Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Wolfgang Schueller
SPANNING SPACE
HORIZONTAL-SPAN BUILDING STRUCTURES
BUILDING STRUCTURES are defined by,
geometry,
materials,
load action,
construction
form, that is, its abstract dimensions as taken into account by
architecture. When a building has meaning by expressing an
idea or by being a special kind of place, it is called architecture.
Support. The structure must be stable and strong enough (i.e., provide
necessary strength) to hold the building up under any type of load action, so it
does not collapse either on a local or global scale (e.g., due to buckling,
instability, yielding, fracture, etc.). Structure makes the building and spaces
within the building possible; it gives support to the material, and therefore is
necessary.
Serviceability. The structure must be durable, and stiff enough to control
the functional performance, such as: excessive deflections, vibrations and drift,
as well as long-term deflections, expansion and contraction, etc.
Ordering system. The structure functions as a spatial and dimensional
organizer besides identifying assembly or construction systems.
Form giver. The structure defines the spatial configuration, reflects other
meanings and is part of aesthetics, i.e. aesthetics as a branch of philosophy.
but also the dynamics of the intimate scale of the smaller span and
smaller spaces.
The clear definition of the transition from short span, to medium span, to long
span from the engineer's point of view, is not always that simple.
long span of horizontal roof structures may start at 100 ft (c. 30 m).
From a material point of view it is apparent that the long span of wood beams
because of lower strength and stiffness of the material is by far less than for
prestressed concrete or steel beams.
Scale range:
Long-span stadium:
e.g. Odate-wood dome, Odate, Japan, 1992, Toyo Ito/Takenaka, 178 m on
oval plan
Atrium structure:
e.g. San Franciscos War Memorial Opera House (1932, 1989), long-span structure
behavior investigation
Short span:
e.g. Parthenon, Athens, 430 BC
Long-span stadium: Odate-wood dome,
Odate, Japan, 1992, Toyo Ito/Takenaka, 178
m on oval plan
Atrium structure:
San Franciscos War
(1932, 1989) Memorial
Opera House, long-
span structure behavior
High-rise floor framing: Tower, steel/concrete frame
Example of short span: Parthenon, Athens, 430 BC (Zhou Dynasty)
Glass Cube, Art Museum Stuttgart,
2005, Hascher und Jehle
The Development of Long-span Structures
The transition to modern long-span structures occurred primarily during the second half
of the 19th century with the light-weight steel skeleton structures for
railway sheds, exhibition halls, bridges, etc. as represented by:
Arches: 240-ft (73 m) span fixed trussed arches for St. Pancras Station, London
(1868); 530-ft (162 m) span Garabit viaduct, 1884, Gustave Eiffel
Frames: 375-ft (114 m) span steel arches for the Galerie des Machines (1889)
Mushroom concrete frame units (161x161-ft), the Palace of Labor, Turin, Italy,
1961, Pier Luigi Nervi
Air domes, cable reinforced fabric structures: Pontiac Silver Dome, Pontiac,
722 ft (220 m), 1975
Flexural systems (e.g. one-way and two-way beams, trusses, floor grids)
For example, for the following long-span systems (rather than cellular construction
where some of the high-rise systems are applicable) starting at approximately 40- to
50-span (12 to 15 m) and ranging usually to roughly the following spans,
The thickness (t) of shells is by far less than that of the other systems since
they resist loads through geometry as membranes in axial and shear action
(i.e. strength through form), in contrast to other structures, which are flexural
systems.
The systems shown are rigid systems and gain weight rapidly as the span
increases, so it may be more efficient to replace them at a certain point by
flexible lightweight cable or fabric structures.
The large scale of long-span structures because of lack of redundancy may
require unique building configurations quite different from traditional forms, as well
as other materials and systems with more reserve capacity and unconventional
detailing techniques as compared to small-scale buildings.
From this discussion it is clear that with increase of span, to reduce weight, new
structure systems must be invented and structures must change from linear beams to
arched members to spatial surface shapes to spatial pre-stressed tensile
structures to take fully advantage of geometry and the strength of material.
In my presentation I will follow this organization by presenting
structural systems in various context. The examples will show that
architecture cannot be defined simply by engineering line
diagrams. To present the multiplicity of horizontal-span structures
is not a simple undertaking. Some roof structures shown in the
drawings, can only suggest the many possible support systems.
A. BEAMS
B. FRAMES
C. CABLE-STAYED ROOF STRUCTURES
D. FORM - PASSIVE SURFACE STRUCTURES
E. FORM - ACTIVE SURFACE STRUCTURES
A . BEAMS
one-way and two-way floor/roof framing systems (bottom supported and top
supported), shallow beams, deep beams (trusses, girders, joist-trusses,
Vierendeel beams, prestressed concrete T-beams), etc.
Individual beams
Floor/ roof framing
Large-scale beams including trusses
Supports for tensile columns
Beam buildings
Cable-supported beams and cable beams
The following examples clearly demonstrate that engineering line diagrams
cannot define the full richness of architecture. The visual expression of beams
ranges from structural expressionism (tectonics), construction, minimalism to
post-modern symbolism. They may be,
planar beams
spatial beams (e.g. folded plate, shell beams, , corrugated sections)
space trusses.
They may be not only the typical rigid beams but may be flexible beams such as
cable beams.
The following examples clearly demonstrate that engineering line diagrams cannot
define the full richness of architecture. The visual expression of beams ranges
from structural expressionism (tectonics), construction, minimalism to post-
modern symbolism
Individual Beams
Railway Station, Munich, Germany
Atrium, Germanisches Museum, Nuremberg, Germany
Pedestrian bridge Nuremberg
Dresdner Bank, Verwaltungszentrum, Leipzig, 1997, Engel und Zimmermann
Shanghai-Pudong International Airport, Paul Andreu principal architect
Petersbogen shopping center, Leipzig, 2001, HPP Hentrich-Petschnigg
The asymmetrical entrance metal-glass canopies of the National Gallery of
Art, Stuttgart, J. Stirling (1984), counteract and relieve the traditional post-
modern classicism of the monumental stone building; they are toy-like and
witty but not beautiful.
Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds (Nuremberg, 2001, Guenther
Domenig Architect) is located in the unfinished structure of the Congress
Hall. It gives detailed information about the history of the Party Rallies and
exposes them as manipulative rituals of Nazi propaganda. A glass and steel
gangway penetrates the North wing of the Congress Hall like a shaft, the
Documentation Center makes a clear contemporary architectural statement.
Railway Station, Munich, Germany, 1972
Atrium, Germanisches Museum, Nuremberg, Germany, 1993, me di um Arch.
Pedestrian bridge Nuremberg
Dresdner Bank, Verwaltungszentrum, Leipzig, 1997, Engel und Zimmermann Arch
Shanghai-Pudong
International Airport,
2001, Paul Andreu
Petersbogen shopping center, Leipzig, 2001, HPP Hentrich-Petschnigg
The asymmetrical entrance metal-glass canopies of the National Gallery of Art, Stuttgart, J.
Stirling (1984), counteract and relieve the traditional post-modern classicism of the
monumental stone building; they are toy-like and witty but not beautiful.
Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds (Nuremberg, 2001, Guenther Domenig
Architect) is located in the unfinished structure of the Congress Hall. It gives detailed
information about the history of the Party Rallies and exposes them as manipulative rituals
of Nazi propaganda. A glass and steel gangway penetrates the North wing of the Congress
Hall like a shaft, the Documentation Center makes a clear contemporary architectural
The Building Erection: tower cranes
Floor/ Roof Framing
Beam trusses
Atrium, Germanisches Museum, Nuremberg, Germany: the bridge acts not just as
connector but also interior space articulation.
National Gallery of Art, East Wing, Washington, 1978, I.M. Pei
Library University of Bamberg
TU Munich
Library Gainesville, FL
TU Stuttgart
San Francisco Terminal, SOM
Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds, Nuremberg,, 2001, G. Domenig
Sobek House, Stuttgart
Sony Center, Berlin, Rogers
Petersbogen shopping center, Leipzig, 2001, HPP Hentrich-Petschnigg
Tokyo Art Center, Vignoli
Ski Jump Berg Isel, Innsbruck, 2002, Zaha Hadid
Beam trusses
Atrium, Germanisches Museum, Nuremberg, Germany, 1993, me di um Arch.
National Gallery of Art, East Wing, Washington, 1978, I.M. Pei
Library 4, University of Bamberg,
2004, Meyer & Partner, Bayreuth
TU Munich
Main Library, Gainesville, FL, 1992, McKellips Assoc.
TU Stuttgart
San Francisco Terminal, 2001, SOM
Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds (Nuremberg, 2001, Guenther Domenig Architect)
Sobek House,
Stuttgart, 2001, Werner
Sobek
Integrated urban
buildings, Linkstr.
Potsdamer Platz),
Richard Rogers,
Berlin, 1998
Petersbogen shopping center, Leipzig, 2001, HPP Hentrich-Petschnigg
Petersbogen shopping
center, Leipzig, 2001, HPP
Hentrich-Petschnigg
Tokyo International Forum, 1997,
Rafael Vignoli Arch, Kunio
Watanabe Struct. Eng.
Lyon National School of
Architecture, 1987, Jourda &
Perraudin
Ski Jump
Berg Isel,
Innsbruck,
Zaha Hadid,
2002
Supports for Tensile columns
5-story Olivetti Office Building, Florence, Italy, Alberto Galardi, 1971: suspended
construction with prestressed concrete hangers sits on two towers supporting
trusses, which in turn carry the cross-trusses
Shanghai-Pudong Museum, Shanghai, von Gerkan
Berlin Stock Exchange, Berlin, Germany, 1999, Nick Grimshaw
Centre George Pompidou, Paris, Piano & Rogers
43-story Hongkong Bank, Hong Kong, 1985, Foster/Arup: The stacked bridge-
like structure allows opening up of the central space with vertically stacked
atria and diagonal escalator bridges by placing structural towers with elevators
and mechanical modules along the sides of the building. This approach is quite
opposite to the central core idea of conventional high-rise buildings. The
building celebrates technology and architecture of science as art. It expresses
the performance of the building and the movement of people. The support
structure is clearly expressed by the clusters of 8 towers forming 4 parallel
mega-frames. A mega-frame consists of 2 towers connected by cantilever
suspension trusses supporting the vertical hangers which, in turn, support the
floor beams. Obviously, the structure does not express structural efficiency.
Visual study of Olivetti Building,
Florence, Italy, 1973, Alberto Galardi
Visual study of Olivetti Building (5 floors), Florence, Italy, 1973, Alberto Galardi
Greenhouse Pavilions, Parc Andr
Citron, Paris, 1992, Patrick Berger
Arch, Veritas Struct.
Shanghai-Pudong Museum, Shanghai, (competition won 2002), von Gerkan
Berlin Stock Exchange,
Berlin, Germany, 1999,
Nick Grimshaw
Haengehaus, Rossman & Partner
Centre George Pompidou, Paris, 1978, Piano & Rogers
Hongkong Bank (1985), Honkong, 180m, Foster + Arup, steel mast joined by suspension trusses
Beam buildings
k
.10
10
7.70 k
Mmin
5.86'
4.29'
10' 27.32'
BCE Place, Toronto, 1992, Santiago Calatrava
Subway Station to Allians Stadium, Froettmanning,
Munich, 2004, Bohn Architekten, fabric membranes
New TVG Station, Liege, Belgium, 2008,
Santiago Calatrava
Olympic Stadium Athens, 2004, Santiago Calatrava
Mediapark Cologne, bridge over the lake, 1992
Suspended arch wood bridge, Esslingen, Germany, 1986, R. Dietrich
La Devesa Footbridge, Ripoll, Spain, 1991, S. Calatrava, torsion
Bac de Roda Felipe II Bridge,
1987, Barcelona, S. Calatrava
Bridge over the Rhein-Herne-Canal, BUGA 1997, Gelsenkirchen, Stefan Polnyi
C. CABLE-STAYED
ROOF STRUCTURES
Examples of cable-stayed roof structures range from long-span structures for
stadiums, grandstands, hangars, and exhibition centers, to smaller scale buildings for
shopping centers, production or research facilities, to personal experiments with
tension and compression. Many of the general concepts of cable-stayed bridges, as
discussed in the previous section, can be transferred to the design of cable-stayed
roof structures. Typical guyed structures, used either as planar or spatial stay
systems, are the following:
b. c.
McCormic Place, Chicago,
1971, C.F. Murphy Assoc
Omni Coliseum, Atlanta GA,
1972, Thompson, Ventulett &
Stainbeck Inc, demolished
1997
McMaster Health
Sciences Centre,
Hamilton, Ontario,
1972, Craig, Zeidler,
Strong Arch.
George Washington Bridge Bus Station,
Pier Luigi Nervi, 1963.
Wells College Library, Aurora NY,
1968, Walter Netch SOM
St. Benedicts Abbey Church, Benet Lake,
Wisconsin, 1972, Stanley Tigerman Arch.
Palais Omnisports de
Paris-Bercy, 1983, Jean
Prouv, Pierre Parat &
Michel Andrault
Robson Square, Vancouver, 1980, Arthur Erickson
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, 1986, James Ingo Freed
Dvg-Administration, Hannover, 2000,
Hascher/Jehle
Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, CA, 1980, Philip Johnson
Kyoto JR Station, Kyoto, Japan, 1998, Hiroshi Hara Arch.: the
urban mega-atrium. The building has the scale of a horizontal
skyscraper - it forms an urban mega-complex. The urban
landscape includes not only the huge complex of the station,
but also a department store, hotel, cultural center, shopping
center, etc. The central concourse or atrium is 470 m long, 27 m
wide, and 60 m high. It is covered by a large glass canopy that
is supported by a space-frame. This space acts a gateway to
the city as real mega-connection.
Tomochi Forestry Hall,
Kumamoto, Japan, 2005,
Taira Nishizawa Architects
Serpentine Gallery 2002, London, England Toyo Ito + Cecil Balmond
National Swimming Center, Beijing, 2008, Herzog de Meuron, Tristram Carfrae of
Arup structural engineers
Tree Columns
Ningbo Air Terminal
Shenyang Airport Terminal
Stanted Airport, London, UK, 1991, Norman Foster/ Arup
Terminal 1 at Stuttgart Airport, 1991, von Gerkan & Marg. The huge steel trees
of the Stuttgart Airport Terminal, Stuttgart, Germany with their spatial strut
work of slender branches give a continuous arched support to the roof
structure thereby eliminating the separation between column and slab. The
tree columns put tension on the roof plate and compression in the branches;
they are spaced on a grid of about 21 x 32 m (70 x 106 ft).
Ningbo Air Terminal
Shenyang Taoxian International Airport, 2002, Klaus Kohlstrung
Stanted Airport, London, UK, 1991, Norman Foster/ Arup
Terminal 1, Stuttgart Airport, 1991, von Gerkan & Marg
concept of tree
geometry
Skeleton Dome Structures
typical domes, inverted domes, segments of dome assembly, etc.
Pneumatic structures
Air-supported structures
Air-inflated structures (air members)
Hybrid air structures
Simply-suspended structures
Dulles Airport, Washington, 1962, Eero Saarinen/Fred Severud, 161-ft
suspended tensile vault
Trade Fair Hall 26, Hanover, 1996, Herzog/ Schlaich
National Indoor Sports and Training Centre, Australia, 1981, Philip Cox
Olympic Stadium for 1964 Olympics, Tokyo, Kenzo Tange/Y. Tsuboi, the roof is
supported by heavy steel cables stretched between concrete towers and tied
down to anchorage blocks.
Simply-suspended structures
Dulles Airport, Washington, 1962, Eero Saarinen/ Fred Severud, 161-ft (49 m)
suspended tensile vault
Trade Fair Hall 26, Hanover, suspension roof structure, timber panels on steel tie
members, 1996, Architect Herzog + Partner, Mnchen; Schlaich Bergermann.
National Indoor Sports and Training Centre , Philip Cox and Partners, 1981
Stadthalle Bremen,
Germany, 1964,
Ronald Rainer Arch.
Olympic Stadium, 1964, Tokyo, Kenzo Tange/ Y. Tsuboi
Anticlastic Tensile Membranes
Tent architecture
Dorton (Raleigh) Arena, 1952, North Carolina, Matthew Nowicki, with
Frederick Severud
Subway Station to Allianz Arena, Stadium Railway Station Froettmanning,
Munich
IAA 95 motor show, Frankfurt
New roof for the Olympic Stadium Montreal, 1975, Roger Taillibert
Grand Arch de la Defense, Paris, Paul Andreu
Olympic Stadium, Munich, 1972, Behnich/Frei Otto/Leonardt
King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1986, Horst Berger
Canada Place, Vancouver, 1986, Eberhard Zeidler/ Horst Berger
San Diego Convention Center, 1989, Arthur Erickson/ Horst Berger
Schlumberger Research Center, Cambridge, UK, 1985, Hopkins/Hunt
International Airport Terminal, Denver, 1994, Horst Berger/
Hybrid tensile surface structures
Tensile Membrane Structures
In contrast to traditional surface structures, tensile cablenet and textile
structures lack stiffness and weight. Whereas conventional hard and stiff
structures can form linear surfaces, soft and flexible structures must
form double-curvature anticlastic surfaces that must be prestressed (i.e.
with built-in tension) unless they are pneumatic structures. In other words,
the typical prestressed membrane will have two principal directions of
curvature, one convex and one concave, where the cables and/or yarn
fibers of the fabric are generally oriented parallel to these principal
directions. The fabric resists the applied loads biaxially; the stress in one
principal direction will resist the load (i.e. load carrying action), whereas
the stress in the perpendicular direction will provide stability to the surface
structure (i.e. prestress action). Anticlastic surfaces are directly
prestressed, while synclstic pneumatic structures are tensioned by air
pressure.
Dorton (Raleigh) Arena, 1952,
North Carolina, Matthew Nowicki,
with Frederick Severud
Tent architecture
Sho-Hondo Temple ,
FUJINOMIYA, Japan,
1972, Kimio Yokoyama,
1998 demolished
Subway Station Froettmanning, Munich, 2005, Bohn Architect, PTFE-Glass roof
IAA 95 motor show,
Frankfurt, BMW
New roof for the Olympic
Stadium Montreal, 1975,
Roger Taillibert
Grand Arch de la Defense, Paris, 1989, Paul Andreu, Peter Rice
Olympic Stadium, Munich, Germany, 1972, Frei Otto, Leonhardt-Andrae
Soap models by Frei Otto
Stadium Roof, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1984, Architect Fraser Robert, Geiger & Berger,
Canada Place, Vancouver, 1986, Eberhard Zeidler/ Horst Berger
San Diego Convention Center, 1989, Arthur Erickson/ Horst Berger
Schlumberger Research Center, Cambridge, UK, 1985, Hopkins/ Hunt
Denver International Airport Terminal, 1994, Denver, Horst Berger/ Severud
Motorway Church,
Florence, 1964,
Giovanni Michelucci
Church Of San
Giovanni Battista,
Florence, Italy,
Giovanni Michelucci,
1964
Hybrid tensile surface structures
Pneumatic Structures
Pneumatic structures
Low-profile, long-span roof structures
Soap bubbles
To house a touring exhibition
Examples of pneumatic structures
Norways National Galery, Oslo, 2001, Magne Magler Wiggen Architect
Effect of wind loading on spherical membrane shapes
Metrodome, Minneapolis, 1981, SOM
Air-supported structures form synclastic, single-membrane structures, such as
the typical basic domical and cylindrical forms, where the interior is
pressurized; they are often called low-pressure systems because only a small
pressure is needed to hold the skin up and the occupants dont notice it.
The typical normal operating pressure for air-supported membranes in the USA
is in the range of 4.5 to 8 psf (22 kg/m2 to 39 kg/m2) or roughly 1.0 to 1.5 inches
of water as read from a water-pressure gage. Air-supported structures may be
organized as
Pneumatic structures
Low-profile, long-span roof structures
Soap bubbles
To house a touring exhibition
Examples of pneumatic structures
Kiss the Frog: the Art of Transformation, inflatable pavilion for Norways National
Galery, Oslo, 2001, Magne Magler Wiggen Architect,
Effect of wind loading on
spherical membrane
shapes
Metrodome, Minneapolis, 1981, SOM
Airinflated structures: air members
Air members may act as columns, arches, beams, frames, mats, and so
on; they need a much higher internal pressure than air-supported
membranes
Buckminster Fuller:
small islands of compression in a sea of
tension
Tensegrity Structures
Buckminster Fuller described tensegrity as, small islands of compression in a
sea of tension. Ideal tensegrity structures are self-stressed systems, where few
non-touching straight compression struts are suspended in a continuous cable
network of tension members. The pretensioned cable structures may be either
self-balancing that is the forces are balanced internally or non-self-balancing
where the forces are resisted externally by the support structure. Tensegrity
structures may be organized as
TENSEGRITY TRIPOD
DOUBLE - LAYER TENSEGRITY DOME
Examples of the spatial open tensegrity
systems are the tensegrity domes. David
Geiger invented a new generation of low-
profile domes, which he called cable domes.
He derived the concept from Buckminster
Fullers aspension (ascending suspension)
tensegrity domes, which are triangle based
and consist of discontinuous radial trusses
tied together by ascending concentric tension
rings; but the roof was not conceived as
made of fabric.
Olympic Fencing and Gymnastics Arenas,
Seoul, 1989, Geiger
The worlds largest cable dome is currently Atlantas Georgia Dome
(1992), designed by engineer Mattys Levy of Weidlinger Associates.
Levy developed for this enormous 770- x 610-ft oval roof the hypar
tensegrity dome, which required three concentric tension hoops. He
used the name because the triangular-shaped roof panels form
diamonds that are saddle shaped.
In contrast to Geigers radial configuration primarily for round cable
domes, Levy used triangular geometry, which works well for
noncircular structures and offers more redundancy, but also results in
a more complex design and erection process. An elliptical roof differs
from a circular one in that the tension along the hoops is not constant
under uniform gravity load action. Furthermore, while in radial cable
domes, the unbalanced loads are resisted first by the radial trusses
and then distributed through deflection of the network, in triangulated
tensegrity domes, loads are distributed more evenly.
The oval plan configuration of the roof consists of two radial circular
segments at the ends, with a planar, 184-ft long tension cable truss at
the long axis that pulls the roofs two foci together. The reinforced-
concrete compression ring beam is a hollow box girder 26 ft wide and
5 ft deep that rests on Teflon bearing pads on top of the concrete
columns to accommodate movements.
The Teflon-coated fiberglass membrane, consisting of the fused
diamond-shaped fabric panels approximately 1/16 in. thick, is
supported by the cable network but works independently of it (i.e.
filler panels); it acts solely as a roof membrane but does contribute to
the dome stiffness. The total dead load of the roof is 8 psf.
The roof erection, using simultaneous lift of the entire giant roof
network from the stadium floor to a height of 250 ft, was an
impressive achievement of Birdair, Inc.
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, 1995,
Weidlinger, Structures such as the
Hypar-Tensegrity Dome, 234 m x 186 m