British architectural practice RTKL added thousands of square metres of office and retailing space to the shopping centre in Chadstone not far from the centre of Melbourne. The work of seele included the construction of an exceptional steel-and-glass roof with a total area of 7,080sqm. Two key features of the design are its open style, with a gallery-type second floor, and the high, dome-like glass roof that allows plenty of daylight to reach both floors. The glass roof has to follow the line of the shopping malls below and so the result is a complex free-form gridshell with spans of up to 44m.
Header: © Aaron Pocock
Gallery images: © seele