{"id":3097,"date":"2024-06-27T11:29:32","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T11:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.buildsoft.eu\/?post_type=reference-project&p=3097"},"modified":"2026-07-28T13:26:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T13:26:57","slug":"freely-suspended-spaces","status":"publish","type":"reference-project","link":"https:\/\/www.buildsoft.eu\/en\/reference-projects\/freely-suspended-spaces\/","title":{"rendered":"Freely suspended spaces"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo \u00a9 Lucid<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two new buildings on Brussels’ Albert Square, designed by B-architecten after winning a municipal competition, house a restaurant, an auditorium and a sports hall on opposite sides of the square above the Albert subway station. With foundation space severely restricted by the station below, the auditorium and sports hall were built as a large steel structure cantilevering about 9 metres from a pile-founded concrete core, using tension bars and lattice girders for support and stiffness, with Diamonds used to run the code checks and verify the structure’s eigenfrequencies wouldn’t interfere with normal use of the sports hall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince the construction of the Albert subway station in the 1980s, the Albert Square in Vorst (Brussels) had become a large open space in the city landscape. To revive this part of the city into a thriving area for the residents, the Vorst municipality organized an architectural design competition. B-architecten\u2019s design for two buildings with various facilities such as a restaurant, an auditorium, and a sports hall at opposing sides of the Albert Square, came out as the winner,” Pieter Ochelen says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Extremely limited foundation options next to a subway station<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Due to the presence of the Albert subway station, foundation possibilities were quite limited in this case. For the building on one side of the Albert Square, a concrete core located outside the subway station\u2019s perimeter was founded on piles. For the building on the other side of the square, the situation was even more complex as foundations could only be realized in the far corner of the building plot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo \u00a9 Lucid<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A 9-metre cantilevering steel structure with tension bars and lattice girders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The auditorium and the sports hall were designed as a large steel structure that cantilevers for about 9 meters. This cantilever structure is hinged to the concrete core, while tension bars provide additional support and lattice girders ensure sufficient rigidity for the cantilever steel box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The auditorium and the sports hall were designed as a large steel structure that cantilevers for about 9 meters. Diamonds was used to perform all required code checks and evaluate the eigenfrequencies.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Checking eigenfrequencies to avoid interference with normal sports-hall use<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the usual structural analyses and code checks with Diamonds, we evaluated the cantilever\u2019s eigenfrequencies to make sure there is no interference with normal use conditions of the sports hall.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n