Glass Shell in the heart of Moscow
Zaryadye Park is Moscow’s first new major landmark in 50 years. Located next to Red Square and the Kremlin, it showcases elaborate landscape design and several interesting buildings. Our structural engineering team were responsible for the detailed design, analysis and construction of the Park’s new architectural addition: the Glass Grid Shell.
The design incorporates structural glass beams into the shell’s foundation: 72 in total, they connect in the undulating steel grid shell which measures approximately 120m long and 60m wide. The beams vary in length according to the geometry of the structure, but are generally 3m long, 0.2m deep. They connect at bespoke stainless steel nodes, and are covered by triangular glass roof panels.
The glass beams were designed to accommodate Moscow’s extreme weather conditions, with drifted snow loads of up to 350 kg/m2. Differential movement of the main structure was another challenge for the design team, and required sophisticated linear analysis with over 150 load combinations. The resulting movements called for further development of the nodal connections and also non-linear analysis of their performance.
Due to a lack of legislation covering structural glass in Russia, a ‘Special Technical Standard’ was required. This document was written with significant input from us and covers the technical aspects of glass and its performance.
The project was opened on the 9th of September in time for the City’s Day celebrations.