Detail english 2015-11-12

∂ 2015 ¥ 6 Technology 603
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case of parts that are too small. Bending diameters
from 29 cm upwards are possible.
By using special rollers, the steel sheets can
be extended in area like dough with a rolling
pin. Soft stamps are appropriate for processing
aluminium, hard stamps for steel.
Sheet thicknesses of 8 to 10 mm are the
norm where stronger shaping is required.
Sheets as much as 10 cm thick could be
worked where the deformation is correspondingly
small.
The perfect execution of the shaping process
is supervised by specially trained technicians,
using templates made of composite
wood boarding. These are subsequently
handed over to the clients, together with the
products, so that a quality control can be
carried out. At works, the shaped steel
plates are welded together to form the constructional
components. These should be as
large as possible in order to minimize the
number of assembly joints and the welding
work on site. Often transport dimensions,
such as the 4 ≈ 24-metre loading area of a
heavy-duty truck, impose maximum sizes,
but in most cases, these are determined by
conditions on site.
Individual objects of art and architecture
Metal monocoques will inevitably be individual
objects that catch the eye. At the EXPO
2015 in Milan, the four sweeping multimedia
stelae “Wings” by Daniel Libeskind, with
their artistic design, lend the intersection of
the main axes Cardo and Decumanus a
special note. These monocoque sculptures
are made entirely of aluminium, and the surfaces
were smoothed with grinding discs
until the desired lustre was achieved and
they seemed to gleam from within (ill. 2).
Anish Kapoor’s CORTEN steel sculptures
are world famous; for example, the bell-like
funnel that hangs in the plinth of the
114-metre-high observation tower Arcelor-
Mittal Orbit, dating from 2012, in the Olympia
Park, London. Originally planned in
GRP, its execution as a monocoque consisting
of 117 individually shaped steel sheets
weighing 84 tonnes resulted in a considerably
greater load, but also in an appreciable
reduction of costs. The bright red, highgloss
skin of the elevated seminar space in
the atrium of Southampton Solent University
also possesses a sculptural character. In
this case, the monocoque form of construction
with its rigid shell allows only few bearing
points for the filigree columns, so that
the lecture hall with a viewing deck above
seems to float like a bubble in the large hall.
Architect Scott Brownrigg wanted to create
a surface resembling the glossy finish of a
car. Because the perfect application and
polishing of epoxy lacquer on a multiply
curved, jointless monocoque surface is extremely
difficult, the outer face was divided
by deep artificial joints into a number of
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