What connects Terminal 5, Royal Bank of Scotland & Eurovision? Prolyte Truss!

For over two millennia (dating all the way back to the Bronze Age in 2500 BC), people have been using truss strictly for functional purposes such as building roofs and bridges. Today, however, truss is frequently used for many other purposes, such as exhibitions, installations, TV productions, and venues.

What Can Truss be Used for?

Truss is designed to form a stable structure by utilizing the weight distribution of triangles. The assembly of triangles causes stress to be evenly distributed throughout the structure which, in turn, drastically increases the weight and stress that it can handle. This explains why truss is used for bridges, roofs, and other construction purposes. A durable and lightweight assembly is needed to build safe and long-lasting structures for people to use, and truss meets those requirements.

Truss can be used for projects beyond land into the sea. A company specialising in offshore Cone Penetration Testing systems specifically sought out Prolyte to work on using an application of truss techniques. The task was anything but simple: construct a tower that could be mounted on The Rosen, a seabed penetrometer used to map the seabed at depths of up to 2000m using cones with up to 5m penetrations. Prolyte developed a truss tower known as the Rosen Truss to be used at the bottom of the ocean.  

Along with its functional purposes, truss pieces can be used for the following: exhibitions, installation, TV productions, and venues.

Using Prolyte Truss for Exhibitions

Prolyte truss is widely used to build exhibition booths not only for tradeshows but also to construct impressive works for the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lightweight Containers.

The Royal Bank of Scotland needed a temporary conference room for its office building in London. They needed the space to be easily convertible into a meeting room or event stage depending on business needs. Ivo Mulder from Prolyte built a special 3D truss structure and canopy using the H30V truss.

Special design for Royal Bank of Scotland in Central London
with Prolyte H30V Truss

 

Lightweight Containers’ CEO Jan Veenedaal had a creative concept for the company’s stand at a product launch. A member from the Prolyte Group brought Veenedaal’s concept to life using standard truss. A circular truss with seven standard arches was assembled to create the perfect exhibition for Lightweight Containers.  

Using Prolyte Truss for Installation

Did you know Prolyte truss installations are used in Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport and the Gerry Weber Stadium?

Heathrow Airport is the second busiest in the World with 36 million passengers travelling through it annually. Terminal 5 is the latest addition to Heathrow Airport, opened in 2008, the main building in the complex is the largest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom stretching 400m long and 175m wide. Members from Prolyte utilized this height by adding 900m of aluminium track with 32 pairs of 13.5m box truss to create an uplifting experience for the millions of passengers. We offer a variety of Protyle box truss including the Prolyte 52V Box Corner which offer 2-way to 6-way corner connection within one unit.

An uplifting experience at Terminal 5 of
Heathrow Airport with Prolyte Box Truss

 

The Gerry Weber Stadium was originally designed as a tennis stadium. However, the stadium attracts multiple events due to its closable roof, unique to the whole of Europe as it can convert the Stadium into a venue independent of weather within 90 seconds.

A new installation at the Gerry Weber Stadium
with Prolyte Mammoth Truss

 

Prolyte installed two flexible truss lines as an additional pre-rig to enable further central suspension points. They used 77m of Prolyte Mammoth M145RV Truss (one of the largest truss’ ever made).

Using Prolyte Truss in TV Productions

What do the Eurovision Song Contest and Premios Pepsi Music Awards have in common? Both have used Prolyte truss.

Back in 2014, the Eurovision Song Contest was held at an old shipyard. The location was transformed into a high tech facility thanks to Malecon along with ETP who relied on Prolyte truss. They used 350 metres Prolyte B100, 120 metres Prolyte D75, and 100 metres of Prolyte M145 Mammoth truss.

Eurovision Song Contest supported
with Prolyte B100, D75, M145 Mammoth

 

The Pepsi Music Awards is an award ceremony for the best music in Venezuela. In 2015, it was held in a tent at the Eurobuilding Hotel. The organisers chose a broad stage platform, so the audience was close to the artists on stage. This meant the stage width could only have a single span without support points. The Prolyte B100 Truss was used to accomplish this feat.

Enormous Free Span at Premios Pepsi Music Awards Ceremony
with Prolyte B100 Truss

 

Using Prolyte Truss for Venues

What venues have used Prolyte truss structures? Galeries Lafayette. Ziggo Dome. Eventim Apollo. Scandic Airport. Platteland’s Stage.

Galeries Lafayette, Paris

Rigging Services commissioned Prolyte Group to construct a 6m dance platform which would be used for Asian themed event, Asiatique a fusion of performance and fashion staged on a 3-dimensional stage. After making structural calculations, Prolyte used S52SV and H40V truss for the platform. The Prolyte H40V Square Truss is available in sizes ranging from 0.25m to 5m.

A Multi-platform Stage at Les Galeries Lafayette
with Prolyte S52SV and H40V truss

 

Scandic Airport, Finland

There are no limits with truss. A spectacular visual feast of gold-coloured truss structure was delivered by Finnish Prolyte Group distributor Electro Waves for the main lobby of Scandic Airport (at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport), marking the area reserved for the Breakfast- and a la Carte- restaurants.

A gold-coloured truss structure at the main lobby
of Scandic Airport with Prolyte X30V

 

Platteland , South Africa

Platteland is a venue dedicated to providing outstanding musical performance. Its stage has a H40 Prolyte structure that engulfs the entire stage with a circle truss.

Other Uses of Truss

A truss can be used for unconventional and creative purposes. For instance, an experimental stunt company wanted to get creative with truss back in 2014. The Prolyte S52SV truss was used to construct a replica of the famous Mona Lisa painting and the Prolyte H30V truss was used to build a frame around it.

 

This just shows how truss can be used for fun projects and unique structures, even France’s iconic landmark, the Eiffel Tower,  is made of truss.