Kopron among the Stars! A big size Motorized Covering for the important Italian Astronomical Park in Sicily
Near Palermo (Italy), Kopron, thanks to their experience, were able to install a motorized covering in one of the most important astronomic observatories in Sicily. With Kopron technology it’s can covering the telescopes during the day and open it during the night.
Kopron have been operating in the building sector for over 30 years, and lately have taken part in an important international project supplying an arch motorized covering with sandwich panels for theItalian Astronomical Park of the Madonie in Sicily, for covering the telescopes of the researchers. The location in Sicily is beautiful: the valley of natural parks near Palermo. The idea of having this structure came from some amateur astronomers by observing the potentialities of the view from the Madonie heights.
The observing site is situated on Mount Mufara, and controlled from a distance, from an operating structure located at Isnello – (Palermo). Customer chose an arch motorized covering to host telescopes during evening surveys and to protect them during the day. This is the reason why they preferred a sandwich panel covering. These panels assure thermal-acoustic insulation, excellent against the typical hot climate of the zone. The warehouse also hosts observers during their work and all useful instruments for research.
The Kopron motorized covering, spreads over a total surface of 250 m² and is 3m tall. The carrying structure is in hot-dipped galvanized steel. The archs move on special forged steel wheels, with watertight double ball bearings and slide on tracks 60m long at a speed of 6 km/h, covering 6m a minute.
Access to the structure is controlled by a folding door Made in Kopron, with insulated sandwich panels; these panels, as the mobile warehouse, have an injection of polyurethane foam, CFC-free which guarantee the best thermal and acoustical insulation. More room in the inside and opening easiness are the exclusive vantages of the Kopron folding door.
Bono Costruzioni, is the building company who won the bid and took care of the construction of the whole center, and requested Kopron’s participation into the project.
Andrea Cumignano, Kopron technical partner of the area, followed negotiations and said: “Each Kopron motorized covering is designed to long lasting; in a few days we have made the structure with very few formalities and very little masonry work” and he said: “Structural flexibility is apparent! Kopron meets specific requirements of cutting-edge technology of all needs.
This Observatory, of advanced technology, has great visibility around the world, the Chairman of the Park said: “Thanks to the innovative technology the observatory can be considered more advanced than the similar one created in Chile by University of North Carolina. Thanks to automations of high level, this center is becoming a very important focal point for observers, university students and researchers.”
