Ferrari Park , Abu Dhabi

Ferrari World is a magnificent, out of the ordinary piece of design

that symbolizes the performance achievements of the company
and its appeal. There are many attractions among which you
can find the fastest roller coaster in the world, Formula Rossa. The
park is sheltered by a 200,000 square meter roof, making it the
largest indoor amusement park.

In 2005 Ferrari and Aldar Properties signed an agreement to build

the world’s first Ferrari theme park. The construction started in 2008
and was finished in November 2010. It is located in Abu Dhab

The roof of course is the thing that catches when you first see the
building. It was designed by Benoy Architects and inspired by the
side profile of a Ferrari GT. The engineering behind the iconic roof
was realized by Ramboll, who also provided the structural and
facade engineering,
The form of the Ferrari GT 250 inspires the shiny red, double curvature
roof. There are four independent roof structures, a central circular
section that dips into a central funnel and three legs or “tri-form
arms”, which stretch out equilaterally from the central core,
providing shade for the rollercoasters and rides that wind their way
out from the main play area.

Everything radiates from the central glazed funnel or well, which was
introduced to allow daylight into the centre of the building.
A central ring of columns around this funnel supports the main roof
and these extend up and outwards as beams to the edge of the
central section to form the main radial lines of support.

They are supported at the outer edges of the central section on V-

shaped columns and also halfway between the V columns and
central columns by another line of columns that keep structural
spans to around 75m.
Structural isolation joints separate the four different roof structures,
which allow the roof sections to move independently under seismic
and temperature loads.
The original design incorporated steel girder beams, but as the
design developed, it evolved into a space frame structure − a truss-
like, lightweight rigid shape constructed from interlocking struts.
The overall roof structure covers some 700m in diameter and
represents a three dimensional arc area of more
201,000m2. The three tri-form extensions create shade for the
primary facades and provide protection to the rollercoaster
areas.

As Ferrari World is on a greenfield site, extensive pile testing was

carried out to confirm geotechnical properties.
Heat was also an important design issue. The main reason the
theme park is indoors is because of the Middle East’s
uncomfortably hot climate, something that could certainly
deflate the fun factor.