Sep 29, 20203 min read

Markthal (Market Hall): The reason you need to visit Rotterdam 🇳🇱

General Information ℹ️

Height: 40 m (131 ft)
Architects firm: MVRDV
Structural engineer: Royal HaskoningDHV
Construction completion: 1 October 2014
Cost: €178.000.000 (£151 million)
CNN included the Markthal in the Top 10 of most ‘eye-popping’ buildings.
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The Markthal (Market Hall) is a residential and office building with a market hall underneath, located in Rotterdam. The building was opened on October 1, 2014, by Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.

Besides the large market hall, the complex houses 228 apartments, 4600 m2 retail space, 1600 m2 Horeca and an underground 4-storey parking garage with a capacity of 1200+ cars.

ArtWork

Artwork by Arno Coenen named Hoorn des Overvloeds (Horn of Plenty)

The artwork Hoorn des Overvloeds (2014) in the famous Markthal in Rotterdam is by Iris Roskam and Arno Coenen. It is the Horn of Plenty and refers to the Cornucopia from the ancient Greek mythology. Hence the many enlarged pieces of fruit, vegetables, grains, sweets, fish, flowers and insects.

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A bit about the Structural Engineers 🕋

: Royal HaskoningDHV 👷🏻‍♂️

Website: https://www.royalhaskoningdhv.com/en-gb

About them:

"Royal HaskoningDHV has been connecting people for more than 137 years. Together, through our expertise and passion, we have helped contribute to a better society and improved people’s lives with work underpinned by our sustainable values and goals.

We are an independent international engineering and project management consultancy leading the way in sustainable development and innovation.

Our professionals deliver services in the fields of aviation, buildings, energy, industry, infrastructure, maritime, mining, transport, urban and rural development and water."

Source: https://www.holland.com

FACADE Engineering

What are Cable-net Glass Facade Systems?

The load acting on the glass is transmitted to the structural support system which is the cable-net structure via the glazing system and eventually to the boundary or building structures such as columns and beams. This concept allows large open spaces up to the full height of the facade in the building where the glass cladding is the interface between the exterior and interior of the building.

Cable-net Glass Facade System detailed design drawings

Source:

The largest cable-net facade of Europe

The two cable-net facades are 34 meters in height and 42 meters wide. The cables have been pre-stressed in between the concrete arch and the foundation of the building, closing the building at both sides. The galvanized steel cables have a diameter of 31 millimetres and are fixed in heavy steel boxes, embedded in the concrete structure. The 22 horizontal and 26 vertical cables are the only structure of the façade and the cables divide the glass surface in a grid of 1.5 by 1.5 meters.

By means of a hydraulic tension bridge, the cables have been pre-stressed step by step with a maximum applied pretension of 300 kilonewtons per cable. During this operation, the cables have been stretched around 150 millimetres each. The cables have a surplus capacity of 50 kilonewtons to absorb the impact of creep in the concrete over the first couple of years.

The maximal theoretical wind load can cause the façades to deform 700 millimetres inwards and outwards. Although this is one of the characteristics of cable facades, amplitude in the middle of the glass surface of 1400 millimetres is considerable. Under such deformations, the glass panels are protected against too much torsion by special rubber profiling at the corner fixation of each laminated heat-strengthened glass panel.

Also, the silicon joints in between the glass panels contribute to the flexibility of the façade. However, in the corners of the façade, the glass panels are fixed on 2 sides. Here only one corner of the glass panel can move, causing substantial torsion of the glass surface. Octatube has dealt with this by employing its more than 10 years of experience in cold bending and twisting of glass.

Source: International Facade Community