Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad Sports and Cultural Complex
Hyderabad, India
Merit Award
Sent by: Larsen and Toubro Ltd.
Owner: IIT Hyderabad
Main design company: HCP Design Planning and Management Pvt. Ltd.
General contractor: Larsen and Toubro construction
The conceptual design for this Indian project was provided by designers from the University of Tokyo, continuing a history of collaboration between the institute and Japanese universities, the project presentation says.
Each structural roof of the complex consists of a series of folded concrete plate elements, with clear spans of up to 56 m. The plates continuously change their angle along the entire length and depth of the slab. The roofs were made in situ, a first for India, says the project team. To achieve the curved profile, the team used a 3D model of the formwork, including upper and lower formwork plates. Each span was divided into 3 m segments, with prefabricated formwork modules for each segment. Mockups were tested before final casting.
The team reduced the carbon incorporated in the concrete mix by replacing 25% of the Portland cement with fly ash, all sourced from the same plant to keep the concrete looking uniform. The project used M40 concrete, with the high initial strength of the mix allowing the bottom shutter to be removed from the formwork after seven days.
Custom work platforms were adopted to follow the complex curvature of the roofs, increasing productivity and keeping workers safe.