Tekla worked on Beijing Olympic stadium

Dubai-based Tekla Middle East, an arm of Finnish software company Tekla, yesterday said it was involved in the software support for designing the complex structure of the Beijing Olympic Stadium.

"Carved elements are always one of Tekla Middle East's main concerns. We have been working hand-in-hand with our headquarters in Finland to fulfil the client's requirements for the Olympics," said Mohamed Faheem, Marketing Manager, Tekla Middle East. "Together, we have developed more than 400 components that makes building such complex structures a reality."

The main venue of the Beijing Olympics, the Chinese National Stadium, has the name 'Bird's Nest' due to its shape. The complicated steel structures of the stadium's roof and façade were designed and detailed by Chinese steel companies Haorong, Huning and Jinggong using the Tekla Structures BIM (Building Information Modelling) software.

The architecture and structural design team for the stadium comprised Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron, the China Architecture and Design Research Institute, and the British firm Arup. The complicated frame has been designed to last for at least the next 100 years.

"Working on this project proves that our solutions are the right choice for such complicated structures and that we are on the right track. Tekla ME has demonstrated how our software solution affects the building industry, not just in the Middle East or China, but also around the world. Tekla Structures plays a huge role in creating many of the complex structures seen and admired every day," Faheem told Emirates Business in an exclusive interview.

In the design stage, 3D views of the stadium roof's beams and joints were created with the help of Tekla Structures. The stadium façade's interwoven structural elements form a single surface, on top of which other elements are arranged in a chaotic manner, blurring the difference between the primary and secondary structures and giving the stadium its nest-like appearance.

To reduce construction costs, the designers enlarged the opening in the saddle-shaped roof, a change, which decreased the weight of steel used from 45,000 tonnes to 42,000 tonnes. Altogether, modelling and detailing the most complicated parts of the steel roof took one year.

As a whole, the stadium is an impressive display of modelling and building practices. The Bird's Nest is designed to withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake, and its frame to last 100 years.

Tekla Structures software has been involved in the development of other projects for the new Beijing infrastructure. It was also used to model three other buildings – the TV Centre and CCTV buildings and the new International Conference Centre.

Founded in 1966, Tekla is one of the longest-operating software firms in Finland. Its global operations account for more than 80 per cent of net sales. Tekla Structures encompasses specialised configurations for structural engineers, steel detailers and fabricators, concrete detailers and manufacturers and construction companies.

Tekla Middle East recently launched version 14 of Tekla Structures, a steel detailing software to the local market. "We launch a new version every year. Tekla ME is involved in a number of leading projects in Dubai," added Faheem.

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