Shell roof
Shell roofs are made from structural ‘skins’ where the shell material is thin in section relative to the other dimensions of the roof and undergoes relatively little deformation under load.
They are commonly used where a building interior needs to be free from intermediate walls or columns that might support a more conventional flat or pitched roof, such as; libraries, theatres, leisure centres, airport and railway terminals, and so on.
Shell roofs can be ‘flat’, but are typically curved, assuming a cylindrical, domed, paraboloid or ellipsoid shape. The curvature of shell structures benefits from the same structural efficiency as arches, which are pure compression forms with no tensile stresses. Because of their structural efficiency less material is generally needed compared to more traditional roofs. However, a restraining structure such as an edge beams is required to prevent the shell from ‘spreading’.
Shell roofs may be:
- Single shells such as the dome of the Pantheon in Rome.
- Multi-shell roofs such as Eero Saarinen’s JFK International Airport in New York.
- Reinforced with structural ribs, such as Jørn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House.
- Lattice structures, such as Norman Foster’s Great Court at the British Museum in London.
They are most commonly constructed using insitu reinforced concrete, however, other materials such as and timber and steel may be used for reinforced, lattice or composite structures.
NB the term 'shell and core' refers to a developer's base build that is subsequently fitted out before the building is occupied. For more information see: Shell and core.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- A-frame house.
- Arches.
- Barrel vault.
- Cantilever.
- Conoid shell.
- Domestic roofs.
- Folded plate construction.
- Hyperbolic paraboloid.
- Long span roof.
- Megastructure.
- Pendentive dome.
- Portal frame.
- Purlins.
- Shell and core.
- Sydney Opera House.
- Tensile structures.
- Tension.
- Tension cable and rod connectors.
- The history of fabric structures.
- Types of dome.
- Types of roof.
- Vault.
[edit] External references
- ‘Building Construction Handbook’ (6th ed.), CHUDLEY, R., GREENO, R., Butterworth-Heinemann (2007)
Featured articles and news
Specifying rendered external wall insulation for fire safety
How to interrogate the evidence provided to the specifier.
The benefits of writing articles for your organisation
How to create a profile for your organisation and publish for free.
No Falls Week. The importance of safe working at height
What to expect and what is on offer to avoid accidents.
Scottish Government action to reach net-zero targets
Retrofit expert group highlight critical actions needed.
A forward thinking, inclusive global community of members.
From engineered product life-spans, to their extension.
Circular economy in the built environment
A brief description from 2021. Where are we now?
Mental Health Awareness Week with ABS
Architects Benevolent Society programme of activity.
CLC publishes domestic retrofit competency framework
Roadmap of Skills for net zero.
May 13-19: Moving more for our mental health.
Understanding is key to conservation.
Open industry engagement survey seeks responses
Institutions and the importance of engagement.
National Retrofit Hub unveils new guide
Digital Building Logbooks and Retrofit: An Introduction.
Enhancing construction site reporting efficiency
Through digitisation and the digital revolution.