Post by Waagner Biro steel and glass

WBSG Returns to Baku with new Silkway Cargo Village Canopy Project within Alat Free Economic Zone. Waagner Biro Steel & Glass (WBSG) is delighted to be back in Baku, Azerbaijan, embarking on an exciting new chapter in the city that holds a special place in the company's history. Following the successful delivery of the landmark entrance canopy at Heydar Aliyev International Airport — an elliptical steel arch spanning over 72 metres, clad in 800 golden perforated panels suspended on a cable net, and completed on schedule in 2010 — WBSG established itself as a trusted partner for architecturally ambitious, technically demanding structures in the region. Building on this success, WBSG went on to deliver the structural steel and complete building envelope — façade, roof, and passenger bridges — for the airport's new International Terminal between 2011 and 2014, at the time the largest single contract in the company's long history. Now, approximately 15 years on, WBSG is proud to return to Baku for a new commission at the Silkway Cargo Village. The scope of work encompasses the design and delivery of an entrance canopy — a typology that echoes the project which first brought WBSG to Azerbaijan and helped open the door to this dynamic market. As with that earlier work, the new canopy is set to make a confident architectural statement at the threshold of a major aviation facility, combining structural ingenuity with a strong sense of arrival and identity. The Silkway Cargo Village Canopy is a striking freeform gridshell structure approximately 100 metres long and 23 metres wide, designed by WBSG for client Silkways Holdings. Unlike a conventional supported structure, the canopy touches the ground on one side only, cantilevering freely over the full width of the entrance plaza in a ratio of roughly one-third to two-thirds of its length. It is suspended from a soaring Y-shaped pylon and stabilised by a system of prestressed steel cables that support the canopy against gravity loads and anchor it against upward wind forces. The primary steel structure comprises a curved perimeter beam of welded plate construction forming the sweeping outer profile, with an inner rectangular hollow section gridshell spanning between them. The entire shell surface, covering over 2,000 square metres, is clad with perforated expanded aluminium mesh panels with an anodised finish — a deliberate nod to the golden perforated panels that defined the original Baku tollgate. The project reflects WBSG's continued commitment to delivering high-quality steel structures at the intersection of engineering precision and architectural vision. Returning to Baku with a project of this nature is both a privilege and a source of great pride — and a testament to the lasting relationships and reputation built in Azerbaijan over the past decade and a half.