De Serpeling 10, 8219 PZ Lelystad
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Project detailsx
Client: CIG
Architect: Studio Olafur Eliasson
Photographer: Iwan Baan
Location: Qatar desert
Year: 2022
Surface: 22 roofs with 10-metre diameter
Material: Glass fibre/Vinylester with PU coating white
Specifics: This material can withstand the often extreme temperature variations in the desert.
An extraordinary work of art has risen in Qatar’s desert: “Shadows-travelling-on-the-sea-of-the-day”. It is 22 circular roofs with a diameter of no less than 10 metres. The roofs are made of lightweight composite: a combination of fibreglass and vinylester.
Mirrors are mounted on the underside and the whole thing stands firmly on a curved metal tube. However, the mirrored underside makes it look as if the roof balances on a narrow ring. Production of the composite elements took place at our factory in Lelystad, while assembly in Qatar was handled by a local contractor.
The size of the individual roofs required a special production method: not in one piece, but a construction of four individual elements. For this, we designed our own mould for each element, into which the materials were laid. Using the vacuum injection method, this was combined with the vinylester.
After initial finishing of the edges, the next important part of the production process followed: drilling many holes in the composite elements. Thanks to these holes, the mirrors that were to come on the underside could be attached in an ‘invisible’ way (not part of our production).
Na het boorwerk werden de elementen in onze spuitcabine van de juiste coating (PU coating wit) voorzien. Behalve het materiaal moet ook de coating tegen de vaak extreme temperatuurverschillen in de woestijn bestand zijn. Want overdag wordt het daar gemakkelijk 45 graden of warmer, terwijl de temperatuur ‘s nachts tot onder het vriespunt kan dalen. De zijranden zijn handmatig voorzien van een lichtgrijze kleur.
De laatste productiestap was een testfase: om te checken of alles klopte qua ontwerp en techniek, werden alle vier losse elementen tot één geheel geassembleerd. Een flinke puzzel qua beschikbare ruimte in onze productiehallen, maar daar houden wij juist van: grootse uitdagingen.
To make these huge objects ready for transport, the roofs were disassembled back into the four individual elements after this assembly test. This way, all 22 roofs left our door to the next address, where the mirrors were mounted underneath.
The various elements were transported to Qatar by container and reassembled by a local contractor and mounted on the bent metal tubes.
With this project, we provided a very special, maintenance-free, prefabricated custom composite artwork, which can be admired from all sides in a special location since November 2022.
