Ring Pass

For pinning the sport society into the society the Hockey & Tennis club Ring Pass in Delft has obtained a multipurpose expansion, in which social functions have been embedded such as childcare.  The construction of the roof in this extension has been made of cardboard and was constructed in two pieces of 8 by 8 meters. The cardboard is visible from the inside and brings a warm atmosphere to the interior.

The connection between a cardboard tube and a Tuball has been realized in a different manner than with steel spaceframes. At the ends of the cardboard tubes flange plates are placed, instead of welding a ‘clot’ with a threaded rod sticking out. A threaded rod does go through the tube and through the flange plate providing as a tension rod and guaranteeing that the cardboard tubes will only be exposed to pressure forces. This is because cardboard cannot deal with tensile forces and bending stresses.

On the inside of the Tuball the tensile rod can be fixed with a bolt. Since cardboard has bigger dimensions than steel, a distance-holder needed to be added in between the Tuball and the flange plate.

For protecting the surfaces different methods have been tested in this project.
‘We wanted to find out which method would give the best result over time. Ideally we would develop and successfully test a method that would dispense with the layer of polythene in the winding of the tubes. Then the tubes would be easier to recycle and that would be a great step towards sustainability.’ – Nils Eekhout

The roof is fully compliant with the requirements of fire safety. Due to the high density of paperboard, a carbon layer appears on the surface of the tube when the construction is exposed to a fire. This substantially extends the time before the cardboard to catch fire.

It is not the first time Octatube applies cardboard Tube. Since 2003 spaceframes with cardboard tubes have been developed and produced. This project is the first in which the construction has a permanent character.

In 2012 the Ring Pass had been nominated for the Building Technology Award, of which a short video has been made (see below).