This article was taken from the March 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
When six million kilograms of steel are hanging over your head, it's reassuring to see some structural support. So you won't feel very reassured standing under the "flying" roof of the Busan Cinema Centre in South Korea. Designed by Austria-based architects COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, the complex -- comprising cinemas, offices, studios and restaurants -- supports the longest cantilevered roof in the world.
But creating an 85-metre overhang anchored at just one end isn't easy, what with gravity and wind to deal with, so engineers built the roof around a gridlike steel girder system. The real challenge, though, was keeping the roof attached to the single hourglass-shaped column that supports it. So builders stiffened the juncture by tucking what they call a steel "crown" inside. The Busan opened in September last year and is the new home of the Busan Film Festival -- Asia's largest -- and houses a 4,000-seat outdoor cinema. But if you don't like the film, don't slash the seats, just stare at the 23,910 LED projectors showing video on the roof's underside.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
