The Copagri Domes Lake Arena, designed by the famous architect Benedetta Tagliabue (Miralles Tagliabue EMBT): this is the new challange that SIO went through because the time to design and buildwas very limited and the structure was requesting atailor made solution. The project starts from the union of two domes with same diameter, but different heights. The idea of the dome is like an “origami” of structural glulam elements. The structure is composed of a big three-dimensional grid that gradually transforms in woven branches, as it grows to the open top of the dome. The structural elements become architectura lones, designing both the internal and the external façades as tree branches; the empty spots of the grid enhance air and light permeability, together with visual continuity between outside and inside. The double dome is a prefabricated structure, made of spruce glulam with zinc-coated steel joints. An internal PVC sheet, suspended from the vertexes of the structure, covering the openings and avoiding water penetration, provides water resistance. The PVC seam follows the structural grid. White translucent pressurized PVC cushions cover the internal space in correspondence of the central oculus: those cushions are not linked to the internal PVC sheet, guaranteeing natural ventilation through stack effect. This is just an example of unconventional challenges won by SIO that is always looking for dreamers who believe in the motto: “In the building design, everything is possible!”.

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