The Dutch pavilion at the EXPO 2000 in Hannover

Andr Jorissen1
ABSTRACT
The Dutch pavilion for the world exhibition EXPO 2000 in Hannover is not a typical timber structure. However, the
structural use of thirteen oaks and one beech, which are used including bark, is exceptional. The building consists of six
storeys and the structure of the fourth storey is carried out with the trees. Storeys five and six, with a lake and six (small)
windmills on top, are supported by these trees, which are loaded at serviceability limit state level up to 3000 kN.
Besides the tree-storey, all storeys have a hybrid steel-concrete structure.
The trees were cut in the Netherlands and in Denmark. High quality requirements were specified. Since fungi may have
seriously affected even healthy looking oaks and beeches, a non-destructive research programme was developed to
determine the integrety of the internal structure of the trees. Part of this research was carried out while the trees were still
standing in the forest. Furthermore, bending and compression tests on (green) oak and beech were carried out at the Delft
University of Technology. The research and the results are discussed in this paper.
To avoid bending moments in the trees, special attention was paid to the connection between the hybrid steel-concrete
structures and the trees. The structural design of the tree-storey is also discussed in this paper.
Expo 2000 will be open to the public from the first of June till the end of October. Forty million people are expected to
visit the exhibition.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE DUTCH PAVILION
The theme of EXPO 2000 in Hannover (Germany) is Humanity Nature Technique. The objective is to emphasise,
that there are limitations and challenges to the technological progress of the world, which will especially be expressed in
eleven separated exhibitions.
The official Dutch contribution to Expo 2000 is called Holland creates space. Since the Netherlands is one of the most
inhabited and prosperous countries in the world, the environment is a very important issue.
Holland creates space is based on four themes: creating space for new environment, new solutions, new land and
nature. The Netherlands wants to present itself as a society, which, on a relatively small ground area, is always searching
for the right balance between freedom and strictly organised, environment and economy, individual and society, etc.
MVRDV Architects designed a pavilion to emphasise the variety in environments and wide range of activities developed
in the Netherlands. In principle MVRDV designed a building where the environments and activities are mixed into
several storeys. Therefore, it is not that peculiar, that the forest (about 10% of the Netherlands is covered with forests) is
situated on the fourth floor. The architects do not call it a building but a stacked landscape. Figure 1 shows an artist
impression of the Dutch pavilion.
The visitors are transported by elevators up to the highest floor (floor six), at 40 meters above ground level, where a lake
is situated, pointing out that a large part of the Netherlands is below sea level. From floor six down to ground level,
visitors make a tour through the Dutch landscapes, guided by staircases. The main exhibitions are on the fifth flour. From
here one enters the tree storey, where about 35 living oak trees accompany the 14 structural trees. The third level was
originally meant for the root system of the living oak trees. However, the root system is completely on the fourth flour
and the third flour became a floor for all kinds of exhibitions and services. Despite being a small crowded country, the
1

ABT Consulting Engineers, Velp and SHR Timber Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands

Netherlands succeeds in exporting agricultural products, like flowers, all over the world, which is expressed by the
exhibition on the second floor (the flowers floor). On the first floor the visitors walk through a spectacular sandy see
shore site. At ground level, below the dunes of level one, a range of services, including bars and restaurants, are situated.
After closing the World Exhibition in November 2000, it is planned to demolish the floors four till six and to turn the
building into a ten-storey office building by adding seven office storeys with a concrete structure on top of the third floor.
Consequently, the trees will also be removed.

Figure 1: Impression of the Dutch pavilion.

DETERMINATION OF THE TIMBER QUALITY
The trees, with diameters varying from 700 mm to 1200 mm, were cut in the Netherlands (Ommen: two oak trees and one
beech) and in Denmark (Akedemi Sor: four oak trees, Mlle Skov: three oak trees and Frederiksborg: four oak trees, all
on the island of Sjeeland). The Danish trees, all oak trees, were about 180 years old, the Dutch trees were probably a bit
older.
High quality requirements were specified. Since fungi may have seriously affected even healthy looking oaks and
beeches, a non-destructive field research programme was developed; i.e. part of the research was carried out while the
trees were still standing in the forest. This field research was carried out in co-operation with Frank Rinn from Heidelberg
(Germany).
Since the axial design load at serviceability level was up to 3000 kN and the design length of the trees varied between 10
and 12 meter, high quality requirement were defined: no significant defects like large knots or visible swellings of some

size, which might indicate internal decay, were allowed. Furthermore, for taking such high axial loads, the rather long
trees needed to be very straight.
Since the trees were used including bark, it was difficult to judge the wood quality visually. Nevertheless, the research
started with observation of the trees in the forest.
In addition to this, the wood was examined with the help of the Resistograph, with which the resistance for drilling a
standardised needle (see figure 2), about 400 mm in length, into the wood was recorded. The resistance is correlated to
the density of the wood, i.e. the resistance is correlated to the wood quality. The method is schematically shown in figure
2.

Figure 2: Resistograph mesurements.

Figure 3, taken from Rinn (1994) shows a typical result of a Resistograph measurement in oak, where the drill resistance
is plotted against the depth of drilling.
I

II

III

IV
Figure 3: Results of Resistograph measurements.

Notes to figure 3:(I) healthy oak tree; (II) healthy oak, where near the centre of the tree the drilling was following the
early wood in a annual ring for several millimetres; (III) healthy oak, where years with low growth rate
are indicated and (IV) oak with central decay , which was not detected with a visual inspection.
For a healthy oak tree, a reduced resistance is recorded in outside region, which indicates lower density (also see figure
5). This is typical for oak and the opposite of e.g. spruce.
Little or no resistance indicates internal cracks or decay due to fungi. Experience with the Resistograph is needed to
deduct what type of defect causes the reduced resistance. Since the needle is about 400 mm long, a tree with a diameter
larger than 800 mm cannot be examined completely.
Although the method with the Resistograph is not suitable for reliable dendrochronology measurements, some
information on annual growth can be deduced: relatively low resistance is recorded for early wood (or periods with a low
growth rate), when almost no wood is produced. It might, however, be interesting to use a Resistograph for an indication
of the impact of environmental changes in certain periods. For instance, Resistograph measurements for all four oak
trees in Mlle Skov showed a low growth rate, which, for oak, results in a lower wood quality, between 15 to 25 years
ago. We were told that activities for the water supply of Copenhagen started near Mlle Skov about 25 years ago, which
might explain the reduced growth rate.
Resistograph drillings were carried out at the lower parts of the trunks, while the trees were still standing in the forest.
Additionally, drillings were carried out at locations where some decay might be expected (near knots or small swellings)
after cutting. Furthermore, if the trees looked very healthy, some measurements were carried out randomly (about 15
additional drillings for each tree). If there was some doubt about the wood quality, three drillings were taken every meter.
This was the case for all Dutch trees and it appeared that most trees suffered decay due to fungi, which resulted in
rejecting most of the Dutch trees and in considering the Danish oaks.
Comments based on the results of Resistograph measurements are given in table 1.
Furthermore, longitudinal sound wave measurements, of which the results are correlated to the modulus of elasticity, were
carried out. By measuring the velocity of the sound wave of the first axial vibration mode (v) and the actual density ()
the dynamic modulus of elasticity (E) was calculated according to equation (1).

E = v2

(1)

The modulus of elasticity calculated according to equation (1) is about 5% higher than determined with a bending test.
The tree geometry, i.e. length, diameter (determined every meter) and curvation, was also recorded, which resulted in two
longitudinal cross sections. The tree dimensions used in the calculations are given in table 1.

Table 1: Tree dimensions and comments based on Resistograph measurements.

D2
L [mm] Curvation Comments based on Resistograph
Tree Species
Origin
D1
[mm] [mm]
[mm]
measurements
10533
950
Oak
1080
DK01
Small defect ( 30 mm)
Sor
10233
860
Oak
1280
DK02
Two small knots without decay.
Sor
10533
860
Oak
1130
DK03
One small knot without decay
Sor
130
10533
850
Oak
1130
DK04
Crack at the top (fork branch)
Sor
10233
910
Oak
1010
DK06
One small knot without decay
Mlle Skov
9740
690
Oak
950
DK07
One small knot with defect ( 30 mm)
Mlle Skov
Small
9841
970
Oak
1230
DK09
Frederiksborg
9482
720
Oak
910
DK10
Frederiksborg
10533
830
Oak
1120
DK11
Frederiksborg
9740
750
Oak
980
DK15
Frederiksborg
9841
790
Oak
1050
DK17
Mlle Skov
NL11
NL12
NL25

Oak
Oak
Beech

Ommen
Ommen
Ommen

800
950
750

690
800
540

Small
180
100

9482
10724
10724

Three small knots with decay

Two small knots with decay
Crack at the top (fork branch)

Notes: Sor, Mlle Skov and Frederiksborg are places on the island Sjeeland in Denmark; Ommen is in the
Netherlands.
D1
largest trunk diameter (bottom of the tree) without bark.
smallest trunk diameter without bark.
D1
L
trunk length. The system length used in the calculations is about 2 meters more.
Additional research to determine the wood density and the distribution of the density over the cross section was carried
out at the research laboratory of Prof. Dr.-Ing. M. Kessel in Hildesheim (Germany). From each Dutch tree two slices were
cut from which small test specimens were taken for the determination of the density. The ca. 20*20*20 mm*mm*mm
specimens were dried at 103oC up to constant mass. Prof. Kessel (1999) reported the results. A typical distribution of the
density over the cross section for oak is given in figure 4 (opposite to e.g. spruce where the density is highest in the
outside region of the tree).

dens ity [k g/m3]

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

distance [mm]

40
30
20
10
0

Figure 4: Distribution of the density over the cross section for oak.
Notes to figure 4:-

distance = 0: centre of the tree (the tree diameter 900 mm).

density varies from about 780 kg/m3 in the middle of the tree to 540 kg/m3 in the
outside region.

STRENGTH PROPERTIES
Furthermore, bending and compression tests were carried out at Delft University of Technology to determine the strength
and modulus of elasticity (Leijten, 1999). The specimens for these tests were randomly taken from the upper region of the
trunks. For the bending tests, seizes varied from width * height * length 50*60*1200 to 50*130*2400 (structural seizes).
The wood moisture content was above saturation point. The tests were carried out in four point bending according to the
European standard EN 408 (1995). The failure mode of the majority of the bending tests could be characterised by slope
of grain failure. The failure mode of all compression specimens was fully plastic.
The moduli of elasticity along the grain were determined using longitudinal sound wave measurements, already
described.
The results of the bending and compression tests are given in table 2. Since no significant influence of the specimens
seizes was recorded (bending), all test results were combined.
Table 2: Bending and compression tests; results.
Oak
N
Average
34.4
Bending strength [N/mm2]
59
21.4
Compression strength [N/mm2]
62
5350
E-modulus [N/mm2]
59
948
Density [kg/m3]

St. dev.
8.9
5.7
1296
61

Beach
N
Average
21
36.8
21

6943
926

St. dev.
9.9
1329
58

Notes: The wood moisture content was above saturation point.

The density was determined under wet conditions.
N = Number of tests.
The results for bending and compression strength given in table 2 are low compared to results given by Govers (1966) for
small clear green specimens (non structural seizes), see table 3.
Table 3: Mechanical properties of oak according to Govers (1966).
Oak
Average St. dev.
10.0
62.4
Bending strength [N/mm2]
3.7
27.5
Compression strength [N/mm2]
1570
7700
E-modulus [N/mm2]
For the calculations the strength values according to table 2 were used. In Germany, calculations are still to be made at the
allowable level. Therefore, allowable strength values were determined, for which equation (2) was used.

strength =

9
* (average 1.64 * St.dev.) [N/mm2]
16

(2)

For oak, equation (2) resulted in an allowable bending strength of 11 N/mm2, which is higher than the value according to
the German code DIN 1052, and allowable compression strength of 7 N/mm2, which is lower than the code value. For the
calculations, the allowable compression strength was taken as 7 N/mm2, while the allowable bending strength was taken
as 8.25 N/mm2. For beech, the same values were taken.
Since the structural design resulted in a statically complex system, the modulus of elasticity was varied between high and
low values: 5400 < E-modulus < 10000 N/mm2.
STRUCTURAL DESIGN OF THE FOURTH FLOOR (TREE LEVEL)

Thirteen oak trees and one beech carry the load from level 5 and 6 and assure the stability. Four of the trees stand upright
and the others are inclined. The two trees, which are sloping most, marked NL12 and NL 25 (see figure 5), are

(theoretically) loaded in tension at extreme wind loads. In all other cases, the permanent load is more than half of the total
load.
To avoid initial bending moments, the connections between the trees and the steel structure were designed as real hinges,
for which reinforced rubber interfaces were used. Since only two trees are sometimes loaded in tension, while the other
trees will always be loaded in compression, the connections of these two trees to the hybrid steel-concrete structure was
designed for this load. The connections of all other trees was designed practically, which, at the tree, resulted in one
simple internal steel plate fixed with dowels.

Figure 5: Level four (tree level); top view.

CALCULATIONS

The trees were checked according to the German code DIN 1052. However, since the stability check using tables given
in this code was developed without considering the effects of wood moisture content, initial curvation larger than a certain
limit and load duration, it was decided to carry out geometrical non-linear calculations, for which guide lines are given in
DIN 1052. The calculations resulted in so-called unity checks from 0.50 up to 0.99.
REFERENCES

Govers, A. 1966. Working stresses for a number of wood species, Houtinstituut TNO, Delft, The Netherlands.
EN 408. 1995. Timber structures Structural timber and glued laminated timber Determination of some physical and
mechanical properties, European Committe for Standardisation, Brussels.
Rinn, F. 1994. Baum- und Bauholz- Inspektionen mit Resistograph, Anwendung und Auswertung: Meprofile und ihre
Interpretation. Proceedings NDE-Symposium, Sopron, Hungary.
Kessel, M.H. and Huse, M. 1999. Ermittlung des Rohdichteprofils von Stammscheiben aus Eiche, Prfbericht 10/99,
Labor fr Holztechnik LHT, Fachhochschule Hildesheim/Holzminden, Germany.
Leijten, A.J.M. 1999. Bending and compression strength tests along the grain of Oak and Beech for the Dutch EXPO2000
building, Report 4-99-01/HE39, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.