The Requirement

Dragages HK Limited, the Main Design and Build Contractor of a new cruise terminal building at Kai Tak in Hong Kong, invited BMT to lead a project in the design and delivery of a radome.

A radome’s typical role is to provide a weatherproof enclosure transparent to radar.

Breaking away from the conventional ‘golf ball’ radome, the elongated shape complements the sweeping organic curves of the cruise terminal’s featured roofs.

This particular design brought about a number of challenges associated with a complex wind environment and

structural and radio frequency compliance, all complicated by the requirement to install the structure almost 50m above ground level.

The Approach

The composite radome and its supporting internal steelwork platform is subject to typhoon wind and dynamic loads and must therefore be constructed to tight tolerances, whilst light enough for easy installation.

These specific requirements led BMT to assemble a design, steelwork and structural composite team more familiar with the challenges of bespoke marine design projects as opposed to buildings, but for whom the core challenges are commonplace.

Outcome and Benefits

BMT was initially tasked to review the available design and construction options so that the optimum solution could be delivered, but eventually took on the project's realisation on site.

Using well-established marine skills for an onshore project, BMT's involvement helped the customer succeed in accomplishing a challenging and unusual project whilst also delivering an iconic design.

The structural design and fabrication of the radome combined the analytical, design and project management capability of BMT, with a team of specialist contractors from BMT Nigel Gee and BMT Fluid Mechanics.