The aim of the paper is the analysis of failure of the lattice truss steel structure and its causes. The main structure constructed during building modernization, made up of lattice girders supported by the short columns on the beams of crane supporting gangway, has failed. Soon after finishing the modernization the excessively sway deformation of columns and girders occurred. The main causes of the failure were design errors of girders and their bracings, caused by neglecting to consider some cases of the complex behaviour of spatial light structure, i.e. when wind uplift overbalances the weight of the roof. The authors indicate that correct design of the bracing system and the use of the adequate calculating model play the key role, especially for calculation of lattice structures, when model of 2 or 3 degrees of freedom per node is commonly used. In some cases such a model does not ensure that the structure has sufficient safe reserve.

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