UNDERSTANDING FORCES IN SURFACE STRUCTURETHE REICHSTAG BY NORMAN FOSTER ARC 2513 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION II New German Parliament, Reichstag 1 PREFACE PREFACE 2 CONTENTS 3 INTRODUCTION 4-5 TIMELINE 6-7 ARCHITECT 8-9 ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS SECTION FULL 10 SECTION DOME 11 SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE 12 EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC 13 BUILDING ANALYSIS DESIGN CONCEPT 14 - 15 CONSTRUCTION PROCESS 16 - 19 LOAD DISTRIBUTION DIAGRAM 20 - 21 SPECIAL FEATURES 22 - 23 MODEL DESIGN PROCESS COMPONENT AXONO MATERIAL MODEL MAKING PROCESS MODEL ANALYSIS PROBLEMS + SOLUTION CONCLUSION REFERENCING CONTRIBUTORS 24 25 26 - 29 30 - 31 32 - 33 34 - 35 36 SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGN Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Architecture BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 2 [ARC 2513] Project 2: Understanding Forces in Solid Structure and Surface Structure The objectives of this project are as follows: • To create an understanding of solid structure and surface structure and its relevant structural components. • To understand how a solid structure and surface structure reacts under loading. • To demonstrate a convincing understanding of how Solid Construction and surface construction works. • To exploit the qualities inherent in Solid Construction and surface construction. • To be able to manipulate Solid Construction and surface construction to solve an oblique Design problem. 2 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 3 INTRODUCTION >> THE BUILDING N orman Foster’s revitalized Reichstag building with its glass dome has lost no time in becoming an emblem of the Federal German capital. Its popularity, attested to by the vast numbers of visitors who have thronged into it since its inauguration has made all discussions about how and whether to use the historic building and the long-lasting controversy about the dome. It is a place at the heart of the capital city. This fantastic building holds up the whole history of Germany, facing quite different fate in various historic stages including German Empire, Weimar Republic, Nazi, and German Democratic. After the full reconstruction led by internationally renowned architect Norman Foster completion in 1999, it became the meeting place of the modern German parliament, the Bundestag. Foster’s new Reichstag shows tremendous insight of spatial organization fulfilling the requirement of political function as well as history conservation. Yet all of these cannot be completed without the surprising performance of big glass dome and the light cone which indicates that the whole building is kind of transparent not from outside towards inside as usual, but it let the light go through from top roof to the heart, the chamber. This system with Foster’s idea of energy saving well integrated attracts me to find out those behind the construction, those about the most crucial material of this building, glass. The dome has only one skin made of steel ribs and supported by the twin-helical steel ramp. The filling of these ribs is only laminated glass and it only covers the dome, it doesn’t have any structural property. The dome is carried only by the ribs and supported by the steel ramp. 4 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 5 INTRODUCTION >> TIMELINE 6 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 7 INTRODUCTION >> THE ARCHITECT INTRODUCTION >> THE ARCHITECT 8 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 9 ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS >> SECTION OF REICHSTAG ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWING >> SECTION OF REICHSTAG DOME 10 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 11 ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS >> SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE OF REICHSTAG ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS >> EXPLODED AXONOMETRY CUPOLA DOME CHAMBER EXISTING BUILDING 12 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 13 BUILDING ANALYSIS >> DESIGN CONCEPT BUILDING ANALYSIS >> DESIGN CONCEPT here are two ramps, an inner ramp and outer ramp. One is for up movement and one for down. The inner ramp is steeper and the outer one is more shallow. In between both ramps, there is the supporting structure Environmental Systems The building was designed to optimise the use of passive systems whilst minimising active systems. Both the artificial lighting and ventilation are controlled by a central BMS system and a heat exchanger recovers waste heat from the exhaust air. Renewable Energy A biofuel powered, Combined Heat and Power (CHP) provides approximately 80% of the annual electricity and 90% of the heat of the building.Photovoltaic’s on the roof power the solar shade within the light sculpture. Materials + Waste The design aimed to protect and maintain the shell of the heritage building, whilst redeveloping some of the core areas. By retaining most of the original building structure, construction and demolition waste was significantly reduced. T Form + Massing The renovation project sought to bring light and openness into the building.To accomplish this, a large dome shaped sky light was installed to help capture and refrect daylight deep within the structure Passive Design The solar collector brings natural lighting into the heart of the building. whilst an automated solar shade protects against unwanted solar gain. Main chamber of parliament is naturally ventilated via the cupola. Site & Climate The design utilises natural light as an architectural feature. Careful attention was paid to the sun’s movement around the building and how this could be used to bring light into the space. The dome has only one skin made of 24 steel ribs and supported by the twin-helical steel ramp. The filling of these ribs is only laminated glass and it only covers the dome, it doesn’t have any structural property. The dome is carried only by the ribs and supported by the steel ramp. The diameter of the dome is 40 meters, and the height is 23.5 meters. People can climb up to the top of the dome by using the twin-helical ramp. By this ramp, movement only in one direction is possible, so you don’t hit anybody while climbing up or down. This ramp goes up to the visitors’ platform, also supports and carries the dome as well. A thought was to create an intelligent (smart) building. According to this, the dome which was burned at the 2nd World War and collapsed at 1954 was designed to be a sunlight collector. By using laminated glass, transparency was provided as well as security. At the center, there’s a “light cone” which is made of laminated glass mirrors that has a very good quality of reflecting. By this cone, daylight is transferred into the whole saloon. The dome will also provide a visitors’ platform and ventilation. 14 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 15 BUILDING ANALYSIS >> CONSTRUCTION PROCESS 1 2 3 4 5 1-5 Erection of the cupola’s steel framing begin in June 1997 and the completed in September 1988. The first step was construction of a temporary steel formwork on which the ramps were supported during their assembly. With the ramps in place, the meridian structural ribs were installed; in the completed structure the ramps are suspended from these ribs. Mounted externally onto the ribs are the horizontal ring beams that support the glazing. Spaced 1.7 meters apart, the beams are secured to the ribs by means of cast steel brackets. 16 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 17 BUILDING ANALYSIS >> CONSTRUCTION PROCESS 6 7 8 9 10 6 - 10 The structural elements that make up the cupola were fabricated in the workshops of Waagner-Biro in Vienna throughout the spring and summer of 1997. The ramps were fabricated in short sections to facilitate transportation and welded together on site to form continuous lengths. The cupola with its glazing nearing completion. The fast glazed panels are lifted in place. The mirros that line the cone were secured in place and adjusted individually to ensure optimum efficiency. 18 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 19 BUILDING ANALYSIS >> LOAD DISTRIBUTION ANALYSIS BUILDING ANALYSIS HORIZONTAL BRACING SOLAR CONE TENSION ROD The forces resulting from the dead load coupled with the weight of the cone and reflective mirror itself is resolved by the forces acting in tension. These forces are then transfered to the vertical ribs to be transfered to the ground. According to Newton’s Third Law, the cupola is acting in equilibrium as there are no resultant forces between the solar cone and the tension rods. This is because the weight of the solar cone, reflective mirrors included, is neutralized by the tension force pulled from the rods. VERTICAL RIB >> LOAD DISTRIBUTION ANALYSIS The load of the glass skin is transferred to the horizontal bracing, which then transfers them to the adjacent vertical ribs to be dispersed to the ground. BLOW UP DETAIL 3 HO RIZ TAL ON A BR CIN G HORIZONTAL BRACING VERTICAL RIB The load is transfered from the ramp to the joint where it is resolved by tension forces in the connecting rod. These forces are then transferred to the vertical ribs and down the strucRAMP VERITCAL RIB 20 New German Parliament, Reichstag RAMP RAMP TENSION ROD VERTICAL RIB VERTICAL RIB TENSION ROD VERTICAL RIB TENSION ROD SOLID VS. SURFACE From our analysis, it is seen that the vevrtical beams act much like a column, and the horizontal bracing, like beams. However due to the sheer volume and strategic placing of these components, surface structures are able to span a wider expanse compared to traditional solid structures. Surface structures rely a lot on forces acting in tension to resolve the forces caused by load and weight of the structures themselves. New German Parliament, Reichstag 21 TENSION ROD BLOW UP DETAIL X BUILDING ANALYSIS >> THE CUPOLA BUILDING ANALYSIS >> THE CONE THE CONE THE CUPOLA Weight: 300 tons > 2.5 meters across at its base, where it punctures the chamber ceiling, widening to 16 metres > Covered with 360 highly reflective glass mirrors A computerized sun-following movable shield powered by photovoltaic cells, prevents penetration of solar heat and glare 22 New German Parliament, Reichstag Height Diameter Weight Steel : 23.5 m : 40 m : 1200 tonnes : 700 tonnes > Clad in 3000 square metres of laminated safety glass - two layers of glass with an intermediate layer of vinyl foil - panel size 5.10m x 1.80m max. > 1.6 metre clear width helical ramp acts as a stiffening ring for the cupola with ramp, cone and covering integrated into a delicate structural balance, all elements are hung from exterior structure. > Observation platform height 40.7 m New German Parliament, Reichstag 23 MODEL DESIGN PROCESS >> COMPONENTS MODEL DESOGN PROCESS 1. DOME SKIN - PLASTIC SHEET (GLASS PANELS) - MODEL CARD SPRAYED SILVER (GLASS FRAME) >> MATERIALS MODEL CARD 1 2 4 CUPOLA One skin for entire dome. 24 panes of glass per row. HORIZONTAl BRACING Upper Ring Beam + 17 Steel horizontal bracing + Lower Ring Beam 2. HORIZONTAL BRACING - MODEL CARD SPRAYED SILVER PLASTIC SHEET VERTICAL RIBS 24 x Steel Vertical Ribs 3 5 WHITE TACK 3. VERTICAL RIBS - METALLIC CARD - WHITE TACK METALLIC CARD SPIRAL RAMP 2 x Steel Helix Spiral Ramps SOLAR CONE Dodecagon (12 sides) of reflective mirror. 4. SPIRAL RAMP - METALLIC CARD FOAM CARD 5. SOLAR CONE - METALLIC CARD - ALUMINIUM FOIL SHEET - FOAM CARD (REFLECTIVE MIRROR PANEL) ALUMINIUM FOIL SHEET 24 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 25 MODEL DESIGN PROCESS >> SOLAR CONE SOLAR CONE COMPONENTS PRINTED OUT AND TRACED TO ENSURE ACCURACY FOIL PAPER REINFORCED WITH METALLIC CARD TO MAKE REFLECTIVE MIRROR HOLE PIERCED TO ALLOW THREAD TO PASS THROUGH INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS WITH VARYING LENGTHS ARRANGED ACC.TO POSITION INITIALLY EACH PANEL WAS GLUED TO THE NEXT BUT RESULTED IN OVERLY RIGID FORM THE BACK OF THE CONE FACE SHOWING THE THREAD AND PLASTIC STICKS USED PROTOTYPE TO FIND THE BEST WAY TO REPRESENT THE BLOWN UP DETAIL PARTIALLY COMPLETED SOLAR CONE PROTOTYPES OF THE REFLECTIVE MIRROR (BLOWN UP DETAIL) PANELS CONFIRMED DESIGN OF THE REFLECTIVE MIRROR (BLOWN UP DETAIL) PANELS he cone is a dodecagon shading device with twelve equal sides. The cone tapers as it reaches the base so to achieve as much accuracy as possible, we scaled the height of the cone to our model’s. We first measured the different dimensions required and cut out each reflective panel individually. Next, we attached the panels together using a combination of thread and adhesive. T 26 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 27 MODEL DESIGN PROCESS >> SPIRAL RAMP SPIRAL RAMP FOIL PAPER REINFORCED WITH METALLIC CARD TO MAKE REFLECTIVE MIRROR SUN-SHADING DEVICE WITH FIXED CURVATURE INCLINED GLAZING AT CHAMBER AREA REFLECTIVE MIRROR PANEL RAISED NEEDLES WERE USED TO ATTACH VERTICAL RIBS TO THE BASE BOARD TEMPLATE FOR GLASS PANELS TO BE ATTACHED TO THE CUPOLA SKIN COMPONENTS FOR FRAMING THE GLASS PANELS ATTACHING VERTICAL RIB TO THE BASE REFLECTIVE MIRROR PANEL LOWERED DOWN SECTION OF BUILDING WITH RIBS ERECTED T he Spiral Ramp is the main form of circulation in the Reichstag, it is also the most prominent as its double helix structure is visible through the glass dome. A double helix structure was the most important feature to be incorporated into the model as it would act as a landmark part of the Reichstag. 28 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 29 MODEL ANALYSIS PROBLEM & SOLUTION MODEL ANALYSIS PANELS TOO STIFF FIRST TRIAL #1 CURVATURE MISTAKE FIRST TRIAL >> PROBLEM & SOLUTION #2 #1 #2 #3 30 The individual panels were attached together using a strong adhesive but the strength of the adhesive jeopardized the curvature of the solar cone. SOLUTION Thread was used to connect the panels to preserve the flexibility of the surface. The sun-shading device had a curvature that is hard to replicate without the aid of digital manufacturing. SOLUTION Detailed workmanship was the only method to decrease the errors present, even so, human errors are inevitable in cases such as these. VERTICAL RIB TOO WEAK FIRST TRIAL #3 Initial models of the vertical rib were made of hollow metallic card. These ribs were too weak and unable to support the load of anything other thatn it’s own. SOLUTION The ribs were filled out with white tack and left to harden. The hardened white tack added additional strength to the ribs and therefore, the structure. New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 31 CONCLUSION Upon reflection, the project was very useful in helping us understand the way surface structure construction works. There were a number of setbacks as highlighted in the previous pages, but overall, the main difficulty was in the extortionate amount of details in the construction. The spheric nature of the building also left no room for second guesses. Calculations had to be made down the the position of holes and the degree of curvature. The sheer volume of individual components was also overwhelming and demanded the most man power out of all the tasks. Precision is key in assembling this project and is the reason for most of failures during the trial period. There were numerous other issues but we managed to overcome them. Though the model construction process was not a failure in any sense, there are still numerous ways in which they could have been improved. Perhaps a deeper understanding of the material was needed in order to maximize results. Precision could have been improved in terms of execution. On paper everything looks fine but it is onlu I when making the model do problems start cropping up. For future reference, if budget permits, perhaps laser cutting components would help increase the accuracy. 32 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 33 REFERENCES David Jenkins, Norman Foster Works (4th Edition), Prestel (October 24, 2004) Staib, G., Components and Systems, Boston: Architektur-Dokumentation GmbH & Co.KG (2008) Unwin, S., Analysing architecture, New York: Routledg (2009) David Leatherbarrow and Mohsen Mostafavi, Surface Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2002) Wolfgang Knoll and Martin Hechinger, Architectural Models Construction Techniques (2nd Edition), Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt (2006) P. B. Lourenco and P. Roca, The Structural Analysis of Domes, 2001, Mujde Altin Dokus Eylil University, Turkey (2001) Waagner Niro, Steel Glasss Structures - http://www.waagner-biro.com/en/divisions/steel-glass-structures/references/reference/reichstag-building-dome Foster + Partners, Projects : New German Parliament, Reichstag - http://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/reichstag-new-german-parliament/ 34 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 35 CONTRIBUTORS edited by ALEXIS OH KENG YEE WONG ROUNG-JANG GARY CHONG WEE MING GOH KEE WOON DANIEL CHEW FENG YI DAVID KOO MEI DA ANG BOON CHEONG ALEXIS OH KENG YEE 36 New German Parliament, Reichstag 0303368 0302527 0303315 0303030 0311181 0315560 0312501
Report "Report on SURFACE CONSTRUCTION OF THE REICHSTAG"