The Glass Hall at the Messe Leipzig, Germany

A glazed barrel vault approximately 80 x 250 m in plan is being built to cover a central part of the new Messe Leipzig exhibition facility. Five exhibition halls, and an administration building and a convention hall are positioned around the central glass hall. Six bridges connect the glass hall with these structures. The structure is organized in a clear hierarchy. The enclosure is created by a continuous flush glass shell and headwalls. Both are single-point supported from an external steel structure. For the barrel vault shell, the structure comprises of a tubular mesh acting as a Vierendeel frame, and a number of stiffening trussed arches positioned every 25 m.