Heathrow Terminal 5 Main Terminal Building Roof
London Heathrow Airport, UK · 1990–2008 (operational March 2008) · £4 billion (overall T5 project cost, roof specific cost not detailed)
The judgement call
Account-gated at launchThe roof was treated as an independent, loose-fit covering, allowing the building envelope and interior to be flexible and adapt to future changes. - Off-site trials and testing of roof and façade sections in Yorkshire ensured issues with tolerances and sequencing were resolved before on-site assembly. - The use of digital information was crucial for accuracy in casting patterns and achieving tight tolerances (1mm or less). - The project demonstrated the importance of good engineering and design in overcoming severe on-site restrictions.
Key engineering challenges
Designing an elegant, curved, single-span roof with a 156m vault to create a vast, flexible, column-free internal space. - Developing an innovative node design for the roof structure and managing analysis of tolerances and fit-up for off-site fabrication. - Constructing a massive structure within an operational airport environment, with height restrictions for cranes (43m limit due to radar). - Extensive use of off-site fabrication and jacking sections of the roof into place to minimize on-site work and mitigate weather delays.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- BAA (now Heathrow Airport Holdings)
- Lead contractor
- —
- Lead designers
- RSHP (Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners) (architect), Arup and Mott MacDonald (engineers)
- Project type
- new build
- Scale
- 396m long, 176m wide main terminal building; single-span roof vaulting 156m; supported by 22 pairs of inclined structural columns; roof highest point 37m above ground.
- Disciplines
- Civil; structural; architectural; mechanical; electrical; systems; airport planning
- Standards & frameworks
- UK Building Regulations; airport operational standards; British Standards
Sources: RSHP: Terminal 5, Heathrow Airport (https://rshp.com/projects/transport/terminal-5-heathrow-airport/) - Steelconstruction.info: AWARD TERMINAL 5, HEATHROW AIRPORT (https://www.steelconstruction.info/images/7/7a/2008_-_Terminal_5_Heathrow_Airport.pdf) - Wikipedia: Heathrow Terminal 5 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathrow_Terminal_5) - Hathaway Roofing: Terminal 5 Heathrow Airport (https://www.hathaway-roofing.co.uk/projects/aviation/terminal-5-heathrow-airport/)