South-west roof of the Parabola
The signature roof of The Parabola rises 82ft above ground at its highest points. It remains today one of the largest single span
roofs in the world. The engineering design of the roof was complex.
The first proposals proved impossible to analyse mathematically and models suggested it might be unsound when James Sutherland took on the design. An alternative structural solution was required but the image of the roof had already been fixed and the main contract was in full swing.
Sutherland’s solution of the concrete shell central section with ribs radiating from it is the one seen today.
