UK steel for Hong Kong terminal

Roof erection on Hong Kong airport’s HK$2bn (£130M) SkyPlaza terminal is set to begin this month using steel supplied by Corus.

The main steel component to the development is a 168m by 220m orthogonal truss roof, which is supported on a 36m grid of concrete columns. The trusses are trapezoidal in section, made up from circular hollow sections, and spaced at 12m centres.

A second steelwork structure above this supports automatic smoke vents and daylight windows in a saw-tooth roof arrangement.

Andy Hodgkinson, Regional Director with structural engineer Tony Gee & Partners, said the construction team is working to a very tight schedule to make the building weather-tight by October. He adds that a contractor-focused approach led to “a number of key alterations to the roof design in order to reduce risk to the construction programme and improve buildability.” This included modification of the concrete column to steel truss roof connections and use of bolted site truss connections.

Tony Gee & Partners generated 3D drawings of the complex geometry using X-Steel.

Chun Wo-Fujita Joint Venture is main contractor on the project, which is the largest building project currently under way in Hong Kong. It is also the single biggest contract at the airport since it opened in July 1988.

SkyPlaza, located on the east side of the existing terminal building, will house the airport’s second passenger terminal which is geared up for tour groups and passengers traveling to and from mainland China.

The multi-level complex will have a gross floor area of 140,000m², housing a variety of facilities for passengers and other airport users, including a substantial commercial land-side development, with shops, cafes and even an IMAX cinema and auditorium.