mm box section, which when bolted together forms the final elegant elliptical arch.
The challenge on a project such as this, is how does one erect a 400kg, 19m long and 7m high truss without the use of heavy lifting equipment? The ingenious solution, was to bolt each end to an angled hinging box, which would allow us to quickly and safely assemble the arch sections whilst flat on the ground and then simply, with the use of hand winches and temporary lifting poles, pivot the whole arch upright to its final resting position.
The dome won the Design Week award for Temporary Exhibition Structure of the year.
