Nowadays, we don't have big trees like before. Therefore we have engineered wood, which does not require such big piece of wood. All we need is just small pieces of wood. By using Glulam or CLT, these wood pieces can be turned into ideal materials for construction, no matter big or small projects.
The largest of the three domes is the longest clear-span timber gridshell (non-triangulated) in the world. It has won many prominent awards, including a Structural Award from the Institute of Structural Engineers. We realized the great potential of what timber can achieve as a structural material, which boosted our confidence that we were on the right path.
In addition to the overall use of wooden components, the use of steel components is also integrated. This method ensures that the main structure is wood, while taking advantage of the characteristics and advantages of steel. Another structural innovation of the Expo is that each truss web is independent and not connected to the next. In this way, the entire truss can be prefabricated into different sub-components, without the need to be connected together as a whole, and then assembled with other components after arriving at the site. This structural innovation also ensures a construction tolerance of 2-3mm on site, which is much more accurate than the on-site construction of steel structures.
