20.024

Némo 33

Belgium

Brussels

0 sqm

Context

The famous diving centre Némo 33, has a new outdoor pool where it will be possible to dive to a depth of 42m. On the periphery of the pool, a new building houses the changing rooms as well as offices and a reception area. On the roof, two wooden gridshell domes emerge from the concrete base, recalling the geometry of diving tanks.

Particularities

In order to obtain a perfect curvature, both domes have been previously made with PVC fabrics put under pressure and coated with sprayed polyurethane. The overall stability is ensured by a curved gridshell of 9 m in diameter. The wooden structure was prefabricated in 20 modules and then assembled by hand inside the domes. All the assemblies are invisible and made by wood-to-wood screwing. A parametric study enabled the ideal geometry to be found, combining the expectations of the client, the optimisation of internal forces and the efficiency of assembly.