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:
“Any so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you want it not for itself, but because it will content your spirit for the moment.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Each structure and institution here was so primitive that you could at once refer it to its source; but our buildings commonly suggest neither their origin nor their purpose.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)