NEW ON BOARD
SPECIALISED DESIGN
EXPERTISE FOR COMPLEX
GLASS STRUCTURES
by: MERJA KIHL AND ARI MONONEN
F
ounded in 2007, the Finnish engineering company Alvars
Ltd. provides innovative design and R&D services for ship-
building and other marine projects. In particular, Alvars special-
izes in demanding large-scale glass and steel structures, as well
as reliable customer-specific solutions for lifting and securing in
marine transport.
Recently Alvars Ltd. designed the so-called Diamond struc-
ture for TUI Cruises’ ’Mein Schiff 1’. The cruise ship was delivered
from Meyer Turku shipyard in April 2018.
The Diamond is a steel and glass structure at the aft of the
cruise ship, just above the propellers. The structure has a width decks of the ship. It is an example of how architecture and special-
of 50 meters and the height of two decks – the 4th and 5th aft ised engineering skills can be combined to create visually impres-
sive designs.
”We have previously designed onboard glass structures for
a variety of cruise vessels. The Diamond is a good example of our
expertise in designs combining glass and steel,” says Mr. Henri
Hyvönen, Project Engineer for Alvars Ltd.
Due to the large size and complex shape of the Diamond,
the structure was a challenge for the designers.
”Steel profile positioning needed some careful planning. The
glasses need a flat surface to install on, and the inside joints are
visible to the passengers,” Hyvönen recounts.
”Basic design for the structure was done by Meyer. Alvars
carried out the detail design and provided the mechanical engi-
neering blueprints for the various structural details. The structure
was divided into three separate modules and lifting plans were
made for each module.”
The joints between the Diamond and other onboard struc-
tures were also carefully designed. To facilitate the design work,
a parametric 3D model of the Diamond was created.
”This 3D model was instrumental in making the design more
flexible, so that alterations and adjustments could be easily made
throughout the design phases. The design work for the Diamond
took approximately six months,” Hyvönen notes.
Alvars Ltd. also took part in coordinating the work between
the shipyard, the workshop and the glass-structure supplier. Coop-
eration between Alvars and other shipbuilders worked out very
smoothly.
“As a result of the successful co-operation, a unique end
result was created. The Diamond will surely attract attention as it
is a real eye-catcher in the ship’s appearance. We were honored
to be part of this project!” Hyvönen concludes. Q
More information: www.alvars.fi
44
seatec 2/2018