ARCHITECTURAL PRECEDENT

1. Tallwood House 

KEY CONCEPT

Tallwood House

Architects: Acton Ostry Architects
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Build in: 2015-2017
Height: 53meters
Stories: 18
Site area: 2,315 m²
Gross area: 15,120 m²
FSR: 6.53
Bldg footprint: 840 m²
404 student beds
2,233 m³ of timber used

Brock Commons is comprised of 17 stories of five-ply cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor panels and glue-laminated columns, a concrete transfer slab at level two and a steel framed roof. The CLT panels are point supported on glulam columns at a 2.85m X 4.0m grid. Beams were eliminated from the design by utilizing CLT’s two-way spanning capabilities and two full-height concrete cores provide lateral stability.

Selected Design Element

This building is the highest timber building at the moment, and the usage is student accommodation. The most interesting point of this building is how can it be stable within an 18 stories height, and due to the usage, the scale of the columns cannot be very big, how to connect different parts.

COLUMN
The floors and roof are supported by GLT and PSL columns, arranged in a grid measuring 4x2.85 m. Larger columns (265x265 mm) on the lower levels, and slightly
smaller ones (265x215 mm) on the upper levels. PSL columns are utilized at points with higher loads in the middle of the floor plates between levels 2 and 5.

FLOOR SLAB
The floor slabs are composed of CLT panels, oriented on the building’s long axis and installed in a staggered configuration and secured with plywood splines to create a diaphragm. Panels are 169 mm thick, one bay wide (2.85 m) and of four different lengths to a maximum of three bays (12 m long). There are 29 panels per
level and most are unique due to the configurations of pre-cut mechanical, plumbing and electrical openings.

The selected design element will focus on the connections between columns, and between columns and floor slabs.

How is the Key Concept Reflected in the Design Studio?

I'm a master architecture students, and my final year studio stream is high performance, the theme is timber hybrid building, so I mostly focus on timber structure building.

This building is the highest timber structure building in the world for now, and I believe there will be more and more timber buildings in the future because timber is a very high-performance construction material.

I'm designing a film school as my final studio project, which including also including some student accommodation and some small classrooms. This kind of structure can help me think about how to design the structure for these parts.

Geometrical Description of the Shape. 

1:100 model

This building is a timber hybrid building, the material of the basement and first floor and its core is concrete, the material of column and floor plate is engineering timber.

The 1:100 model is showing how the timber members connect to concrete slab and core.

I can use 6mm plywood to make the concrete parts, and paint them grey to show the material.

Use balsa wood in scale to make the columns and floor plates.

Use 3D print to make the junction which can connect the timber members to the concrete core. 

1:20 model

                    

The 1:20 model is a detailed model shows the assembly process of columns and floor plates.

Using balsa wood to make the columns and floor plates in scale. Then 3D print the material connections. Using an electric drill to make holes on timber members and assemble them together.

Proposed Scale, Material, Technique

Scale: 1:100 and 1:10

Material: plywood, Balsa wood, and 3D print members

Technique: Cutting machine, Electric drill, and 3D print machine.

Time Commitment, Budget

Time: 10 hours

Budget: 200 Dollars

2. Shelters For Roman Archaeological Site

 

KEY CONCEPT

Shelters For Roman Archaeological Site

One of the first big projects for the 2009 Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor was this protective pavilion built to cover the remains of two Roman buildings. Built-in 1985-86 and located in the capital of the Swiss canton of Graubünden, arcspace had the opportunity to revisit and photograph the site this summer. It’s astonishing to think it was designed and built almost thirty years ago. Not only does it still stand in perfect condition but it looks like it was conceived just yesterday.      

Zumthor came up with a design of wooden pavilions that functions not only as a protective cover but a museum and a veritable architectural jewel. The timber lamella shelters allow visitors to comprehend the original extent of the Roman buildings, providing a visible and physical form to distinguish the ancient remains in sharp contrast to the modern city.

The protective lightweight wooden enclosures follow the outer walls of two of the original adjacent buildings as well as a third building of which only a corner was excavated and visible. By following the original perimeter, Peter Zumthor conceived these “cases” as an abstract volumetric reconstruction of the Roman buildings. But only in footprint, not in height. An original wall painting was found in fairly good condition lying on the floor of the first and larger building. After being restored, it was returned to its original position giving the impression of the probable real height of the single-story houses.

Selected Design Element

This building is designing to protect the ruins on the ground and create a space for visitors to feel the ancient cultural relic. So it has to be a column-free space.

This building is also a nice timber structure building, the most interesting point of this building is the material and the connection to the environment. The visitor can get in the building on a steel gallery bridge, the timber skin system can let the natural wind get into the inside space. The design on the roof can let the natural light irradiate on the Roman ruins.

How is the Key Concept Reflected in the Design Studio?

My design proposal is a film school, one of the most important parts is the exhibition area. The design of Shelters for Roman ruins gives me a lot of ideas to make a better gallery space.

The skin system is very interesting, people will be more relaxed in this gallery because of the natural elements in this space.

Making the physical model for the gallery is an opportunity for me to learn a lot about the history of Roman, but also helps me understand the timber material. When I design my building, I may not focus on the material itself and its connection with the environment. 

Geometrical Description of the Shape. 

1:100 model

Actually, I have done some material and structural analysis during my bachelor stage, this is the rendered axonometric section I did at that time, I hope I can make a physical model for it that I can understand the whole design better.

This can be made as a 1:50 model

The base can use a whole timber plate and use the CNC machine to create the irregularity floor surface.

The foundation is concrete, and it can be made by plywood and paint to grey.

The column and beams can be made by balsa wood, and glue all the member together.

The gallery bridge can be made by metal plates, 3D print the junctions that the bridge can be assembled on the structure system.

The skin system can use balsa wood, cut into many slim plates then glue them to the columns. 

Proposed Scale, Material, Technique

Scale: 1:100

Material: plywood, Balsa wood, metal and 3D print members

Technique: Cutting machine and 3D print machine.

Time Commitment, Budget

Time: 15 hours

Budget: 200 Dollars

3. University of Massachusetts Amherst Design Building / Leers Weinzapfel Associates 

KEY CONCEPT

The Design Building at the University of Massachusetts Amherst is the first Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) academic building in the United States and the largest installation of wood concrete composites in North America. The$52M, 87,500-square-foot project, made possible through supplemental funding from the Massachusetts State Legislature, is a dynamic space of exchange, collaboration, and experiment. Uniting the university’s departments of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning, and the Building and Construction Technology program under one roof for the first time, the structure itself is a teaching tool for prescient sustainable design.

Selected Design Element

The building is organized around a skylit central commons that brings students together for lectures, exhibits, presentations, and informal gatherings. Studios, maker spaces and classrooms surround the central space that opens onto the street as a showcase for the design disciplines. The commons is capped by a green roof that comprises an outdoor learning environment and experimental space for the landscape department.

How is the Key Concept Reflected in the Design Studio?

The most interesting point of this building is the structure. Making a physical model can help me to understand the structure of this building.

The strength of timber is lower than concrete and steel, the size of timber member will be bigger than steel or concrete member. This building solves the problem of the member size by combining the timber and steel structure together.

Geometrical Description of the Shape. 

1:20 model

I want to make a detailed model to analysis the structure of its skylit central commons.

Using Rhino to make a 3D digital model and using 3D print machine to make the steel junction.

Using wood lathes machine to cut the wood block into sticks in scale.

Using the electric drill to make holes in timber sticks 

Finally assemble the members together.

Proposed Scale, Material, Technique

Scale: 1:20

Material: hardwood, metal and 3D print members

Technique: Wood lathes machine, Cutting machine and 3D print machine.

Time Commitment, Budget

Time: 10 hours

Budget: 150 Dollars



https://arcspace.com/feature/shelters-for-roman-archaeological-site/

https://www.archdaily.com/872034/university-of-massachusetts-amherst-design-building-leers-weinzapfel-associates