LONG SPAN STRUCTURE
YASH VAICHAL
FOURTH YEAR
AAYOJAN SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE
TAIYUAN BOTANICAL GARDEN DOMES
THE BUILDING, WHICH IS USED AS A BOTANICAL GARDEN IS THE LARGEST EXAMPLE OF A WOODEN GRIDSHELL
SYSTEM NOT BUILT WITH TRIANGULAR GEOMETRY .
(DMAA) AND STRUCTURECRAFT COMPANIES MANAGED THE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND CONSTRUCTION
PROCESS OF THE COMPLEX, WHICH WAS DESIGNED AS THREE SEPARATE DOME [Link] SITE'S
CENTREPIECE IS A CLUSTER OF THREE DOMED GREENHOUSES THAT PROVIDE SUITABLE CLIMATIC
ENVIRONMENTS FOR GROWING PLANTS FROM DIFFERENT REGIONS.
. ALL THREE PARABOLIC GRIDSHELL SYSTEMS ARE
DOUBLE CURVATURE STRUCTURES COMPOSED OF 2 OR 3
CROSS GLULAM BEAMS.
THE DOMES ARE 2-LAYERED AND COVERED WITH GLASS
PANELS THAT CAN BE OPENED IN SOME PARTS. THE
SMALLEST STRUCTURE IS BUILT WITH TWO LAYERS OF
GLULAM WOOD, WHILE THE MIDDLE AND LARGEST
STRUCTURE IS BUILT WITH THREE LAYERS OF GLULAM
WOOD. SINCE THE SPAN AND HEIGHT RATIO OF THE
LARGEST DOME IS HIGHER THAN THE OTHERS, THE USE
OF STEEL CABLES IS HIGHER THAN THE OTHERS
THE FORMATION OF TESSELATION MODULE AND MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSION
OF TESSELATION PATTERN
THE DOMES ARE GLAZED WITH PANES
OF GLASS THAT ARE ALSO CURVED.
SOME OF THESE ARE WINDOWS THAT
CAN BE OPENED. VIEWED FROM ABOVE,
THE MAIN BEAMS LOOK LIKE
SHELLS THAT FAN OUT FROM NORTH
TO SOUTH. THE DEGREE OF GLAZING
TRANSPARENCY ADAPTS ALONG THE
BUILDING’S NORTH-SOUTH AXIS, AND
THE TIMBER GRIDSHELLS WERE TIMBER LATTICE DOMES WERE RANGES FROM ULTRA-TRANSPARE NT
MODELLED ON CLAM SHELLS.
DEVELOPMENT OF FORM BUILT FROM DOUBLE-CURVED ALONG THE SOUTH-FACING SURFACES
LAMINATED TIMBER BEAMS. TO FULLY OPAQUE ON THE NORTH SIDE.
THE HEART OF THE PROJECT CONSISTS OF THREE
GREENHOUSES IN THE SHAPE OF CLAM SHELLS. A LOT OF
TECHNICAL KNOW- ENERGY DESIGN, THERMAL PROTECTION,
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING, GLAZING, ASSEMBLY AND LOGISTICS
ALL REQUIRED CAREFUL PLANNING. THE STRUCTURAL
ENGINEERING FOR THE TIMBER LATTICE DOMES WAS THE
RESPONSIBILITY OF GERMAN COMPANY BOLLINGER + GROHMANN.
THE DESIGN INCORPORATED DETAILED KNOWLEDGE OF THE LOCAL
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS, THE THERMAL DEMANDS INSIDE THE
STRUCTURE AND THE STRUCTURAL EFFICIENCY. KEY PARAMETERS
FOR PLANNING WERE AIR CIRCULATION, LIGHTING, THERMAL HEAT
PRODUCTION AND STORAGE, AND WATER CATCHMENT FOR THE
PLANTS.
TAIYUAN BOTANICAL GARDEN DOMES OBTAINED WITH RECTANGULAR GEOMETRY.
SHELL STRUCTURES AND WOOD, STEEL, ALUMINUM AND GLASS MATERIALS WERE APPLIED IN TAIYUAN BOTANICAL
GARDEN DOMES .
TAIYUAN BOTANICAL GARDEN DOMES
BUILDING FUNCTION SCIENTIFIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, EXPERIMENTAL
PANEL SHAPE QUADRILATERAL
MODULE FORMATION TRANSLATION
MATHEMATICAL SEQUENCE [Link]
STRUCTURAL SHAPE CLUSTER SPHERE
STRUCTURE TYPE PARABOLIC GRIDSHELLS
STRUCTURE MATERIAL TRADITIONAL CHINESE WOOD, GLASS
THE HEIGHTS OF THE THREE DOMES ARE BETWEEN 12 AND 30 METERS, AND THEIR SPANS VARY FROM 43 METERS TO 88
METERS.
IN THE TAIYUAN BOTANICAL GARDEN DOMES STRUCTURE, WHICH SPANS 88 METERS, DOUBLE-LAYER CROSS WOODEN
BEAMS ARE APPLIED INSTEAD OF SINGLE-LAYER WOODEN MATERIAL TO PROVIDE THE SPAN. THE STRUCTURES
INVESTIGATED ARE MOSTLY ARCHITECTURAL WORKS OVER 40 METERS.
THE ENTRANCE BUILDING, WHICH IS APPROACHED FROM THE ACCESS ROAD VIA A LARGE COURTYARD, LEADS VISITORS
VIA AN OPEN STAIR THAT PASSES THROUGH A CIRCULAR OPENING IN THE SLAB ONTO A HUGE ROOF TERRACE, FROM
WHICH THEY CAN OVERSEE THE ENTIRE PARK AND BECOME AWARE OF THE BUILDING’S TWIN FUNCTION AS AN
INTERFACE BETWEEN ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPE. THE CANTILEVERED VIE-WING PLATFORM SOARS ABOVE THE
AREA OF WATER AT THE HEART OF THE PARK AND DIRECTS VISITORS TOWARDS THE THREE GREENHOUSES IN THE
BOTANICAL GARDENS.
THE LARGEST DOME CONTAINS THE TROPICAL GARDEN, WHILE THE SECOND PAVILION RECREATES A DESERT
ENVIRONMENT. THE SMALLEST DOME IS POSITIONED ON THE LAKE AND HOUSES A DISPLAY OF AQUATIC PLANTS.
THE GREENHOUSES FACE SOUTH FOR MAXIMUM SOLAR EXPOSURE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. THEIR TIMBER-GRID
SHELL STRUCTURES ARE DENSER ON THE NORTHERN SIDE AND MORE OPEN ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE TO OPTIMISE
SOLAR GAIN.
ALL THREE OF THE DOMES ARE GLAZED WITH DOUBLE-CURVED GLASS AND INCLUDE OPENABLE WINDOWS THAT HELP
TO MAINTAIN THE DESIRED INTERNAL CLIMATES.
THROUGH THE COOPERATION OF ALL TEAM MEMBERS ON THREE DIFFERENT CONTINENTS IN LESS THAN A YEAR, A
UNIQUE SERIES OF LONG-SPAN TIMBER STRUCTURES WAS DELIVERED TO THE CITY OF TAIYUAN, PROVIDING A
BEAUTIFUL, WORLD-CLASS ATTRACTION THAT EMPHASIZES BOTH SUSTAINABILITY AND STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY.
ENGINEERING & DESIGN
TIMBER WAS CHOSEN FOR THIS PROJECT DUE TO ITS ADAPTABILITY TO THE GEOMETRIC DEMANDS, ITS INHERENT FIRE RESISTANCE,
STRUCTURAL FLEXIBILITY, NATURAL AESTHETIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY. WHEN VIEWED FROM ABOVE, THE TIMBER STRUCTURES
RESEMBLE SEASHELLS, WITH THE PRIMARY MEMBERS TIGHTLY SPACED ON ONE SIDE AND FANNED OUT ACROSS THE SURFACE OF THE DOMES.
THIS COMPLEX ARRANGEMENT MEANS THAT EVERY ONE OF THE 2,400 MEMBERS IS UNIQUE, SO COMPUTATIONAL GENERATION AND DIGITAL
FABRICATION TECHNIQUES WERE PARAMOUNT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT.
THERE WERE NUMEROUS CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH A GRIDSHELL WHICH IS NON-TRIANGULATED, INCLUDING MULTI-MODAL SNAP-
THROUGH BUCKLING, WHICH WAS MITIGATED THROUGH A LIGHT DIAGRID LAYER OF NEARLY INVISIBLE, BUT CAREFULLY DETAILED CABLES AND
ADJUSTABLE NODES, WHICH WERE USED TO EFFICIENTLY TENSION THE CABLES.
FABRICATION AND INSTALLATION
THE ORIENTATION OF THE BEAMS WAS OPTIMIZED TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF MILLING THAT WAS REQUIRED, WHILE
STILL ACHIEVING THE DOUBLY CURVED SHELL GEOMETRY ENVISIONED BY THE PROJECT ARCHITECTS. THE CURVED
TIMBER BEAMS, PRODUCED BY TWO DIFFERENT EUROPEAN GLULAM MANUFACTURERS, WERE THEN PACKED
TOGETHER IN SHIPPING CONTAINERS USING AN ALGORITHM TO ORGANIZE IN THE ORDER THAT THEY WOULD BE
NEEDED FOR SITE ASSEMBLY IN CHINA.
THE BEAM CROSSING ELEMENTS WERE NOTCHED TO FIT
TIGHTLY TOGETHER, AND PRE-DRILL HOLE LOCATIONS WERE
MAPPED IN GRASSHOPPER, THEN DRILLED BY CNC SO
WORKERS ON SITE COULD INSTALL APPROXIMATELY 60,000
SCREWS IN THE REQUIRED LOCATIONS. AT THE JUNCTION
WITH THE GROUND, THE TIMBER BEAMS CONNECT TO STEEL
ASSEMBLIES THAT ARE WELDED TO EMBED PLATES CAST
INTO THE CONCRETE. ALL BEAMS APPROACH THE GROUND AT
DIFFERENT ANGLES, SO EACH STEEL COMPONENT IS UNIQUE
BUT GENERATED FROM A SIMPLE SET OF PARAMETRIC
RULES.
THE PREFABRICATED PANELS RANGED FROM 20–30 FT. WIDE
AND 30–40 FT. LONG. THESE WERE PREASSEMBLED
ADJACENT TO THE DOMES AND CRANED INTO PLACE ONTO
TEMPORARY SCAFFOLDING, WHOSE GEOMETRY WAS
PRESCRIBED IN THE ERECTION DRAWINGS.
