Fast, Reliable design & costing

Space frames can help you evaluate alternative structural arrangements for your enclosures, buildings & roofs to best address all physical, financial and time constraints. Alternative solutions can be developed & costed very rapidly using sophisticated design tools & long experience. Access to our extensive database of previously designed & costed proposals and installed structures is a valuable aid to you. Our long experience allows us to provide cost-effective and state-of-the-art solutions that not only perform as desired for the service life specified, but also are safe to construct and are completed when needed, within budget.

Smart Solutions

Considerable structural design & construction expertise is available to you at all stages of your project. Economical roofs & enclosures are frequently achieved through intelligent use of geometry. Enclosures that conform to the stockpile shape & take advantage of arching & shell design methods can offer great economy. Space frames has designed & supplied many custom shapes with multiple curvatures. cabled and tensile fabric & air-supported structures are all possible. There is virtually no limit to the geometrical shapes that the Space frames framing system can achieve to effectively help control emmissions from or ingress into the storage or processing facility.

Wide, Clear Column-Free Spans

Space frames framing is ideal for long column-free spans, long cantilevers, and irregular support spacing. The economy of the system arises from the ability to optimize member sizes to suit the structural requirements in each part of the frame. There is virtually no limit to the shapes and spans that are possible and spans of 1000 ft are achievable.

Capacity for any loading

Space frames framing is custom designed to optimize the member sizes required. The framing is designed to support any specified distributed, concentrated or unbalanced, loading. Conveyors & processing equipment can be supported from the roof frame. Unbalanced wind, snow & ice loads or earthquake loads present no problem to the economical design & performance integrity of Space frames structures. Openings of any dimension can be provided in the Space frames structure.

Less structure mass & foundation cost

Application of open web frames & curvature in structures repeatedly achieves reduced mass of the structural system than traditional beam-column arrangements. A dome roof for instance may require only 1/3 the steel mass of a Pyramid shape of same base span, a barrel vault may be 1/2 the mass of a similar span A-frame roof. Curved cladding materials have been used for decades & are economical & simple to install. Lower mass structures require smaller foundations. The tangible outcome is lower cost & faster construction.

Durable materials & protective finishes

Space frames frames are manufactured in materials appropriate for the desired service life in most industrial environments. Framing can be fabricated from galvanized steel & aluminium and other non-metallic materials, plus a range of protective coating solutions are available.

Services contained within the frame

The open Space frames frame allows all ducting, fire water supply, lighting & all building service lines to be supported and located within the frame and not impede on the live storage & processing envelope.

Economical enhancement of existing buildings

Many office buildings at industrial complexes have been visually enhanced and the capital value increased through the relatively low-cost addition of a decorative and functional entrance canopy or atrium. Useful floor space can be added to existing buildings by enclosing areas between buildings using a Space frames system.

Reduced design & fabrication times & costs

Three dimensional structural design has been refined over the last 4 decades. Computer automated processes now achieve very rapid and reliable design, detailing and costing. Even complex fabrication is readily achieved on automated, purpose-built equipment.

Construction is simple, safe and fast

The Space frames product is delivered to site as a pre-engineered kit, which is very simple and quick to assemble. Every structure piece is readily lifted by a single worker & the unique Space frames system requires only one bolt per joint. No special tools or skills are required. Space frames structures can be remotely pre-assembled, to not interfere with other site activities, and easily moved to the final position when required.

Remote locations favor the Space frames product, which was originally developed for locations where equipment & skilled labor are not readily available. Many structures are supplied every year to remote sites and are assembled by unskilled residents within 1 day with only hand tools.

Poor or limited access pose no real problem because the Space frames structure is assembled from low mass components, which can all be moved & assembled by hand.

Poor ground, drainage, topography, or weather do not impede correct & rapid assembly of Space frames structures.
Assembly is fast and can be performed at ground level or elevated to best suit the prevailing conditions.

Site space limitations do not present a significant problem for Space frames structures which are compact to transport & store, and can be assembled without interfering with other site activities.

Limited equipment availability that might normally hinder construction progress are not a problem because Space frames structures can be assembled using simple hand tools.

No interruption to existing activities or other contracts.
Space frames structure assembly is self-contained and can be performed on the ground adjacent to the final building location. Assembly of sub-sections away from normal operations or other construction activities minimizes impact on other activities at the site. Numerous Space frames structures have been erected over operating facilities without interruption to production.

Multiple crews accelerate progress

Accelerated completion and project catch-ups are easily achieved by increasing the assembly crew size, because skilled labor is not required. The componentized nature of the product and negligible equipment needs, also readily allows assembly to extend beyond a single shift.

No Site Painting or Welding

All components are precision-made and factory painted for on-site assembly. No on-site fabrication, modification, painting, paint inspection or weld inspection is necessary.

Supplier Expertise

Space frames is a pioneer of space frame, dome & lattice structure technology and continues to succeed in creating new and complex engineered structural shapes. The company has remained a specialist in this technology & will continue to be in the long term.

Proven Technology

The structural design method is fully supported by full-scale testing and has been further validated by the long-term integrity of thousands of structures in a wide variety of situations around the world.

Supplier Reputation

Space frames offers 40 years of continuous, reputable performance. Space frames’s enduring technical strength and commercial success is vested in its in-house expertise & the experience of its people in all aspects of this technology. Space frames is a leading expert in design of these types of structures, with specific manufacturing expertise that consistently achieves precision and efficiency, and construction techniques that have been refined over many years and thousands of installations and are fully proven.

Single Source Responsibility

Space frames offers streamlined design, detailing, fabrication and construction, which effectively removes difficulties and delays that otherwise arise from co-ordination, communication & problem resolution between separate suppliers. Space frames therefore is a strong partner on Turnkey projects or those where project management & inspection efficiency is paramount.