OVE ARUP AND PARTNERS

OVE ARUP AND PARTNERS

TECHNOLOGY IN ARCHITECFURE

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lf one accepts that a g o o d building must elegantly and efficiently integrate ali the various elements of the design - planning, structure, cladding and services - t h e n each member of the design team must have a full understanding of the role and requirements of the others.

Sadly, this sort of understanding is ali too rare; it is not surprising therefore to find the same names of engineers continually cropping up in the better new buildings or in the lists of architectural awards. This handful of practices - the "architects' engineers" - understand the designers' requirements, are articulate and operate from a strong theoretical base. Ove Arup and Partners is among this group.

In this book we look at the conjunction of architectural and engineering skills in a broad range of projects with which Arups have been involved. This is a necessarily selective list the schemes have been chosen because they illustrate well the way that engineering is integrated intothe design concept, not because they give a representative cross section of the practice's work.

The projects range from the pioneering work on the Sydney Opera House, where the role of the engineers was to discover how to build a unique and sculptural form, to the Menil Gallery in Houston where the basis of the design lies in the creation of an internai environment of carefully controlied naturai light. In each of the projects we look at the form, the structure, the environment within the building, the materials and construction. The book illustrates how the designs developed as the architectural and engineering criteria carne together to create the finished building.

Peter Murray

DESIGN

Architects and engineers both see themselves as designers. And although the majority of engineers and a great number of architects can hardly be called that, it's the designers I am concerned with here. Forthe design, as I use the word, is the key to what is built; it is the record of ali the decisions which have a hearing on the shape and ali other aspects of the object constructed. These decisions are unfortunately not ali taken by the designer but they must be known to him and integrated into a total design.

We must distinguish between routine design, which does not require any creative thinking, and what may be labelled originai, innovative, conceptual or creative design. Creative design must, of course, build on previous experience and contains and employs pre-designed parts, and it may even consist almost entirely in assembling such parts to create an entity. But building is always tied to locality and to the people one builds for, and they vary from case to case. The synthesis required to create an entity, a whole which economizes in means yet fulfils the aims, is an artistic process.

Art is solving problems which cannot be formulated before they have been solved. The search goes on, until a solution is found which is d e e m e d to be satisfactory. There are always many possible solutions, the search is for the best - but there is no best - just more or less good. Quality is produced if the search doesn't stop at a second-rate solution but continues until no better solution can be found.

An engineer who doesn't care a damn what his design looks like as long as it works and is cheap, who doesn't care for elegance, neatness, order and simplicity for its own sake, is not a good engineer. This needs to be stressed.

The distinctive features of engineering are mainly matters of content - the nature of the parts and the aims.

In building, the entity we want to perfect is not the structure or the air-conditioning as such although that as well - it is the sum of ali these parts. The engineer only designs a part of the total. His ideal structure may occupy space which is required for other purposes. It is also part of the architectural composition and therefore subject to other criteria. The ideal air-conditioning system cannot be installed because there is not enough money or because it is deemed more desirable to enable the windows to be opened, etc. The search in this case is for a comprehensive quality which is a sum of particular qualities, each measured with its own particular yardstick, but modified to fit into a general pattern.

The success of the whole undertaking depends on the right allocation of priorities and whether the resulting entity has this quality of wholeness and obvious rightness which is the mark of a work of art.

Ove Arup

A new concrete bridge at Runnymede built next to a design by Sir Edwin Lutyens.

The new bridge follows the form of the

originai bridge, although it has to solve very different problems to those of the Lutyens' structure.

A simple wooden model illustrates the geometrie order of the designs for the Sydney Opera House. Jorn Utzon 's competition scheme

was sketchy and was an indication of a sculptural image.

Over five years the design was refined by the architect and the engineer until the

complex shapes were reduced to a simple sphere whose geometry allowed the use of a rational precast construction method.

FORM

The origins of the final shape of a building are as various as the resultant forms themselves; the engineer's relationship to the development of the building design being initially determined by the attitudes, concepts and working methods of the architect.

respect the right of light to adjacent buildings and the structural problems of the site itself, in particular the wind loading from typhoons. A whole range of structural solutions were studied, rejected and then refined down to the design that has now been built.

The engineer's role might range from helping to create a building geometry from the elegant sail-like design which won the Sydney Opera House competition for Danish architect Jorn Utzon, to designing the structures for the Stoke Garden Festival where the form of the building emerges directly from the economical use of a tension structure.

The Menil Gallery is lit by naturai light; the major element of the building being a roof of filtering leaves, or louvres - the shape of which was developed by the architect and engineer into an elegant and functional form that combines structure and environmental control.

In ali projects there is a continuous dialogue between the architect and the engineer - a dialogue most easily illustrateci in those buildings where the structure itself is an integrai part of the architectural concept such as in the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank and the Menil Gallery. In Hong Kong, the form and the surface configuration arise from the practical constraints of the need for a column-free space at ground level, the decision to divide the building horizontally in a number of sections, the requirement to

It may be thought that civil engineering does not deal with architectural problems of form, but this view is not borne out by the design of the bridge at Runnymede, which follows the shape of an older bridge designed by Edwin Lutyens. The engineering form has integrated the need for an efficient structural solution with the requirements of the site and the visual effects of the construction on its surroundings.

The development of the Sydney Opera House design from Utzon's originai sketch (top left), through to the finally

Competition s c h e m e 1957

built design. To develop the design the technology of the day was exploited to the full. The computers were like

Model TFords when compared with modem equipment but were harnessed to carry out analytical work and provide

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geometrie information in a way that had not been tried before.

The form of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank evolved from a thorough analysis of the clients'and

Competitori Scheme

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architects' objectives - the need to provide a public space beneath the building, the desire for column free office spaces,

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the light giving atriums in the head of the building, ali led to the use ofeight structural towers from which the building is

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suspended.

The form was also determined by the need to respect rights of light to surrounding buildings. The design

Final Scheme

had to respond to these requirements and achieve an overall construction programme of three and a halfyears.

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Detailed computer analyses included studies of the rigidity of the mast under gravity and lateral loadings.

The Menil Gallery in Houston was conceived as a platform with large louvres which form the structure to support the glass

roofabove and also control the light passing into the gallery. The form of the louvres developed during the course of the project

from the geometry solutions complex shape of completed

simple of the early to the and elegant the building.

The tension structures designed for the Stoke Garden festival with their pine cone finials take on a certain arborial image which

developed naturally from tlie constraints of site'cost and the geometry of the fabric structure.

The doublĂŠ curvature skin provides a simple

solution to covering a farge space inexpensively while providing a tight interior environment ideal for exhibitions.

To stop the settlement of the Central Tower at York Minister the foundation area of the 20.000 tonne tower was increased

by casting in situ concrete blocks around the sides of the existing masonry foundations and stressing these by means of

post-tensioned rods placed holes drilled masonry. In that the new foundations not settle as

steel through in the order would the extra

weight compacted the earth beneath, a series of fiat, hydraulic jacks were placed beneath the new concrete and then inflated.

STRUCTURE

When the Gothic masons of York Minster built the 15th century centrai tower onto the then 300 years old foundations of the originai medieval building, they did not have the facilities of later engineers to calculate the correct structural effects of their work. Over the years the tower settled, until in this century it reached a criticai position where careful and complex restoration work had to be carried out. To do so without damaging the rest of the fabric of the building required a sophisticated analysis of Gothic structures denied to those who actually built them.

Today the engineer has the ability to forecast the behaviour of his structures; his computers can imitate ali possible conditions.

While the Gothic builder dealt only with stone and timber, the engineer of today has an infinite palette of materials which can be used in different ways. In the Hongkong building the floors are suspended from the steel compression towers, a t t h e Patscenterthe rods support the roof and provide restraint when wind forces might lift it off.

The use of ductile iron in the Menil building provides accurate castings whose form not only reflects their structural role but which gives them a fine, almost skeletal character.

The lightweight manner of dealing with structure and environmental control contrasts with that of the Bangkok Embassy where the use of concrete creates shade and overhangs and the mass provides some insulation from the external tropical environment.

In Singapore, the OCBC structure reflects the need for a large column free entrance level as well as a rapid construction programme.

The Patscenter is a building in tension.

The rods supporting the roof for downward gravity loads determined the

geometry. The steep angle of the main support rods from the centrai frame limits the deflection of the roof; the two

asymmetrical finger rods from this main supporting rod directly transfer the tension from the roof and minimise

secondary effects in the structure (Drawing A). A separate tensile system resists wind uplift on the roof.

(Drawing B).

Elements in tension are marked T, those in compression are marked C.

The OCBC building in Singapore is built using series of girders spanning between slip formed concrete towers in

order to allow for a column-free open space at the entrance level and a fast construction programme.

The Menil Gallery roofevolved asa result ofstructural and lighting requirements.

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beams, where the leaves became the tension members of a

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daylight and solar control studies. The thin sections of moulaeu ferro cement interpret the architect'simagpof

lightness and fragility. The bone-like truss ductile iron, a mmerfar/Jnicfruan

be castaccurately and whose crystal structure has a high resistance to cracking.

The Australian Embassy in Bangkok illustrates the use of conventional concrete structure using in situ concrete to create a gridded

beam pattern, supported by circular columns. The articulated facade provides passive climatic control in the tropical zone.

The structure of the Hongkongand Shanghai Bank consists ofeight masts, eachoffour coiumns, supporting

Each section of the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank masts was made out of four elements consisting of one section of tubular

column with four half beams attached to it.

The columns varied in wall thickness depending on their position in the building.

The

sections were welded together on site, the steelwork was then sprayed with a cementitious corrosion protection coating, followed by

a ceramic fire protection blanket, and then the grey enamel steel panels that provide the finish to the building.

MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION

The Hongkong and Shanghai Bank was designed as a kit of parts to be manufactured in various parts of the world, shipped to Hong Kong and put together - there can be little doubt that steel was the only material suitable for its construction; in contrast, the Sydney Opera House's sculptural form required flowing curves and since the manufacture of large standardised elements on the site was possible, pre-cast concrete was selected.

The lightweight sun shelters at Yulara which protect visitors from the scorching centrai Australian sun provide economical, efficient and transportable shade by the simple stretching of fabric into parabolic shapes, while the more complex tailoring of the Schlumberger building provides a large total enclosure, with plenty of naturai light, for activities that do not require a high level of environmental control. ^—.

The materials for ali these buildings are selected because they perform their required roles efficiently, they meet the constraints of the site in terms of problems of delivery or available manpower and, perhaps most importantly, the architect's concept.

The Schlumberger Research building required a large clear span roof for oil drill rig experiments. It had to accommodate a 10 tonne overhead

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gantry crane, allow tight into surrounding office space, provide an environment amenable to the research scientists working in the

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building and create a form to please the planners on this prominent Cambridge site. The fabric skin consists of five structural

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membranes manufactured from PTFE coated woven glass cloth each covering an area of 24m by 19m. Each membrane has

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doublĂŠ curvature and is prestressed against the external aerlal cable system suspended from the vertical masts and the lateral booms.

The engineering work on the Schlumberger building involved the design, analysis and specification ofthe membrane and cable system, as well as

producing cutting patterns for the contractor and advising him on erection.

The Yulara Tourist resort was built to cater for tourists visiting Ayers Rock in the harsh climatic conditions of centrai Australia. The

lightweight pvc roof provides pleasant shade and was deslgned to be easily transportable from its Swiss factory. i

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The Sydney Opera House was constructed from precast post tensioned concrete.

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up of separate sections which were then stressed together with tension cables. The ribs are geometrically identica!.

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The Cummins factory brings together the elements of architecture, structure and services. The design team.wished to

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provide a structure that reflected the intensive servicing needs of a large production factory.

The architects' early sketches suggested

a roof form shaped around the service routing and a structure was developed from this idea.

ENVIRONMENT

A well-engineered building i s o n e t h a t succeeds in integrating ali its various functions, elegantly and coherently.

The relationship between the ducts, wires and pipes and the architecture varies dramatically from building to building - the Lloyd's buildings' exposed lifts and tubes is the antithesis of the Stuttgart Museum where two cowls at the back of the building are ali the evidence the visitor has of the sophisticated nature of the environmental controis and services within the building. Despite the different approaches, the relationship between the various elements is carefully developed in both buildings.

While much of the external servicing at Lloyd's is exposed, there is much that remains unseen; detailed research was undertaken to design the control necessary to provide an acceptable micro climate in the largest atrium in the United Kingdom, a problem complicated by the fact that over the years the open spaces are expected to be enlarged as requirements in the underwriting room are increased.

The Menil Gallery is a building whose whole design is centred around the environmental requirements - its aim is to provide a high quality of naturai light - the louvres filtering the light to protect the works of art, light them well for the visitor but also to give lite to that light by allowing the internai environment to reflect the conditionsoutside.

The Cummins factory, in contrast, shows how the form of a building can be directly affected by the needs for heavy servicing within the factory environment.

The structural arches of the Derngate Theatre incorporate large ventilation ducts - the resultant form of the building satisfying structural, environmental and acoustical requirements. This is in contrast to the IBM pavilion where the desire to create a clear crystaline structure to be placed on a variety of sites created complex environmental problems solved using m o d e m techniques of microclimate control.

The Derngate Theatre in Northampton is an exampie ofhow the servicing of a building can be fully integrated into the

architecture and the structure. The roof structure itself forms the air conditioning ducts, while the access galleries doublĂŠ up as the

structural tie beam for the roof. The seating is moveable - compressed air is used to create a hovercraft effect which allows one

man to manoeuvre the large banks of seating.

The Lloyd's building in the City of London has a computer raised floor which acts as a low pressure pilenum for the conditioned air.

The air is then drawn into flexible ducts which are connected to vents in the floor and in the workstations, or "Boxes", the latter

providing an individually controllable microclimate for each occupant. Air is taken out through the light fittings thus removing

unwanted heatat source. The air is then channelled between the panes of the triple glazed windows to maintain a consistent

temperature around the perimeter of the alt glass building.

The 300mm floor zone also contains electrical power, chilled water,

telephones and data distribution.

Sophisticated computer anaiyses were developed to determine the nature of the environment

particularly in the vast atrium that is the centrai focus of the building.

The Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart reveals little external evidence of the servicing that maintains the internai environment.

Tucked up above the ceiling

of the simply designed galleries are banks of motorised louvres controlling naturai light-these are substantial enough to

act as anti-burglar devices as well as thermal insulators when fully closed during the winter hours of darkness. A steel grid supports a

ceiling of glass incorporating an ultra violet filter to prevent harmful radiation from entering the exhibition space.

A section through the Staatsgalerie showing the concealed service space.

The leaves ofthe MeniI Gallery roof were designed to control and reflect naturai tight, to allow the conditions outside the building

to be experienced inside the gallery.

The design allows for a maximum lighting level on the walls of 2000 lux which is only possible through the

museum's policy of displaying the collection in rotation, with each exhibit on show for a limited period only. Design parameters included

the amount of heat being transmitted into the building, the different tight conditions throughout the year, and the need to

prevent direct sunlight falling on the works on display.

me IBM Fmvuion was dbslgneg,s%\ « l showcqpe fo^n, ' • 1 exhibitÌQrton 1 interaction, o^ej^léì and cdhriputèr§ The , light Tili§rfie^ructjJre

of pòlyc&bonate pyramiàs and timbtpr st&ettension ties. providhettne f required quality oj light and reflection, while being rbQust.

"The schemes illustrateci in this book were chosen because they show how engineering is integrateci into the design concept not because they give a representative cross section of Ove Arup and Partners' work. Those involved with the schemes are listed on this page."

RUNNYMEDE BRIDGE Staines, England Client: Department of Transport (South Eastern Road Construction Unit) Designers: Ove Arup & Partners KINGSGATE FOOTBRIDGE Durham, England Client: University of Durham Designers: Ove Arup & Partners SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE Sydney, Australia Client: New South Wales Government, Dept. of Public Works Architects: Stages I & Il Jprn Utzon Stage III Hall, Todd & Littlemore Structural Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners HONGKONG & SHANGHAI BANK Hong Kong Client: Hongkong & Shanghai Bank Property Management Co. Ltd. Architects: Foster Associates Civil and Structural Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners MENIL COLLECTION Houston, USA Client: Menil Foundation Architects: Piano & Fitzgerald Structural Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners in association with Haynes & Whaley Associates Inc. Service Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners in association with Galewsky & Johnston FESTIVAL HALL STOKE GARDEN FESTIVAL Stoke, England Client: National Garden Festival 1986 (Stoke on Trent) Ltd Architects: Ahrends, Burton & Koralek Civil, Structural and Services Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners

YORK MINSTER York, England Client: Dean and Chapter of York Minster Architect: Bernard Feilden, Surveyor to the Fabric Structural Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners

YULARA TOURIST RESORT Ayers Rock, Australia Client: White Industries Pty Ltd Architects: Philip Cox & Partners Pty Ltd Structural Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners Australia

PATSCENTER Princeton, USA Client: PA International Management Consultante Limited Architects: Richard Rogers & Partners Ltd Structural Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners in association with Robert Silman Associates Services Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners in association with Siska & Hennessy

CUMMINS ENGINE PLANT Shotts, Scotland Client: Cummins Engine Company Ltd Architects: Ahrends, Burton & Koralek Civil, Structural and Services Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners

OCBC CENTRE Singapore Client: Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation Singapore Architects: I.M. Pei & Partners, New York in association with BEP Akitek, Singapore Civil and Structural Engineeers: Ove Arup & Partners AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY BANGKOK Bangkok, Thailand Client: Commonwealth of Australia Architects: Ancher, Mortlock, Murray & Woolley Pty Ltd Structural Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners Australia SCHLUMBERGER RESEARCH BUILDING Cambridge, England Client: Schlumberger Cambridge Research Ltd Architects: Michael Hopkins & Partners Structural Engineers: fabric roof: Ove Arup & Partners general: Anthony Hunt Associates

DERNGATE THEATRE Northampton, England Client: Borough of Northampton Architects: Renton Howard Wood Levin Partnership Structural and Services Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners LLOYD'S REDEVELOPMENT London, England Client: The Corporation of Lloyd's Architects: Richard Rogers and Partners Ltd Civil, Structural and Services Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners NEUE STAATSGALERIE U N D KAMMER THEATER Stuttgart, W Germany Client: Land of Baden Wurtenberg Architects: James Stirling, Michael Wilford & Associates Structural Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners with Boll und Partners Services Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners with Esser Dittman Nehring & Partners IBM TRAVELLING EXHIBITION Client: IBM Europe Architect: Renzo Piano Structural and Services Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners