Ronald Rijsterborgh
Sustainable Design Graduation Studio
Cheese bell - The design of a full glass dome structure as a protective shelter for a small monument in Alkmaar
A huge cheese bell, a fully glass dome structure with a span of 21.6m, is designed to cover ‘Het Kruithuisje’, a small monument in a famous Dutch cheese city, Alkmaar. The aim was to design a completely glass domed structure in which the thermal comfort is maintained in the most passive way possible without impeding the visual benefits of glass.
To build this entire glass dome, the construction is divided into hot bended double curved panels. To be able to build this glass construction and to achieve high transparency and low peak stresses, a combination of adhesive connections and dry assembly connections are used. Most thermal comfort problems can be avoided in a passive way by using passive strategies, such as thermal mass, natural ventilation, Low-E coatings, fritted glass and switchable glass. In order to prevent thermal comfort problems in a passive way, there must be compromises on transparency.