UAE Pavillion (Pearl Dome)

CHALLENGES

• Duration to complete the dome – 6 weeks for the complex spherical dome. 
• With the prospect of being tasked with completing a bespoke spherical auditorium on such a prestigious project in six weeks, PMK Group took it upon themselves to build a 16m x 9m mock-up to enable them to understand the true complexity of the challenge ahead using Gyproc systems and bespoke solution. 
• It was clear from the mock-up that off site fabrication was the only way forward to achieve the target date. As such, all metal fins were pre-cut and spliced into the desired radius. Both layers of board were cut on a CNC and labelled for their final position.
• With a week before area access to commence, instructions was received from the steel structure suppliers that mechanical fixings were not permitted into their sections. We quickly engineered a simple solution of utilizing pipe clamps from proprietary manufacturer to fix unistrut to the circular steel for a non-intrusive fix. This then allowed us to mechanically fix the Gyproc metal component lattice to the unistrut, which essentially created the substrate for the fins to attach to.
• This critical installation forming a high performance spherical auditorium with a radius of 11.845m was carried out seamlessly in just five weeks, allowing the curved splitz screen installation activities to start on the planned critical path date.