Curved structural steel including pipe, often exposed, is increasingly being used in construction of a wide variety of structures. There are many ways to connect intersecting curved pipe. Here are three ways to connect the pipe: one for a curtain wall for an arena, one for a band shell, and one for a trellis for a music pavilion.
A large curtain wall surrounds the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO. 750 tons of 16in pipe run horizontally and vertically around the structure. The horizontal and vertical members are connected with plates. The do not literally intersect.
A trellis made up of 570 tons of 12-, 14-, 16-, 18-, and 20-inch pipe supports speakers and creates a “room” for concert-goers at the Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park. Here the pipe is connected to create the illusion of one section passing another. The connection is made with a “fish-mouth” or “saddle” joint also referred to as “coping”.
The traditional method for cutting is to wrap a template around the pipe to mark where to cope.
An attractive band shell for the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, IA, is composed of a fabric canopy attached to 22 tons curved pipe. 2-, 8-, 12-, and 16-inch curved pipe comprise the attractive steel structure.
Note the detail where one pipe intersects with another. Rather than have joined together on the same plane, one pipe is 1/2 of its diameter above the other which would require a different type of coping than used at the Pritker Pavilion.
Each of these means of joining intersecting curved pipe members can be evaluated on the basis of constructability, functionality, aesthetics and value. But as these examples illustrate, the results can be very impressive.
