©Fast + Epp

Consulting engineering firm Fast + Epp reached a key milestone for Vancouver’s Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) Freedom Mobile Arch—one of the largest free-span timber roofs in the world—with the installation of three King Arches late last month. The steel support arches were installed following the formation and pouring of three primary concrete buttresses. The King Arches comprise 27 individual segments that were pre-assembled on a custom truss rack to ensure the structural integrity of the canopy. They connect directly to the buttresses and provide the primary framework to support glue-laminated (glulam) timber beams. Embedded head unit frames have been installed at the buttresses, so as to eventually receive the glulam elements. In the meantime, temporary masts support the underside of the steel and timber arch structure. Once the arch is fully assembled and secured, they will be removed and the roof will be self-supporting.