Winter Olympics arena features timber ripple roof

摘要

The 2010 Winter Olympics opened in Vancouver-Whistler on 12 February. The speed skating events are taking place at the Richmond Olympic Oval, which seats 7600 spectators. The huge timber-roofed arena sits by the estuary of the Fraser River, about 14km from downtown Vancouver, and the roof has been designed to give a rippled appearance, to reflect the watery landscape.rnThe roof is about 100m span by 200m in length. The primary structure comprises 15, V-sectioned Douglas fir glulam arches, braced and tied back over their upper chord-ends. This is a similar system to that employed in 2001 for a previous speed skating arena at Erfurt, in Germany. Spanning between the arches is a feature unique to Richmond, which is a series of roof panels formed from structurally sound timber salvaged in British Colombia from trees killed by an infestation of Pine Beetle. The epidemic caused severe hardship to logging and milling communities.