Tubular Structures

Tubes & Pipes

Corby Works, PO Box 101
Weldon Road, Corby
Northants NN17 5UA

Case Study 10
Hashalom Suburban Railway
Station, Tel Aviv

Tel 01536 402121

Fax 01536 404111

TD400/10E/98

Hashalom Suburban Railway Station, Tel Aviv

by Architect Eri Goshen, D Eytan E Goshen Architects Ltd

The new rail link has four new passenger

stations which will serve suburban Tel Aviv:
the first near Tel Aviv University, the second
near Hashalom Bridge (The Peace Bridge situated next to the metropolitan
government office complex), a station at
Yitzhak Sadeh Bridge, and one near the
new bus terminal at Hahagana Bridge.

Contracting Management
Ayalon Highways Ltd
Client
The Israeli Ports &
Railways Authority

Supervision & Surveying

Bar Or-Netzer Ltd

Architect
D Eytan E Goshen
Architects Ltd

Steel Supplier
Dizengoff Trading
Company 1952 Ltd

Partner in Charge
Eri Goshen

Laminated Glass
Manufacturer
Fenitzia Ltd, Haifa

Job Architect
Nili Simon
Structural Engineer
M D Consulting
Engineers
Ezra Cohen, Eng
Zion Zechut, Eng
Main Contractor
A Arenson Ltd

Glazed Roof:
Roof Cover Contractor
Shtreit-Guttman
Engineers
Laminated Glass
Manufacturer
Fenitzia Ltd Haifa
Glazing Consultant
Darrel A Chivu, Eng
Photographs
Ran Erde

Israels railway system has undergone

substantial rebuilding during the past few
years. The first, and most important, project
was the completion of the missing link
between the existing northern line (today to
Haifa, in the future to Beirut and Damascus),
and the southern lines (today to Jerusalem,
Ashdod and Beer-Sheba, and in the future
to Eilat, Amman and Cairo).
This Ayalon Rail Link incorporates new rail
tracks into the median of the existing
peripheral trunk roads to the east of Tel Aviv
- the Ayalon Highway. The works, costing
approximately US$50 million, included the
building of a new 20m wide concrete
drainage canal, retaining walls, and
substructure for the new tracks, as well as
the widening of bridges; all this took place
while the roads remained almost fully
operative with heavy traffic.
In addition to the Ayalon Rail Link, the Israeli
Ports and Railways Authority has embarked
on a development plan to include the
upgrading of existing passenger stations
and the building of new ones, the purchase
of new, modern three-car units, the
installation of a new signalling and control
system, and the reorganisation of the entire
operating structure.

The design solution, chosen when the

Ayalon Highway was initiated in the 1960s,
was for passenger transfers between rail
and road, including bus, taxi, private car and
pedestrian traffic, to take place at the
bridges crossing the sunken highway.
Therefore, the stations are being built
adjacent to the bridge structures. The first,
Hashalom Station, started operating in
February 1996. The other stations are in
various stages of design and construction.
The four new stations have been designed
by different architects. The architectural
design team for the first planning and design
stage was led by Eri Goshen. The first
station to be built, Hashalom, was later
designed in full by the practice of D Eytan
E Goshen Architects Ltd.
Hashalom Station has two identical halls,
one on each side of the bridge, to be built in
two stages. Each hall rests on four columns,
approximately 60m apart, which is also the
width of the bridge. On top of these
concrete columns there are four steel
masts, which support the roof of the
passenger hall. The station roof is a steel,
wave-shaped, frame. The wave, which acts
as a canopy for the buses stopping at the
kerb, goes down towards the station
entrance, rises again at the main passenger
hall, and then drops at the trains approach
on the other side. The roof is covered with
glass panes; these are designed to allow
controlled daylight in and may be seen from
a distance at night, because of upward
lighting.

Passengers descend from the main hall of

the station by two sets of stairs and
escalators to the two side platforms running
under the bridge. A special 250m long
acoustical barrier has been built to protect
passengers from traffic noise and other
hazards along the western platform, which
is very close to the fast lane of the highway.
This acoustical wall is built of glass blocks
set in steel frames, and forms another main
architectural element of the station design,
both day and night.
All materials for the buildings finish were
chosen to last gracefully for a very long time,
so that they withstand the intensive and
damaging use of vast crowds, including
intentional vandalism. Materials that are
almost maintenance-free, such as granite
and stainless steel, have been used
throughout. The roof structure, being the
most difficult to reach, is made entirely of
Corten steel tubing, painted with an epoxy
glass-like paint.
The building structure has three main
elements: platforms; main hall floor; roof.
The platforms, which partially overhang the
drainage canal, are built of reinforced
concrete piling, with beams, reinforced
prestressed concrete elements and screed
topping. Four oval concrete columns, each
1.35mx3.5m in section, support the 1000m2
hall. Two steel girders, each 54m long x
6.5m deep, were placed along two sides of
the hall. The girders are connected every
6m by secondary trusses, of about 19m
length and 1.2m in height; on top of these
secondary trusses there is a structure of
prestressed hollow concrete slabs and
poured concrete screed.

The roof is one continuous space frame of

2" (50.8mm) Corten steel tubing (some
14,000 tubes). It forms a structure of
approximately 100mx22mx1.4m high. This
roof structure hangs by steel tension rods
from four Corten steel masts. Tension rods
under the roof tie it down to the mast bases,
in order to maintain additional wind bracing.
The roof is covered with 2245 pieces of
security glass. Each pane of glass is made
of two 5mm plates of clear glass, laminated
together with translucent white plastic
sheeting to protect passengers from the
suns heat and radiation. At night, upwardly
directed metal-halide projectors cause the
glass to glow; this creates the special
effect of a flying carpet hovering over the
highway.

Case Study 12

Scale and Dimensions

Hashalom Station is located over the Ayalon
Highway and next to the Hashalom Bridge.
This posed some fundamental problems
that made decisions about the stations
scale and dimensions particularly difficult.
The vast dimensions of the highway, an
asphalt and concrete void of some 100m150m wide, as well as those of the 12-lane
bridge, made the placing of a rather small
building next to them questionable.
Moreover, most people who see the station
do so from a fast travelling car, or when
crossing the highway on the bridge. Train
passengers, passing on foot through the
building, are a minority. Anyone looking at
the station from the sides of the highway
does so at a distance of hundreds of
metres; from such a distance, most
buildings look rather small, and their details
blur. These facts, the huge dimensions of
the close surroundings and the type of
visual contact with the building, were key
criteria in the station design.

From the start, it was decided to make use

of the one large dimension of a railway
station, namely the length. Because the
longest passenger train can reach 250m,
and railway officials wanted 180m long
platforms, the stations basic module was
fixed at 54m, which is also the width of the
Hashalom Bridge. That width of the bridge
was doubled so that buses, taxis and
private vehicles could stop at the kerb to
drop off passengers. Furthermore, the
minimal width needed for the tracks and
platforms made it necessary to place
columns into the drainage canal; in order to
minimise their number, the whole station
was raised on eight columns (four for each
hall).
Hence the basic structural and geometric
concept of the station comprises three
modules, each of some 60m, with the
middle one being the same width as the
existing bridge. There is a passenger hall on
each of the outer modules, both south and
north, suspended by 6.5m high steel
girders. Four steel masts placed on top of
the concrete columns support the hall roof,
via tension rods.
The station was designed for construction in
two phases. The first phase included the
complete building of the platforms and a
passenger hall. This hall is on the north side,
next to a large commercial centre. The two
phases are connected by a pedestrian
walkway. Temporary steel stairways have
been built on the south side of the bridge.
In this way, the station design was reduced
to the minimal number of visual elements;
each hall has only four columns and masts,
two side girders and one wavy continuous
roof which covers the entire area. These
dimensions suit the scale of the highway
and the bridge, as well as the distance and
movement of onlookers, so that the station
location and design can be read and
remembered at a glance.

Case Study 12

Structure
The structure of the building uses differing,
yet complementary, solutions for its three
areas:
The 180m long platforms are built on
concrete piling, on which rest prestressed
concrete flat elements, on short beams,
every 6m. The concrete screed top
covering this is clad with granite paving.
The main body of the station (hall floor and
roof) is carried by four oval concrete
columns, each 1.35mx3.5m in section.
Two 54m long x 6.5m high steel girders
carry the hall floor, via secondary trusses
that are positioned every 6m and support
the prestressed hollow concrete element
which is covered with a concrete screed
clad with granite slabs.

The wave-like rooftop hangs from four

Corten steel masts which are a
continuation of the oval concrete bases;
the masts are made of 200x200RHS and
100x100RHS. The space frame of the
roof has some 14,000 Corten steel tubes,
mostly of 11/2" (38.1mm) or 2" (50.8mm)
diameter.

Case Study 12

A passenger approaching the station is

guided by the roof as it descends to the
entrance doors and then rises again,
soaring above the main hall; having passed
the ticket barriers, the roof lowers again to
direct passengers towards the descending
escalators and stairs which lead to the
platforms below.
When the second hall has been built, on the
other side of the bridge, the third - imaginary
- wave will be formed; this is the missing
wave above the bridge itself, between the
two halls roofs. This arch will form a visual
gate above Hashalom Road, one of Tel
Avivs main eastern arterial access roads.
The roof is formed by a triangular space
frame of Corten steel tubing and 2445
square panes of laminated glass cover the
roof. Special PVB lamination provides shade
and UV protection while allowing filtered
light in during daytime. At night, the artificial
light is reflected back into the station while
the whole roof glows. This glowing white
wave is seen from far away and looks like a
flying carpet over the highway, making the
station immediately identifiable.
To increase protection from sun and rain
(the brief called for an open station), four
brise-soleil glazed strips have been hung
from the roof edges, at the east and west
facades. These make the elongated wavelike shape of the roof even more prominent.

The Roofs Architecture

Considerations of the stations surrounding
dimensions and relative scale contributed
towards the roof being chosen as the
buildings design element. The public nature
of the structure, namely a central railway
station in the city of Tel Aviv, was another
fundamental criteron.

Case Study 12

A roof is the most natural choice for making

public buildings prominent. High roofs,
made of a singular construction and
spanning vast spaces, are characteristic of
railway stations around the world. For
obvious structural reasons, one usually finds
the roof spanning the width of a building,
typically in a single module barrel vault, or
alternatively in several adjacent vaults. At
Hashalom Station, the roof spans the length
of the building, so the roof construction is
tied to the three modules of the two halls
and bridge. This unusual solution aims at
achieving two additional goals:

The wave-like shape of the roof

forms a low, inviting entrance at
the pedestrian sidewalks and bus
stops on the bridge, and at the
trains entry at the other end. In
this way the roof makes a
distinct, inviting impression on
passengers making their way
through the station.
With regard to people passing in
thousands of cars on the
highway, the long wavy shape of
the roof creates a dynamic look
which is also clear and individual.

components. In arriving at the final decision

it was considered unrealistic simply to rely
on an albeit excellent paint system and
immaculate maintenance programme to
meet such exacting performance
requirements, and Corten steel was chosen
as the base material.
This choice enabled the engineer to use thin
wall tubes ( 3.2mm ) with no problem of rust
occurring over a period of time. The Corten
was painted with a light grey/beige paint, as
an extra precaution and to protect the
building and highway underneath from the
staining that would otherwise be caused
from any moisture running off the steelwork
in the first few years. This lighter colour was
chosen by the architect with two other goals
in mind: to make the space frame appear
lighter and to allow dust to pass unnoticed.
The Masts
The four masts have a cross-section of
950mmx950mm, a height of 21.5m, and are
made of RHS in Corten steel. The square
truss is composed of 200x200 vertical
chords with diagonals of 120x120.
Each mast carries part of the roof space
frame by four tension rods, which are 11/2"
(38.1mm) diameter galvanised steel bars
with pin connections at both ends; another
16 tension bars anchor the roof to the
concrete oval columns, providing wind
bracing.

The Roofs Structure - Corten Steel

In addition to its structural properties, the
material used for the roof structure has to
fulfil two requirements: longevity and ideally
simple, or zero, maintenance. In addition,
these requirements have to be satisfied on a
structure that is both flexible in nature and
consists of thousands of individual

Case Study 12

The Construction Sequence

Space frame units were prepared in the
workshop and transported to the site in
units 5m wide and 22m long (the roofs
width). These units were hoisted by crane,
between midnight and dawn, from trucks
transporting them on the highway which
runs alongside, below the station, and were
then mounted on temporary supports to
their final position on the roof. A gap of
1.05m was left between each unit; this gap
was closed by welding the missing tubes
on site, completing the frame. Special
electrodes suitable for Corten steel were
used for the welding and all welding joints
were then checked visually and by magnetic
and X-ray tests.

The Space Frame

The triangular space frame of the roof is
22m wide x 86m long x 1.4m deep. The
masts are spaced at 54m, so the roof is
cantilevered at one end by 18.5m and at the
other by 13.5m.
The upper layer of the lattice consists of
triangular space trusses across the roof.
These are 1.05m wide, 22m long and 1.4m
deep, and are spaced at 2.10m centres.
The bottom layer consists of lengthwise and
transverse chords spaced at 2m centres,
connected to the upper layer by diagonal
bars.

The roof structure was checked for eight

fundamental types of loading, from which
six combinations were formed, providing
maximal force on the bars.
To calculate stability, the roofs bars were
classified into nine different groups as
follows:
A Bars in transverse direction on the
upper layer
B Bars in longitudinal direction on the
upper layer
C Diagonal bars on the upper layer
D Bars in transverse direction on the
lower layer
E Bars in longitudinal direction on the
lower layer
F Diagonal bars connecting the two
layers
G Vertical chords of the masts
H Diagonal chords of the masts
I Hanging and anchoring bars

Case Study 12

Acoustic Wall
Because of the proximity of the station
platforms to the highway, especially to the
southbound lane to the west of the station,
a sturdy but visually pleasing barrier was
necessary. Passengers standing on the
platforms must be protected by such a
barrier against the noise and physical
danger of vehicles travelling at great speed
very close by. The solution is a glass brick
wall, some 250m long x 2.5m high, running
alongside the stations platform.

Materials and Colours

The brief for the building called for the use of
materials which would require minimal
maintenance and even withstand intentional
vandalism. All surfaces in reach of the
general public were therefore covered in
robust materials such as steel, granite and
security glass. Most of the vertical wall
surfaces are covered with polished granite
slabs and have been coated with special
anti-graffiti emulsion. The floors are mostly
flamed granite slabs, to prevent slipping,
and have been deeply impregnated with
anti-stain material. The roof structure, being
the most difficult to reach and maintain, is
made of self-protecting Corten sealed steel
tubing, which has been covered with
Tamaglass topcoat paint.
Apart from longevity, vandalism and
maintenance, this particular station location
posed two more considerations,
contradictory in their nature. Firstly, there is
the need to feel safe, on terra firma, at the
end of a journey. Secondly, there is the
desire to have the building portray the
essence of movement by train and transfer
by terminal to other means of transport. At
Hashalom Station, built as a bridge some
7.5m above a busy highway and train
tracks, it was particularly difficult to make
passengers feel safe and sound, rather than
as if they were over very troubled waters!
Bearing this in mind, the platforms and main
hall floor have been shaped as a firm,
traditional structure with built walls which
have been faced with granite slabs or
hammered concrete. The hall floor is carried
by two huge steel girders, resting on four
sturdy concrete columns. In contrast, the
roof above is a delicate and light filigree of
thousands of slender steel tubes, hung by
cables to the steel masts.

The new colours of the Israeli Ports &

Railways Authority, light blue, dark blue and
red, have been incorporated into the system
of signs, in order to bring more vivid colours
into the building.
Lighting
The stations illumination has been designed
to strengthen its main architectural features.
The platforms are lit by a row of fluorescent
installations hanging vertically from the
ceiling, which is painted black. In this way,
the lighting forms a decorative ceiling of
illuminated bodies which merge together in
the platforms perspective.
On the other hand, the passenger hall is
illuminated by two differing, complementary
elements. The floor is lit by two rows of
street lamps, whose triangular shape directs
most of the light downwards. The general
lighting of the hall comes from the other
source: 16 hidden metal-halide projectors
point upwards, flooding the glass roof and
causing a mellow, diffused, reflected light to
illuminate the entire station. This uplighting
also has an important exterior effect; the
laminated glass has an opaque white plastic
layer in it, so the whole roof glows and
becomes a huge illuminated sign of the
building. This may be seen from a very great
distance and gives the station its unique
visual identity in the cityscape.

The colours of the materials and finishes

were chosen with the same considerations
in mind; the lower part of the station of grey
(the concrete and granite) and dark green
(the heavy steel elements). The upper part,
the roof structure and masts, is painted light
grey, while the glass is translucent white.
The dark green was chosen as a means to
settle the building more comfortably into
the open surroundings of the highway and
to prevent it from appearing as either a
temporary or strange construction.

Case Study 12

Signs
The importance and impact of a sign
system in a railway station is much greater
than in other building types. At Hashalom
Station, the Israeli Ports & Railways
Authority is testing a new sign system,
designed by Studio Reisinger, which has
been installed as a prototype for eventual
use in other stations. Like other central
elements in the station design, the sign
system addresses contradictory problems:
how to satisfy the need for a large,
prominent and functional sign system,
without having to use an overpowering and
cluttered design.

The solution has been to use one clear

design concept of inner rectangular frames,
covered with curved outer surfaces, creating
an ellipse. The basic design principle
embraces all the different signs in a modular
system, including electronic billboards,
pictograms and direction signs. As with the
black-green colour of the buildings heavy
steel structure, the sign system adds
another common theme to the station,
unifying the various elements.
Similarly, the vertical station identification
totem near the entrance will be repeated in
all the new stations in the country. Finally, a
large station clock hangs from the apex of
the roof, over the centre of the passenger
hall; its design is intentionally traditional, so
as to evoke memories of the great stations
in the world.
Glazed Roof Design
In addition to the station roofs geometric
and spatial design considerations, the
demands of the roof material seemed at first
quite contradictory: the maximum
transmittal of natural light and yet the
greatest possible shading, the filtering of

Case Study 12

UV radiation, self-cleaning properties,

uplight reflection, long life, safety and nearly
zero maintenance. All this applied together
with the usual constraints of being
technically available and economical.
The usual solution in Israel for such a roof
would have been to use double layer,
hollow, interlocking polycarbonate sheets.
Besides their low cost, the roof could be
covered with almost one continuous sheet,
making fixing and waterproofing both easier
and better. The use of laminated glass
panes depended on a practical solution
being found for forming the wave-like curve
of the roof. Once this had been satisfactorily
tested, the many advantages of the
laminated glass were fully utilised.
Two 1.1mx1.1mx5mm float glass panes
were laminated together with a 0.76mm
Saflex PVB sheet sandwiched in between.
In fact, two 0.38mm interlayers were used,
bonded together - one clear and one
translucent white. In this way the design
objectives were almost fully achieved: visible
light transmittal is 65% - enough in Tel Avivs
harsh light, the shade co-efficient is .76 much needed in the hot Israeli climate - and
ultraviolet screening is 99% or more.

Glazing then became very simple: the

Corten steel tubes of the roof structure have
60mmx60mm connecting Corten brackets
pre-welded onto them. Then specially
shaped extruded aluminium profiles were
laid only across the roof, secured to those
brackets in straight lines. Two soft adhesive
neoprene strips were then placed on the
aluminium profile, and the glass panes were
laid on top. In this way, the roof curve was
formed naturally by the glass pressing down
on the sponge strips. The next, final step
was to fill the 10mm gaps around each
pane with structural silicone (Dow Corning
895). Vertical glazing was undertaken in
much the same way, the only difference
being that a temporary aluminium bracket
held the glass in place while the silicone
cured.
Mock-up and Test
A 3mx4m mock-up was built by the
contractor and tested at the Israeli Institute
of Standards in Tel Aviv, to the architects
specifications. Air permeability is of little
importance because the station is open, so
it was not measured. The mock-up was
tested for water penetration (300N/m2), for
wind pressure, both positive and negative
(1250 pa), and for point load at the middle
of each glass pane and at the middle of the
aluminium supporting profile (150
kilograms).

Although one subcontractor was

responsible for installing the entire roof
cover, two different erection teams were
used: one fixed the aluminium substructure
and a different team undertook the glazing.
Special care was taken at the structural
silicone phase, because silicone must be
applied correctly if the glass is to be held in
place. Four workers, an experienced curtain
wall supervisor and three previously
inexperienced men, laid about 80m2 of
glass every day. Vertical glazing took longer.
Four water pipes, with fire extinguisher
hose, were positioned on top of each mast
so that the station roof can be cleaned
easily during the summer months.
Granite Works
One of the first design briefs agreed upon
was for extreme durability of the building, to
include zero maintenance as well as the
ability to withstand intentional breakdown by
passengers vandalism.

Because of the stations special location and

construction, almost all the granite panels
were designed to be dry mounted, using
stainless steel hooks and bolts. Low interior
walls, initially designed to be covered more
conventionally with mortar and mesh, were
also dry cladded because of the large span
steel structure, and the vibrations of both
the adjacent bridge and the building itself.
Additional movement has been catered for,
by using elastic grouting in the joints
between the granite panels, to prevent
chipping or cracks. The total granite floor
area is 3500m2 and total granite wall
coverings 6100m2. The subcontractor for
the granite work was Almon Co.

The station is located at the centre of

extremely heavy traffic on major arterial
roads; because it is an open structure
without controlled ventilation or airconditioning, there is an unusually high
accumulation of dust and dirt. Therefore all
finishes - both inside and outside - have had
to be as smooth as possible, with low
absorbency and high resistance to an
exceptionally corrosive atmosphere.

Alon Bar-On

Glazing Solution
The particular curve of the roof posed a
glazing challenge. So that the glazing beads
would not obstruct water run-off and
accumulate dirt, they had to run parallel to
the wave, and had to be curved as well.
This solution was tested first on the drawing
board, but failed. The main reason for the
failure was that the roof curve does not have
a single repetitive angle but many different
ones. Flat-top, or smooth, solutions were
studied next; these included framed glass or
pre-glazed aluminium panels, structural
silicone glazing and individual glass holders.
Once the secondary aluminium supporting
structure had been solved, it became
obvious that by far the easiest and most
economical solution was to lay the
laminated glass panes on top of it and then
secure them with structural silicone.

The anticipated large number of people

passing through the station and the clients
wish to minimise railway personnel provide
opportunities for vandalism as well as
normal wear-and-tear. To prevent this, the
finished materials have had to be strong,
scratch and friction proof, easily substituted
and with a long aesthetic lifespan. Four
materials were found to meet these severe
demands: glass, stainless steel, enamelled
steel and granite. These materials were
used in all public spaces. The beige-grey
granite is Rosa-Beta from Italy, and four
surface processing techniques of it were
used to achieve a variety of different
physical surfaces and a richer appearance.

Case Study 12