Deutscher Pavillon German Pavilion, Montreal, 1967 (II.22)
Irrespective of specific building contracts, Frei Otto studied the potentials of membrane and cable net constructions in his Institute for Development of Lightweight Structures in Berlin, and as from 1964, also in the Institute for Lightweight Structures specially set up for him at the College of Technology Stuttgart. In 1965, his colleague Rolf Gutbrod suggested to team up and participate in the competition for the German Pavilion at the Expo 1967 in Montreal. They developed their design from Frei Otto’s “High-Low-Point Structure”, a model that demonstrates how net areas with eye-shaped cable loops can be spanned and guyed. In Montreal, a roof area of about 10,000 m2 was supported by eight masts with heights between 14 and 38 m. Stromeyer & Co produced the loadbearing cable net with a mesh width of 50 cm, from which a roof covering made of PVC-coated polyester fabric was suspended. Transparent plastic sheets
57