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• Hyperbody TU Delft

Concept. Driving along the highway between Vienna and Salzburg one see many acoustic barriers under construction. They are made according to the existing system of vertical steel profiles and sound absorbing cassettes in between as infill elements. In our view the existing system has aesthetic failures. The new widened highway follows the hills and creates nice gentle curves, going gently up and down, turning smoothly left and right. But the existing sound barrier system fails to follow the smooth curves. Uphill and downhill it steps upward in discrete steps. Especially this hurts the eye of the driver, and I guess the eye of the people behind the barrier as well. We feel that we need a barrier which can smoothly follow the nice curvatures of the beautiful landscape, and match the great visual quality of the well-kept landscaped farmland. The basis for the problem of the existing system is the strict verticality of the HEA beams and the binding [dwingend] repetitive rectangularity of the standard infill elements.

Our solution is to choose a system of Non Standard Architecture [NSA] which allows for realizing smooth lines. In NSA all components can in principle be different. This is only possible when we organise the design according to the new rules of the File to Factory production system of mass-customization. All elements are CNC [computer numerical control] produced. With our NSA approach we can follow the curves up and down, and the curves left and right with great precision. This will feel very smooth for the driver [and less disturbing for the eye] and for the inhabitants as well.

There are other smaller failures of the existing barriers as well: it feels too much like a fence. No one likes to live behind a fence, one feels imprisoned. In our proposal we have avoided an explicit backside of the barrier. We have designed it in such a way that both sides are equally representative and visually pleasant. In our design we have distributed the glass sections into a cloud of smaller windows of varying size as to avoid a long closed fence.

Also we introduced a much more dynamic section. As the old existing barrier system is always strictly vertical, our design allows for a flexible upward mobility, and for smooth transitions from convex to concave sections. Our design also allows for S-curved sections, and surprisingly also includes a possible strictly vertical section. The Non Standard Architecture approach includes the configurations of traditional standard architecture, while the existing repetitive architecture excludes smooth transitions matching the smoothness of the highway tracks embedded in the landscape and matching the smoothness of the landscape itself. That is why we advise Asfinag to leave behind the old repetitive system and choose a new directions towards a CNC controlled Non Standard Architecture.

Architectural quality. Our flexible NSA system is applied to the three Talschaftsgebieten Pongau, Lungau and Liesertal along the A10 Tauernautobahn. The developed system consists of solid triangular components of laminated wood. Each of these components is unique in shape and size, although the differences are minimal, there uniqueness is essential for the NSA language. Thanks to the flexibility in our system we have a big freedom of expression. We are free to make inward movement, we can bulge the barrier towards the outside, we can design with the flow of the passing traffic. The triangulated components are connected to each other along their diagonals and their horizontals. Thanks to the triangularity of the system and the dominant diagonality of the acoustic barrier the designer can choose to give an extra dynamic in the form of folding inward or folding outward, creating S-curves, or smooth convex and concave sectors.

We have taken advantage of the expressive possibilities of the distributed smaller triangular windows to “write” the names of the A10 sectors in the barrier. By arranging the triangles graphically as if it were tracing paper we can write names like Flachau, St Michael, Eisentratten or other names, clearly visible and readable from the point of view of the driver passing by with the speed of 130km/h. In this way we can identify the three different sectors of the new acoustic barrier without adding unfamiliar components to the system. The local identification comes from within the system.

Functionality. The triangulated design structure can be smoothly adjusted in height. The dimensions of the design is calculated as to be 5.5m high. If lower in height, the barrier can be slightly slimmer in its dimensions. All triangles are tightly bolted together via embedded galvanised steel discs. Assembled together the triangular laminated wooden components form one consistent solid structure, varying in thickness from 24cm at the feet to only 6 cm at the top. Strong steel nodes connect the solid structure to the concrete feet every 5.4m. Since the structure is very stiff and acts as a horizontal truss, we are using less connections points to the ground and/or to the sides of the bridges.

The structural strength of the system allows for floating endings of the barrier. In our design we lift up the endings, which makes the barrier seem much lighter. Instead of the unsatisfactory abrupt endings of the traditional barrier, we can now make transitions to other constructs like the gallery and the tunnel structure. Thanks to the triangulation our design can integrate in a natural way the existing dikes, since the angle of the triangulation equals the slope of the dike.

The 10% glass openings are realised using triangular opening in the panels. The biggest window has 50% of glass, the other 50% closed and absorbing the sound. The smallest window has only 10% of glass surface. Combining these panels we can make very smooth transitions from a 100% closed barrier to a 50% transparent barrier. We think that even the 50% transparency gives a better view towards the landscape then an almost 100% transparency, because the dirt coming from the highway always spoils the transparency effect. In combination with the solid wood the transparency even with some dirt on it will be more acceptable for the human eye.

Ecology. We have chosen the wood Douglas fir as the main material for the acoustic barrier. Unlike the existing barrier where wood is used as a superficial cladding material we propose here to use it structurally. 99% percent of the design is laminated wood. Only 1% of the applied materials is steel, which is needed for the strong connections between the wooden triangles. We propose native cedar wood without any varnish or coating. The laminated  wood which needs only a environmental friendly impregnation, turns natural grey over time and will blend perfectly with the fir trees along the A10 Autobahn. We are confident that our proposal is very sustainable and friendly for the environment, both in the production phase as in the life-cycle of the barrier itself.

Economy. We have worked closely together with an Austrian manufacturer of laminated wood to calculate the necessary strength of the construction and to estimate the costs involved. Costs are estimated to be 15-20% higher then the existing barriers. It is in this context absolutely necessary to inform the jury that our Non Standard Architecture approach is feasible indeed. Although seemingly counter intuitive to the traditional designer and producer, taking fully advantage of the digital design methods and the computer controlled production methods it is competitive indeed to produce an unlimited number of unique components. As long as they are produced within the constraints of the CNC production machines, and as long as the designer plays by the rules of the design.

Design: ONL [Oosterhuis_Lénárd]

Design team: Kas Oosterhuis, Ilona Lénárd, Csaba Rajnai, Rena Logara

Site: A 10 Tauernautobahn, Austria

Client: competition, ASFINAG GmbH

Date: 2006