Material and Structure
The exterior of the building is covered by gray green glass and polished granite. The moderately reflective surface keeps changing its texture depending on the angle and the light. The use of transparent glass for the public space emphasizes its openness and lets plenty of sunlight in. The wedge shape building was a challenge in terms of structure because its shape caused more wind load than that to conventional box shape skyscrapers. After wind tunnel tests, original structural system was revised because of the wind load. The frames around the elevator shafts are kept as they were, then diagonal frames were added. Columns on the perimeter of the building were moved closer by half and the spandrel beams were strengthened. Surprisingly, after reconsideration of structure, the total amount of steel decreased. Another interesting the challenge in structure was cantilevered entrance. The point is not how to support the load above but how to keep the stability of the building. Using stronger and bigger columns for the base solved this problem.
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Famous quotes containing the words material and/or structure:
“We must accept or refuse one another as we are. I could tame a hyena more easily than my Friend. He is a material which no tool of mine will work.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Why does philosophy use concepts and why does faith use symbols if both try to express the same ultimate? The answer, of course, is that the relation to the ultimate is not the same in each case. The philosophical relation is in principle a detached description of the basic structure in which the ultimate manifests itself. The relation of faith is in principle an involved expression of concern about the meaning of the ultimate for the faithful.”
—Paul Tillich (1886–1965)