Uniline Safety Systems

When renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava designed the Palau De Les Arts Reina Sofia (also known as The Queen Sofia Opera House), the practicalities of cleaning the 6,000 square metres of glass and changing the light bulbs in the uppermost part of the building (75 meters) posed a challenge.

The main components of this 44,100 square metre building which houses artistic and cultural activities including opera, dance and theatre are two auditoriums and a chamber music hall. Officially opened by Queen Sofia of Spain on 8 October 2005, the dramatic structure of the Palau De Les Arts Reina Sofia has been designed to convey to the outside world, the artistic nature of the activities taking place inside.

Maintaining a masterpiece

But taking a step back from the impressive look of the building, the logistics of maintaining such an irregular shaped structure have brought many challenges. Installing a system to ensure maintenance staff can work safely at height was a vital part of the construction process, but the main hurdle was how to do this without ruining the striking features of the building.

The high ceilings, curved walls and lack of access to the roof meant the options open to the architect were limited. In form, the building is a series of apparently random volumes, which become unified through their enclosure within two symmetrical, cut-away concrete shells weighing 3,200 tonnes. These forms are crowned by a sweeping steel sheath 230 metres long and 75 metres high.

Calatrava explains the extent of the problem: “Erecting scaffolding every time maintenance staff need to inspect a window or change a light bulb would have been extremely expensive and could potentially damage the building.  The intrusive framework would have also meant that some sections of the building would become useless for long periods of time, whilst the structure was erected and dismantled.”

 “Trencadis” (broken ceramic tiles) that cover the shells meant that ‘traditional’ fall protection systems were not feasible as they would need to be anchored into the shells of the building posing an eyesore.  They would also have been difficult to fit and use, due to the curved nature of the structure.  The only feasible solution was to install a system inside the building, which would blend into the structure with minimal impact on the eye of the visitors,” he continues.

Discrete design

Calatrava approached VERTICE TRABAJOS VERTICALES as local fall protection installer of ELYTRA to specify a system to meet his requirements.  Elytra recommended the UniRail system from fall protection specialists Uniline Safety Systems as the best-fit solution.

UniRail is made up of sections of rail which can be mounted in a number of ways to provide suspended access using ropes, positive restraint and fall arrest for multiple users.  The adaptable nature of the system means it can be secured to almost any surface and cope with corners, bends or changes in gradient.  This was a key system requirement due to the curved nature of the building and different types of material used in its construction.

Another key attribute of the system is its discreteness.  The rail can be almost hidden from site and once fitted floats freely within fixings, enabling unhindered, natural expansion and contraction of both structure and system.  As a result the user is suspended from the rail and free to move around with ease.

Working with Uniline, ELYTRA completed a pre-tender design specification and provided a real-life demonstration of the UniRail system on a section of the Palau De Les Arts.  VERTICE TRABAJOS VERTICALES was then awarded the contract to install the system throughout the entire building, due to the demonstrable technical merit of the UniRail product.

Overcoming obstacles

Installation of the system was a delicate process because of the stringent aesthetic demands set by the architect.  ELYTRA also had to cope with a complex fixing environment associated with pre-positioned structural steel nodes and fire safety requirements.  “The main challenge was to position the system in such a way that the angles met the requirements of the technician without impacting on the movement of the rope fixing.  Bending of the rail sections and coping with variable angles was also a complex part of the installation and required a high degree of engineering competence,” comments Batis Latorre, an engineer at ELYTRA engineering.

During construction of the system, over 2,500 metres of rail was installed in the ceilings and walls, which is completely invisible to the untrained eye.  Working with Uniline, Elytra has put in place a set of strict guidelines for the staff of building maintenance contractor VERTICE TRABAJOSVERTICALES to follow when using twin ropes, harness descenders and fall arrest devices on the system.   Users have also been trained to become certified operatives of the rope access equipment and have a good understanding of safety issues and requirements, enabling them to clean and maintain the building without causing damage or risk to life.