A Maritime Landmark Project of Significance

With the construction of the Horizon Cruise Terminal, the British port city of Southampton made a bold statement in favor of modern infrastructure for cruise tourism. The new terminal facility at Berth 102 was built under the direction of general contractor Brymor Construction Ltd and was officially opened in 2021 – as part of a £55 million investment by Associated British Ports Holdings Ltd.

Architecture & Timber Construction: Impressive Dimensions

Particular attention is drawn to the terminal’s impressive roof structure, which consists of a total of 222 glued laminated timber beams, some of which are curved. With spans of up to 37 meters, a height of 1,400 mm, and a width of 160 mm, the structural framework powerfully demonstrates the capabilities of modern engineered timber construction.

Deep Prefabrication and Perfect Logistics

A total volume of 1,800 m³ of spruce timber products was used for this purpose – planned, manufactured, and delivered by the HASSLACHER Group from its production sites in Kleinheubach, Germany (HASSLACHER Holzbauteile GmbH & Co. KG and HESS TIMBER GmbH). A key success factor was the high degree of prefabrication of the supplied timber components. Steel connectors were preassembled at the factory, enabling rapid and precise assembly on site in Southampton. The just-in-time logistics approach ensured not only smooth operations, but also adherence to the tightly scheduled construction timeline and a significant reduction in installation time.

A critical success factor of this project was the extensive off-site production of the delivered timber components, combined with a integrated logistics approach featuring just-in-time deliveries to the construction site in Southampton, UK. In addition to the advanced prefabrication, pre-assembly of the steel components at the Kleinheubach plant greatly facilitated the fast and efficient on-site installation process. This allowed the project to stay on schedule and reduce the overall construction period.

A Milestone in British Timber Construction

For the HASSLACHER Group, this project represents another milestone in the realization of complex large-span timber structures in the UK – following the spectacular waste-to-energy plant in Leeds (2015), one of the largest glulam projects in the United Kingdom.