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Wintercircus

Belgium
Stravifloor Prefab
Stravifloor Batten
Wintercircus Ghent (interior)
City of Ghent
Bouwbedrijf Furnibo
Atelier Kempe Thill, Baro & Sum Projects
VK Architects & Engineers
VK Architects & Engineers
Wouter Rawoens

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The former Mahy garage, also known as the Winter Circus, is located in the center of Ghent. Despite its prime location, the building stood empty for a long time and has long been neglected. Now, 15 years after ‘Sogent,’ the urban development company of the city of Ghent, bought the iconic building, renovation is well underway.

Scheduled to open in 2022, the last remaining stone circus building will house various office spaces for start-ups centered around the 1.200 m² covered courtyard. A new auditorium, restaurant, bar and multiple meeting rooms are also part of the redevelopment. Below the central circus arena, a concert hall for about 500 people is being build. 

Over 464 m² of Stravifloor Prefab, a pre-manufactured modular floating floor solution is being installed to decouple the concert hall of the rest of the building. CDM Stravitec elastomeric bearings ensure this high-performance floating floor system provides excellent structure-borne noise isolation.

For the domed roof, the acoustic consultant prescribed a Stravifloor Batten mass-spring-mass system to insulate the main hall, preventing airborne noise from disturbing the surrounding residents.   

196 battens, 2.44 m long and 50 mm wide, were installed on the domed roof, supporting thick wooden beams to which the outer shell is attached. Thermal insulation material was placed between these beams, which also helps to reduce the transmission of airborne noise.

Each Stravifloor Batten consists of discrete elastomeric isolators sandwiched between two wooden strips. Three different types of Stravifloor Batten isolators, designed to follow the narrowing shape of the cupola (smaller pads at the top, bigger ones at the bottom) were installed. To cope with the inclination and make the construction structurally stable, the battens are held in place by Rothoblaas LBB80 perforated carbon steel straps. In addition, each Stravifloor Batten is supported by L-shaped brackets or feet with a rubber sheet glued to the upstand to cope with the downward forces.