How to build a 100x40x12m sports hall in Argentina?
China Canglong Group designed a sports hall project for an Argentine customer. This project is a 100-meter-long, 40-meter-wide, and 12-meter-high comprehensive sports hall. Canglong Group used 3D model drawings to intuitively show the effect of the project to customers.
The needs of Argentine customers have had distinct regional characteristics from the beginning. This sports hall needs to host multiple scenes such as basketball events, cultural performances, and community gatherings at the same time, and will also serve as a youth sports training base in the future. This meant not only that the space needed to offer a column-free, expansive view, but also that the 100-meter-span, column-free exhibition hall placed extremely high demands on its structural load-bearing capacity. Furthermore, acoustic design, natural lighting, and efficient ventilation were crucial considerations. Traditional concrete structures, due to their excessive weight and long construction periods, clearly couldn’t meet the demands for rapid delivery and flexible renovation. While conventional steel structures are lightweight, the steel consumption and cost of conventional truss or grid structures would be significantly increased for a 12-meter clear height span.
The client demanded a sense of openness within the large space while also balancing affordability and safety. In the early stages of the project, the Canglong Group project team prioritized optimizing the long-span steel structure. After multiple rounds of design comparisons, Canglong Group ultimately selected a composite structural system combining a steel frame, central supports, and bidirectional trusses. This design, while ensuring overall rigidity, optimizes the location of support nodes, concentrating the primary load-bearing components on the building’s perimeter. The central area is clad with lightweight trusses, reducing steel usage by 15% compared to traditional solutions while achieving a column-free space measuring 100 meters by 40 meters.
The Canglong team used ANSYS finite element analysis software to establish a refined model for local climate data in Argentina (such as the 8-degree seismic fortification intensity and the annual average wind load of 7 in Buenos Aires) to simulate the structural response under extreme weather. For example, by adjusting the inclination angle of the truss chord, the horizontal force generated by the wind load is converted into axial pressure to reduce the stress concentration at the node. At the same time, viscous dampers are added to the support system to convert seismic energy into heat dissipation to ensure the safety of the structure under strong earthquakes.
In terms of material selection, the project uses Q355B high-strength building structural steel. This steel can still maintain good impact toughness in an environment of -20℃ to 40℃, and is perfectly adapted to the climate characteristics of Argentina with large temperature differences. All components are pre-processed in the factory with an accuracy control of within ±2mm. Only bolt connections are required on site, which greatly shortens the construction period and shortens the construction period by 40% compared with cast-in-place concrete structures.
Traditional two-dimensional drawings struggle to visually convey the layering of large-span spaces. However, the 3D model’s roaming function allowed Argentinian clients to not only step inside the unfinished venue but also switch between day and night modes in real time. 3D visualization technology bridges language and cultural barriers, allowing overseas clients to see the value of Chinese solutions. Customized structural design responds to local needs, allowing Chinese construction to truly integrate into the local landscape.
