Anatolium Marmara Mall

This luxury open-air shopping mall features a free form skylight spanning variable lengths between two buildings at different elevations and inclinations. Engineering of this skylight was a challenge as a single-layer lightweight gridshell structure was desired; however, the skylight spans between two different buildings in a high seismic zone, with differential movements of over 250mm between the buildings, meaning a conventional thrusting shell was not feasible. Compounding the complexity, the two buildings were already constructed and did not have the capacity to support high reactions plus had a need for natural ventilation at the long edges and to provide shelter from rain. Novum developed the solution of supporting the gridshell with arched tubular ribs that span between the buildings but with only fixed lateral support on the upper side, meaning the skylight is a semi-rigid plate which moves with the taller stiffer building in the event of an earthquake. The pipes restrain the desire of the shell to thrust and elevate the structure to allow airflow. The resulting solution to a very complex challenge is an elegant, highly transparent structure.