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Heathrow Airport Terminal 3 Canopy, London, UK

As part of BAA’s plan to re-develop and modernise Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 3, MERO-SCHMIDLIN have provided a 12m high, 138m long ETFE clad canopy to provide substantial shelter to passengers entering and exiting the airport.

The main canopy structure comprises of fabricated plate girder box beams, and is clad in inflated ETFE cushions that span 18m long by 3.8m wide bays. Design of the steel structure involved substantial value engineering to provide the lightest possible structure, while ensuring deflection of the beams remained at a minimum. Incorporated into the steelwork is a drainage channel running between the cushions, leading to a hidden downpipe within each column. The cushions are formed from two ETFE layers, with a frit pattern applied to the upper layer, which are under constant inflation from two air machines located on an adjoining building.

Banks of computer controlled LED lights are positioned to each side of the primary members, to reflect coloured light onto the underside of each cushion at night in a fully customisable arrangement.

Due to the location of the canopy and the client requirement to maintain a fully working terminal, the installation of the canopy was meticulously planned and executed, with cladding following closely behind the steel installation, progressing from one end to the other to keep the live working area to a minimum.

[Download this project as a PDF document] 

ETFE inflated cushions.
Outer layer: 200 microns 16mm dot matrix frit
Inner layer: 200 microns clear.
2 number air machines providing continuous inflation.
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