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Category 4: Special Projects
Revolving stage, New Music Theatre - Linz, Austria
The revolving stage in the new Music Theatre Linz is
a two-storey steel construction with an outer diameter
of 32 m. The height of the two storeys is 3.95 m
and is adapted to the surrounding building. The
space underneath the revolving stage is used as an
underground parking garage.
The upper storey forms the floor of the main stage and
is mounted onto the lower storey by lean columns. The
lower storey provides the primary supporting structure
for the revolving stage. 36 crane rail wheels are mounted
to the outer diameter of the lower storey and run on a
crane rail, 100 m in length. The centre of the revolving
stage is formed by a ball bearing slewing ring with a
diameter of 2.55 m, which ensures the exact rotary
movement and provides additional vertical support.
In addition to supporting the steel structure of the
revolving stage, the ball bearing slewing ring at its
centre also provides rotary feedthroughs for electricity,
data connections and the sprinkler system.
Stage wagons which are positioned with an accuracy of
1 mm can drive onto the upper storey of the revolving
stage. The revolving stage itself thus requires a 1 mm
accuracy of positioning under any predefined operating
condition. Furthermore, this poses the requirement
of minimal deformations of the steel structure. In
combination with a limited overall height of only 5.9 m,
this leads to a massive steel construction of the lower
storey.
The large revolving stage has a built-in smaller
revolving stage with an outer diameter of 15 m which
can be used during performances. Furthermore, three
lifting platforms that cover the total area of 15 m x 12 m
are located on the large revolving stage.
The drive components for the rotation of both revolving
stages as well as for the lifting movement of the
platforms are positioned in between the main girders
of the lower storey. The available space is thus used
in an optimal way. However, the accessibility of the
drives is rather complicated. Due to the limited space,
the construction of the lower storey proved to be very
complex.
The large revolving stage is rotated by eight friction
wheel drives which run on the crane rail’s concrete
base. The maximum circumferential speed is 1.0 m/s.
The small revolving stage is supported by 66 plastic
reels which ensure a very smooth revolving movement.
Eight reels are powered directly and provide a maximum
circumferential speed of 1.0 m/s. In order to lift the three
platforms, 12 rope winches are mounted to the large
revolving stage.
The weight of the revolving stage - including the
installed equipment - amounts to approximately 502 t.
The dynamic payload for rotary movement is 158 t,
while the static payload is 493 t.
Revolving stages provide a fast and easy way to
transform the scenery in theatres. Alternatively, many
theatres have installed lifting platforms for the same
purpose. Both methods have their specific advantages
which usually cannot be combined. However, the
solution designed for the Musiktheater Linz enables
it to alternately use the benefits of the small revolving
stage or the lifting platforms simply by rotating the large
revolving stage.
The design of the provisional draft started in 2010. In
2011, the structural design of the revolving stage was
completed. The assembly and putting into operation
was finished in 2012.
The structural analysis of the revolving stage was
performed with Scia Engineer. The model consisted of
almost 5,000 single beams and 42 load cases which
were used in 29 load combinations to provide the
necessary structural certification.
Software: Scia Engineer
