Case Study
The new Turkmen foreign ministry built in Ashgabat includes a unique 26m diameter spherical conference room at its top which is decorated with a map of the world realised in mosaic tiles. Gurit has worked along with the main contractor, Bouygues International to deliver a composite design for this sphere complying with the challenging technical brief and the tight schedule.
The sphere is made of 312 double curvature composite panels bolted together and supported by a metal substructure. Thanks to the use of a sandwich technology, panel weights have been kept low ensuring an easy and quick installation on site.
The climate in Turkmenistan required detailed thermal analysis to ensure that the composite panels would handle the wide range of temperature faced in this region, where variation in temperature is up to 60°C.
Gurit also provided an “on-call” daily support during the design and construction phase to ensure the project would be delivered on time.
The building was inaugurated in April 2011.
