PROF.

WOLFGANG SCHUELLER

Building Structures as Architecture

basic structure elements in architecture

Structure is a necessary part of live; it establishes order. It relates various entities or all the parts of
a whole displaying some pattern of organization and lack of randomness. It occurs at any scale,
ranging from the molecular structure of material to the laws of the universe.
The richness of structures can only be suggested by the wealth of building structure types, ranging
from the long-span stadium to the massive building block to the slender tower, from structures above
or below ground or in water to structures in outer space. They range from simple symmetrical to
complex asymmetrical forms, from boxes to terraced and inverted stepped buildings, from low-rise to
high-rise buildings, and so on.

A.

GENERAL CONCEPTS of STRUCTURE

The necessity of Structure: ORDER, structure is a necessary part of life

structure scale: low-rise vs. high-rise building structures
Classification of building support structures according to:
- geometry and form
- building use and function
- material and construction
- mechanical behavior
- systems
Topics to be introduced:
Building structure type and use
e.g. apartment buildings, factories, gymnasiums, arenas, multi-use
Structure systems: rigid systems, flexible systems, composite systems
horizontal-span structures, vertical-span structures
Structural behavior:
loads, force-flow, force and form
Structure as geometry
ordering system, form giver, art
Building vs. Structure vs. Architecture:
structure is necessary for buildings but not for architecture:
without structure there is no building, but architecture as an
idea does not require structure
Expression of structure: hidden vs. exposed, innovative vs. standard construction

A1.

Global vs. local scale of structure: DETAIL

Building STRUCTURE Types and Building USE

A2.

Single volume with large spans cellular subdivision with multiple small spans long-span stadiums
vs. massive building blocks vs. vertical slabs vs. high-rise towers
study of truss in context of various building types

Building STRUCTURE as support (local and global scale)

Structure holds the building up so it does not collapse or deform excessively; it makes the building and spaces within the
building possible. Structure gives support to the material and therefore is necessary.
Building and structure are inseparable and intimately related to each other. The external forces that act on buildings
cause internal forces within buildings. The forces flow along the structure members to the ground, requiring foundations
as transition structures to the comparatively weak soil. The members must be strong and stiff enough to resist the
internal forces. In other words, building support structures have to provide the necessary strength and stiffness to
resist the vertical forces of gravity and the lateral forces due to wind and earthquakes to guide them safely to the ground.
In addition to strength and stiffness, stability is a necessary requirement for structures to maintain their shape.

A3.

STRUCTURE Systems

Every building consists of the load-bearing structure and the non-load-bearing portion. The main load bearing structure,
in turn, is subdivided into:

Gravity structure consisting of floor/roof framing, slabs, trusses, columns,

walls, foundations

Lateral force-resisting structure consisting of walls, frames, trusses,

diaphragms, foundations
Support structures may be classified as,

Horizontal-span structure systems:

floor and roof structure
enclosure structures

Vertical building structure systems:

walls, frames cores, etc.
tall buildings

A4.

STRUCTURE Behavior

Loads: gravity, lateral loads (wind, seismic) external vs. internal forces(force flow along members)
Properties of forces
Force flow: path to the ground where foundations make the transition possible to the weak soil -- stresses
(intensity of force flow, blood pressure) depend on: member shape, material, size, structure,
connections
Response of structure to loading

A5. STRUCTURE as GEOMETRY:

STRUCTURE as an ordering system

It functions as a spatial and dimensional organizer besides identifying assembly or construction
systems.
geometry vs. composition, dimensional coordination (grids, surface subdivision, mathematics, etc.):

Beijing Jian Wai SOHO, Beijing, 2004, Riken Yamamoto

Langen Foundation, Hombroich, Germany, 2004, Ando

Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome, US Expo Montreal, 1967

Cube (tree) houses, Rotterdam, Piet Blom, 1984. The houses look like a tree because the architect
turned the cubes 45 degrees and put them on a pole. The 32 attached houses together look like a
stone forest. The complex is built at a pedestrian bridge crossing a traffic road.

Kisho Kurokawa, Nakagin Capsule Tower, Tokyo, Japan, 1972, the 14-story high Tower has 140

capsules stacked at angles around a central core. Kurokawa developed the technology to install the
capsule units into the concrete core with only 4 high-tension bolts, as well as making the units
detachable and replaceable.
Daniel Libeskind, city edge
Bus shelter, Aachen, Germany, 1996, Peter Eisenman
CCTV Headquarters and TVCC Building, Beijing, 2008, Rem Koolhaas
National Swimming Center in Beijing, 2007, Arup, space frame cells
The National Swimming Center in Beijing marks a new beginning in design thinking. This new
thinking has been spurned on by one question: How does structure fill space? The structure of the
Water Cube is based on the most effective sub-division of three-dimensional space - the fundamental
arrangement of organic cells and the natural formation of soap bubbles. It will be clad in ETFE foil
cushions which have excellent insulation properties and will create a greenhouse effect.
Arup based the structural design on Weaire and Phelans (Irish Professors of Physics at Trinity
College) proposed solution to the problem of What shape would soap bubbles in a continuous array
of soap bubbles be? This problem was both initially posed and tentatively answered by Lord Kelvin
at the end of the 18th century but it was 100 years before the Irish Professors proposed a better one.

Beijing Olympic Stadium, called the nest, 2008, Herzog and De Meuron, Arup Eng
Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, 1997, Frank Gehry
Fisher Center, Bard College, NY, 2003, Frank Gehry
UFA Palace Dresden, 1998, COOP Himmelblau
Thom Maynes (Morphosis, LA) design for the Phare Tower in La Dfense, Paris, 2006

Structure as form giver: it defines the spatial configuration and reflects other meanings and is part of
esthetics:

Roman aqueduct in Segovia, 50 AD, Spain

la Grande Arch, Paris, 1989, Fainsilber & P. Rice

TU Munich, Germany

Integrated urban buildings, Linkstr. Potsdamer Platz), Richard Rogers, Berlin, 1998

Mercedes-Benz Museum, Stuttgart, 2006, Ben van Berkel & Caroline Bos, Werner Sobek
Ingenieure

Phaeno Science Center, 2005, Wolfsburg, Zaha Hadid

BMW Welt Munich, 2007, Coop Himmelblau

STRUCTURE as art
The experimentation with structures is also reflected by the structivist art of modernism and was first
articulated particularly by the dreams of designers such as the pioneers Antoine Pevsner and Naum
Gabo at the early part of this century in Russia, and later by Alexander Calder's kinetic art and Kenneth
Snelson's tensegrity sculptures. Part of this exiting new wave of experimentation are also the chair
structures.
Calder Flamingo Sculpture Chicago, 1974, in front of Mies van der Rohe Building
Calder in the National Gallery of Art, East Wing, Washington, 1978, I.M. Pei
Experiments with structure, Russian Constructivism (3 slides)
Kenneth Snelson's tensegrity tower (1968), double-layer tensegrity dome
Santiago Calatrava, Stradelhofen Station, Zurich, 1990 (2 slides)
A glazed canopy structure (similar to Stadelhofen Station Canopy, Zurich, Switzerland, 1990,
Santiago Calatrava) consists of a series of single cantilever beams with sword-like steel plates,
spaced at 5 ft that carry the glass roof. The cantilever beams are welded to a continuous 16-in. (41cm)
dia. steel tube with a wall thickness of 0.5 in. that acts as a beam and torsion ring to transfer the loads
to the inclined, branching Y-columns of triangular cross section, which in turn are stabilized by
vertical hinged pendulum columns. The 2-legged composite columns are spaced at 40 ft (12 m).
Assume a dead load of 20 psf and a live load of 25psf . Use A36 steel for secondary beams and A53
(using Fy = 36 ksi) for the steel tube with Fb = 24 ksi and Fv = 14.4 ksi. For this first investigation
disregard the weight of the tubular beam. Check the size of the tubular section by treating it as a thinwalled member for this preliminary design approach.
Earth sculpture, MUDAM, Luxembourg, 2007
Chairs, MUDAM, Museum of Modern Art, Luxembourg, 2007, I.M. Pei
Chaise by Le Corbusier, chairs by Marcel Breuer (late 1920s)

SHIZUOKA PRESS & BROADCASTING CENTER,Tky,1967, K. Tange

A6. STRUCTURE vs. BUILDING vs. ARCHITECTURE

Structure is necessary for buildings but not for architecture, without structure no building, but architecture
as an idea does not require structure (i.e. design philosophy).
EXPRESSION of STRUCTURE:
- hidden structure vs. exposed structure
- decorative structure (post-modern) vs. tectonic structure
- innovative structures vs. standard construction

A7.

Cathedral of Learning, at the University of Pittsburgh, 1930s

Tsinghua University building, Beijing, 2005 (2 slides)
Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, 1993, James Ingo Freed
New Beijing Planetarium, 2005, AmphibianArc Nanchi Wang (4 slides). To represent the warps
and curves of outer space, Wang designed the glass curtain wall with bulges and depressions, marking
the entrances with distinctive saddle-shaped curves depicting half of a wormhole, the term for a
shortcut in Einsteins space-time continuum. (Wang is careful to call his design an analogy, since
these phenomena resist direct or literal representation.) He built virtual models of the building using
RHINO software, which also enabled their manufacture.
Jewish Museum, Berlin, 2000, Daniel Libeskind (2 slides)
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland, 1995, I. M. Pei (3 slides)
The fractal space of Moshe Safdies Habitat 67 in Montreal, Canada
Administration Building, Ningbo Institute of Technology, Zhejiang University, Ningbo, 2002,
Qingyun Ma
Ningbo Institute of Technology Campus Library, Zhejiang University, Ningbo, MADA spam, 2002
Credit Lyonnais Tower (120 m), Lille, France, 1994, Christian de Portzamparc
Tour Lilleurope (115m, 25 stories), Lille, France, 1995, Claude Vasconi
Apartment tower, Malm, Sweden, 2003, Calatrava based on a turning torso sculpture
Palau de les Arts,Valencia Opera House, 2005, Santiago - like a surrealistic ocean liner or even
gargantuan prehistoric creature cast in stone

STRUCTURE as Detail: articulation of the facade

The devil (or god according to Mies) is in the detail
articulation of the facade - detail as material
Museum of Science and Technology, Parc de la Villette, Paris, 1986, Fainsilber/Rice
Atlanta mall, Elbasani & Logan
Ningbo downtown, 2002, Qingyun Ma
Dresdner Bank, Verwaltungszentrum, Leipzig, 1997, Engel und Zimmermann Arch
MUDAM, Luxembourg, 2006, I.M. Pei
Marta Herford, 2006, Frank Gehry
Architectural Institute, Rotterdam,1993, Netherland, Joe Coenen
The new San Francisco Federal Building, 2007, Thom Mayne (Morphosis)
Boston Convention Center, Vinoly and LeMessurier, 2005 (2 slides)
Pompidou Center, Paris, 1977, Piano and Rogers
Expansion of Printing Office, Berlin, 1997, BHHS & Partner; glass-tree structure
Glass structure, Beijing
State Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany, 1984, James Sterling Arch, canopies (2 slides)
Peek & Cloppenburg, Koeln, Renzo Piano, 2005 (2 slides)

B.

BUILDING STRUCTURE ELEMENTS:

Line elements: beams, columns, cables, frames, arches
Space frames
Surface elements: walls, slabs (floors), shells, tensile membranes
Tensegrity,
Hybrid systems
Free form

Beams: straight/inclined, solid/composite, arrangement/density, scale, building as beam, the

vertical beam:

Atrium, Germanisches Museum, Nuremberg, Germany

Library University of Halle (?)
Petersbogen shopping center, Leipzig, 2001, HPP Hentrich-Petschnigg
New National Gallery, Berlin, 1968, Mies van der Rohe
Pedestrian bridge, Nuremberg, Germany
Documentation Center Nazi Party Rally Grounds, Nuremberg, 2001, Guenther Domenig Architect
Chongqing Airport Terminal, 2005, Llewelyn Davies Yeang and Arup
Debis Theater, Marlene Dietrich Platz, Berlin, 1998, Renzo Piano
Merzedes-Benz Zentrale, Berlin, 2000, Lamm, Weber, Donath und Partner
Bridge connecting two buildings, Berlin
Integrated urban buildings, Linkstr. Potsdamer Platz, Richard Rogers, Berlin, 1998
UNESCO stair, Paris, 1957, Breuer and Nervi
Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY, 1968, I. M. Pei
Grand Palais, Lille, France, 1995, Rem Koolhaas/Ove Arup
Hirshorn Museum, Washington, 1974, Gordon Bunshaft/ SOM
Story beam, Berlin
Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY, 1968, I. M. Pei
Central Plaza, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1996, Ken Yeang

Columns: power of column as space maker, sign in landscape, facade columns, space
articulation, scale, etc.

Acropolis, Athens, 650-480 B.C.

Bourges cathedral, 13th cent, Bourges, France
St. Lorenz, 15th cent, Nuremberg, Germany
Theater Erfurt, 2003, Joerg Friedrich Arch
Kunst Hal, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 1992, Rem Koolhaas Arch
College for Basic Studies, Sichuan University, 2000, Chengd (2 slides)
Government building, Berlin, Germany, 2001, Axel Schultes
Treptow Crematorium, Berlin, 1997, Axel Schultes
Peek & Cloppenburg Department Store, Berlin, 1995, Gottfried Bhm
Study of faade columns, visual analysis
Luxemborg Philharmonie, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, 2006, Atelier Christian De Portzamparc
LAX Control Tower, Los Angeles1996, Katherine Diamond
Samsung Life Insurance Jong-Re Building, Seoul, 1999, Rafael Vinoly

Inclined columns : beam-columns, lateral thrust (visual analysis, tree columns, cantilever
columns, etc.), bone-shaped columns, human thighbone:

Interchange Terminal Hoenheim-Nord, Strassbourg, 2002, Zaha Hadid

Erasmusbridge, Rotterdam, 1996, Ben Van Berkel. The bridge is a so called cable stayed bridge. The
pylon is 139 meters high. The special form of the pylon is why the bridge is nicknamed The Swan.
The bridge connects the north and south part of Rotterdam. The design is a good example of modern
architecture, without a computer the bridge could have never been built.
Mensa Dining Hall, Karlsruhe, 2007, Jrgen Mayer H . The new refectory for students of the FH, PH
and KA Karlsruhe is situated close to the Schlossplatz in the centre of the city. The building is to be
used as a refectory only during term-time. An integrated cafeteria will also be open at other times. The
building is a flat, slanted cube on a trapezoidal floor plan. The exterior dimensions are approx. 49to
55 x 40m. The flat and partly landscaped roof area slopes by approx. 9 and has been designed as a
fifth facade. The load-bearing structure of the faade and the roof emerge as dominant, apparently
random lines and thus give the building a very distinctive appearance. The building has 1 storeys,
the main areas of use being located on the ground floor. An inserted gallery level, accessed by stairs,
makes use of the high refectory room. There is a direct access to the roof terrace from this level. This
layout allows for an optimal accommodation of the building services to supply the kitchen areas
below. The structural framework consists of an interior reinforced concrete construction
enveloped by an innovative wood construction. This wood construction is made of insulated
hollow boxes consisting of laminated wood, laminated veneer lumber and plywood panels. The
construction with its optimized building physics is protected from the weather by way of PURcoating.
Hannover EXPO 2000, Thomas Herzog und Julius Natterer
Subway Station to Allians Stadium, Froettmanning, Munich, 2004, Peter Bohn
Stanted Airport, London, UK, 1991, Norman Foster/ Arup
Chongqing Airport Terminal, 2005, China, Llewelyn Davies Yeang and Arup
World Trade Center, Amsterdam, 2003, Kohn, Pedersen & Fox (2 slides)
Petersbogen shopping center, Leipzig, 2001, HPP Hentrich-Petschnigg
Satolas Airport TGV Train Station, Lyons, France, 1995, Santiago Calatrava
Airport Madrid, Spain, Richard Rogers, 2005 (2 slides)
AWD Dome, Bremen, 1964, Germany, Ronald Rainer and U. Finsterwalder

Frames:

Visual study of frames, arches and trusses

Visual analysis of lateral thrust
Crown Hall, IIT, Chicago, 1956, Mies van der Rohe
Frankfurt Post Museum, 1990, Behnisch Architekten
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich, UK, 1978, Norman Foster
Willemsbridge, Rotterdam, 1981, C.Veeling
BMW Plant Leipzig, Central Building, 2004, Zaha Hadid
Sony Center, Potzdamer Platz, Berlin, 2000, Helmut Jahn Arch., Ove Arup
Dresdner Bank, Verwaltungszentrum, Leipzig, 1997, Engel und Zimmermann Arch.
Design Museum, Nuremberg, Germany, 1999, Volker Staab
Capital Museum, Beijing, 2001, Jean-Marie Duthilleul + Cui Kai
Architectural Institute, Rotterdam, Netherland, 1993, Joe Coene. The building complex is divided into
several sections suggesting its continuation into urban context. The concrete skeleton dominates the
image supplemented by steel and glass. The main glazed structure appears to be suspended, and
allows the concrete load-bearing structure behind to be seen. The high, free-standing support pillars
and the wide cantilevered roof appear more in a symbolic manner rather as support systems. The
building complex clearly articulates its presence to the context.

visual analysis of columns (lateral thrust, space interaction through diagonal,

principal stress flow)
Colosseum, Rom, c. 100 AD
St. Peters, Rom, 16th century. Bramante, Michelangelo, etc.
Arve River Bridge, 1935, Switzerland, Robert Maillart
Cologne Medienpark bridge
Satolas Airport TGV Train Station, Lyons, France, 1995, Santiago Calatrava
Berlin Stock Exchange, Berlin, Germany, 1999, Nick Grimshaw
Athens Olympic Sports Complex, 2004, Calatrava

Arches:

The Metro station at Blaak, Rotterdam, 1993, Harry Reijnders of Movares; the arch spans 62.5 m,
dome diameter is 35 m
Oberbaum bridge, Berlin, Santiago Calatrava, 1995
Lehrter Bahnhof, Berlin, 2006, von Gerkan, Marg and Partners

World Trade Center, Amsterdam, 2003, Kohn, Pedersen & Fox

Sony Center, Potzdamer Platz, Berlin, 2000, Helmut Jahn Arch., Ove Arup
The University of Chicago Gerald Ratner Athletics Center, Cesar Pelli, 2004
Incheon International Airport, 2001, Seoul, Fentress Bradburn Architects, Denver
Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, 1964, Kenzo Tange, Y. Tsuboi (2 slides)

ribbed vaulting

Cables:

Surfaces:
Muenster Halberstadt, 14th century, Gothic ribbed vaulting
MUDAM, Museum of Modern Art, Luxembourg, 2007, I.M. Pei
Friedrichstrasse Atrium, 1996, Berlin, Henry N. Cobb
National Grand Theater, Beijing, 2007, Jean Andreu
DG Bank, Berlin, Germany, 2001, Frank Gehry, Schlaich and Bergemann
Reichstag, Berlin, Germany, 1999, Norman Foster, Leonhardt & Andrae

rigid shells
Airplane hangar, Orvieto. 1940, Pier Luigi Nervi
Zarzuela Hippodrome Grandstand, 1935,. Eduardo Toroja
Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp, France, 1955, Le Corbusier
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX, 1972, Louis Kahn
St. Mary Basilica, Tokyo,1964, Kenzo Tange, Y. Tsuboi
TWA Terminal, New York, 1962, Eero Saarinen
Chrystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, Calif., 1980, Philip Johnson

soft shells:
Dulles Airport Terminal, Washington DC, 1962, Eero Saarinen, Fred Severud.
Dulles Airport, Chantilly, 2002, SOM, is one of the most architecturally and functionally
significant airports of the modern era. Designed by the famous modernist Finnish architect, Eero
Saarinen, it was the first example of the now ubiquitous concept of separating the passenger
processing (landside) and aircraft related (airside) components of an airport when it was built In
1962. Upon its completion, it was immediately recognized as a landmark of the modern movement
in architecture, and became a turning point in the design and construction of airports around the
world.
Remotely located from the capital and competing with two other airports in the region, Dulles was
under-utilized for 15 years after it was built. In the late 1970's, however, two factors began to cause
rapid growth at Dulles; first, intensive residential and commercial growth in the immediate area
created greater demand for service from Dulles. Second, the deregulation of the airline industry
resulted in the development of "hub and spoke" route systems; Dulles has become a hub of a major
domestic airline which is rapidly expanding its international service.
This increased demand required that the airport be expanded, and a master plan was completed in
1979. SOM became involved with the project in 1984 when we were awarded the contract for the
design of the first Midfield Concourse building. Since that time, SOM has won the commission for
every new project for the improvement of Dulles; in addition, SOM has recently completed a
thorough review and update of the master plan
Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, 1964, Kenzo Tange, Y. Tsuboi
Trade Hall 26, Hanover, 1996, Thomas Herzog, Schlaich Bergermann
Flexible surface structures
Yeadon pneumatic fabric structures, tennis court
Tektoniks; the strength and portability of our buildings derive from their unique design and
construction. Each structure is typically comprised of two layers of a fire retardant composite

textile connected together using formers of the same material. The cavity formed between the
layers is pressurised with air producing an extremely rigid structural element which allows large
spans to be achieved whilst keeping the overall weight of the structure to a minimum. The unique
welded construction of our buildings combined with the types of textiles used enables them to
operate at higher pressures than conventional inflatable structures. This results in a much more
rigid building ideally suited to both temporary and permanent indoor and outdoor applications. All
our structures are constructed from composite textiles developed specifically for architectural
applications. The textile panels are cut and assembled using techniques derived from aerospace
manufacturing to produce high integrity seams consistently and reliably.

Ice Rink Roof, Munich, 1984, Ackermann und Partner, Schlaich Bergermann
Olympic Stadium, Munich, Germany, 1972, Frei Otto, Leonhardt-Andrae
Schlumberger Research Center, Cambridge, 1985, Michael Hopkins