Report on SURFACE CONSTRUCTION OF THE REICHSTAG

New German Parliament, Reichstag 1

ARC 2513

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION II

BY NORMAN FOSTER

UNDERSTANDING FORCES IN SURFACE STRUCTURE

THE REICHSTAG

2 New German Parliament, Reichstag New German Parliament, Reichstag 3

PREFACE

PREFACECONTENTSINTRODUCTION TIMELINE ARCHITECT ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS SECTION FULL SECTION DOME SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE EXPLODED AXONOMETRICBUILDING ANALYSIS DESIGN CONCEPT CONSTRUCTION PROCESS LOAD DISTRIBUTION DIAGRAM SPECIAL FEATURES

MODEL DESIGN PROCESS COMPONENT AXONO MATERIAL MODEL MAKING PROCESS MODEL ANALYSIS PROBLEMS + SOLUTION CONCLUSION

REFERENCINGCONTRIBUTORS

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SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING & DESIGNBachelor of Science (Honours) in ArchitectureBUILDING CONSTRUCTION 2 [ARC 2513]

Project 2: Understanding Forces in Solid Structure and Surface Structure

The objectives of this project are as follows: •Tocreateanunderstandingofsolidstructureandsurfacestructureanditsrelevantstructural components. •Tounderstandhowasolidstructureandsurfacestructurereactsunderloading. •TodemonstrateaconvincingunderstandingofhowSolidConstructionandsurfaceconstructionworks. •ToexploitthequalitiesinherentinSolidConstructionandsurfaceconstruction. •TobeabletomanipulateSolidConstructionandsurfaceconstructiontosolveanobliqueDesign problem.


>> THE BUILDINGINTRODUCTION

Norman 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-last-ing 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 parlia-ment, 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.


INTRODUCTION>> TIMELINE


>> THE ARCHITECTINTRODUCTION

>> THE ARCHITECTINTRODUCTION


>> SECTION OF REICHSTAGORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS ORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWING

>> SECTION OF REICHSTAG DOME


>> SECTIONAL PERSPECTIVE OF REICHSTAGORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS

>> EXPLODED AXONOMETRYORTHOGRAPHIC DRAWINGS

CUPOLA

DOME

CHAMBER

EXISTING BUILDING


>> DESIGN CONCEPTBUILDING ANALYSIS

There are two ramps, an inner ramp and out-er 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 SystemsThe building was designed to optimise the use of passive systems whilst minimising active systems. Both the artificial lighting and ventilationare controlled by a central BMS system and a heat exchanger recovers waste heat from the exhaust air.

Renewable EnergyA 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 + WasteThe 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.

Form + Massing The renovation project sought to bring lightand openness into the building.To accomplishthis, a large dome shaped sky light was installedto help capture and refrect daylight deep withinthe structure

Passive DesignThe 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 ventilatedvia the cupola.

Site & ClimateThe 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’ plat-form and ventilation.

>> DESIGN CONCEPTBUILDING ANALYSIS


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BUILDING ANALYSIS>> CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

Erection of the cupola’s steel framing begin in June 1997 and the completed in Septem-ber 1988.

The first step was construction of a temporary steel formwork on which the ramps were sup-ported during their assembly.

With the ramps in place, the meridian structural ribs were in-stalled; in the completed struc-ture 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 brack-ets.

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>> CONSTRUCTION PROCESSBUILDING ANALYSIS

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 sec-tions to facilitate transportation and weld-ed together on site to form continuous lengths.

The cupola with its glazing nearing com-pletion.

The fast glazed panels are lifted in place.

The mirros that line the cone were se-cured in place and adjusted individually to ensure optimum efficiency.

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>> LOAD DISTRIBUTION ANALYSISBUILDING ANALYSIS

HORIZONTALBRACING

RAMPThe 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 struc-

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.

RAMP

VERITCAL RIB

TENSIONROD

TENSIONROD

VERTICALRIB

HORIZONTAL BRACING

HORIZONTAL BRACINGVERTICAL

RIB

TENSIONROD

RAMP

VERTICALRIB

>> LOAD DISTRIBUTION ANALYSISBUILDING ANALYSIS

BLOW UP DETAIL 3

BLOW UP DETAIL X

SOLAR CONEThe 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.

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 them-selves.

VERTICALRIB

TENSIONROD

TENSIONROD

VERTICALRIB

22 New German Parliament, Reichstag

THE CUPOLAWeight: 300 tons

> 2.5 meters across at its base, where it punctures the chamber ceil-ing, widening to 16 metres> Covered with 360 highly reflective glass mirrors

A computerized sun-following movable shield powered by photovoltaic cells, pre-vents penetration of solar heat and glare

>> THE CUPOLABUILDING ANALYSIS

New German Parliament, Reichstag 23

>> THE CONEBUILDING ANALYSIS

THE CONEHeight : 23.5 mDiameter : 40 mWeight : 1200 tonnesSteel : 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


>> COMPONENTSMODEL DESIGN PROCESS

CUPOLA

HORIZONTAl BRACING

VERTICAL RIBS

SPIRAL RAMP

SOLAR CONE

One skin for entire dome. 24 panes of glass per row.

Upper Ring Beam + 17 Steel horizontal bracing + Lower Ring Beam

24 x Steel Vertical Ribs

2 x Steel Helix Spiral Ramps

Dodecagon (12 sides) of reflective mirror.

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>> MATERIALSMODEL DESOGN PROCESS

1. DOME SKIN - PLASTIC SHEET (GLASS PANELS) - MODEL CARD SPRAYED SILVER (GLASS FRAME)

2. HORIZONTAL BRACING - MODEL CARD SPRAYED SILVER

3. VERTICAL RIBS - METALLIC CARD - WHITE TACK

4. SPIRAL RAMP - METALLIC CARD

5. SOLAR CONE - METALLIC CARD - ALUMINIUM FOIL SHEET - FOAM CARD (REFLECTIVE MIRROR PANEL)

MODELCARD

PLASTICSHEET

WHITETACK

METALLIC CARD

ALUMINIUM FOILSHEET

FOAMCARD


FOIL PAPER REINFORCED WITH METALLIC CARD TO MAKE REFLECTIVE MIRROR

PROTOTYPE TO FIND THE BEST WAY TO REP-RESENT THE BLOWN UP DETAIL

HOLE PIERCED TO ALLOW THREAD TO PASS THROUGH

PARTIALLY COMPLETED SOLAR CONETHE BACK OF THE CONE FACE SHOWING THE THREAD AND PLASTIC STICKS USED

COMPONENTS PRINTED OUT AND TRACED TO ENSURE ACCURACY

>> SOLAR CONEMODEL DESIGN PROCESS

PROTOTYPES OF THE REFLECTIVE MIRROR (BLOWN UP DETAIL) PANELS

INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS WITH VARYING LENGTHS ARRANGED ACC.TO POSITION

INITIALLY EACH PANEL WAS GLUED TO THE NEXT BUT RESULTED IN OVERLY RIGID FORM

CONFIRMED DESIGN OF THE REFLECTIVE MIR-ROR (BLOWN UP DETAIL) PANELS

The 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 pos-

sible, 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 at-tached the panels together using a combination of thread and adhesive.

SOLAR CONE


>> SPIRAL RAMPMODEL DESIGN PROCESS

FOIL PAPER REINFORCED WITH METALLIC CARD TO MAKE REFLECTIVE MIRROR

TEMPLATE FOR GLASS PANELS TO BE AT-TACHED TO THE CUPOLA SKIN

COMPONENTS FOR FRAMING THE GLASS PANELS

The Spiral Ramp is the main form of circulation in the Reichstag, it is also the most prominent as its dou-ble 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.

SPIRAL RAMP

SUN-SHADING DEVICE WITH FIXED CURVA-TURE

ATTACHING VERTICAL RIB TO THE BASE

INCLINED GLAZING AT CHAMBER AREA REFLECTIVE MIRROR PANEL RAISED

REFLECTIVE MIRROR PANEL LOWERED DOWN SECTION OF BUILDING WITH RIBS ERECTED

NEEDLES WERE USED TO ATTACH VERTICAL RIBS TO THE BASE BOARD


PROBLEM & SOLUTIONMODEL ANALYSIS

FIRST TRIAL

The individual panels were attached together using a strong adhesive but the strength of the adhesive jeop-ardized the curvature of the solar cone.

SOLUTION

Thread was used to connect the panels to preserve the flexibility of the surface.

#1

#2

#3

PANELS TOO STIFF #1 CURVATURE

MISTAKE

>> PROBLEM & SOLUTIONMODEL ANALYSIS

FIRST TRIAL

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 de-crease the errors present, even so, human errors are inevitable in cases such as these.

#2

FIRST TRIAL

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 hard-en. The hardened white tack added additional strength to the ribs and therefore, the structure.

VERTICAL RIBTOO WEAK #3


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 high-lighted 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 curva-ture. 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.


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 Tech-niques (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/ref-erence/reichstag-building-dome

Foster + Partners, Projects : New German Parliament, Reichstag - http://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/reichstag-new-german-parliament/

36 New German Parliament, Reichstag

WONG ROUNG-JANGGARY CHONG WEE MING

GOH KEE WOONDANIEL CHEW FENG YI

DAVID KOO MEI DAANG BOON CHEONG

ALEXIS OH KENG YEE

edited byALEXIS OH KENG YEE

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Report on SURFACE CONSTRUCTION OF THE REICHSTAG