Toyo Ito Mediatheque blurring Architecture, blurring boundaries

In March of 1995, a design competition for a new type of public architecture took place. Arata Isozaki, the chairman of the jury, proposed "mediatheque", a program that integrated a variety of facilities in order to seek out the direction for this new type of public facility.

The guiding principles of the Mediatheque are "to provide knowledge and culture at the forefront "not extremities but nodes "freedom from all barriers"

PLATE / flat slab, as thin as possible

TUBE / column, seaweed-like

SKIN / facade, screen

PLATE, TUBE, SKIN express the three elements in its purist form

Toyo Ito's emphasis in designing architecture, to blur the boundary between architecture and urban space, presented a simple solution and direction for the new mediatheque. The fundamental idea underlying the design was the creation of public places and spaces that would be independent of specific functions to accommodate the activities that are extremely complex. In essence, Ito liberated the discrepancies of the various programmatic elements and proffered a new direction concomitant with the ideals of the media age.

Mediatheque is an example that has successfully achieved Ito's continuing emphasis to blur the boundary between architecture and urban space. The struggle of maintaining the clarity of the diagram was to "blur" the boundaries, not only in a physical sense, but also in a psychological sense. Boundaries between outside / inside programmed space / open space service users / service providers space / people are ambiguous and blurred.

1.0 TUBES 2.0 PLATES 3.0 SKIN 4.0 SEISMIC

1.0 TUBES
1.1 Concept | Development

The vertical load-bearing elements were initially conceived as trees made of thin metal mesh. The intent of the meshes was to dissolve the traditional notions of a column and make it instead a space itself. The meshes had to be transformed instead into bundles of thick steel tubes in order to satisfy the shear, seismic, lateral, and gravity loads of the building structure. Within these structural parameters, though, the tree mesh concept largely determined the final design of the bundles and tubes.

1.1 Concept | Development Conceived as spaces themselves, the bundles of tubes are appropriately highly programmatic. The four corner bundles contain elevators and stairs. In addition, mechanical systems such as air conditioning, water supply, sewage, drainage, electricity, communication cables, and dumbwaiters all extend through these sheaves of tubes.

Both artificial and natural light are transmitted in these spaces as well. Optical light-deflecting elements on the roof and on the tubes bring daylight into the lowest levels of the building and are diffused into the lower spaces through prisms and lenses within the sheaves.

1.2 Architecture | Detail The initial vision of thin, free-form meshes rising and puncturing the floor slabs singularly guided the development and detailing of the sheaves.

1.2 Architecture | Detail The raised floor & the suspended soffit are terminated well short of the glass enclosure, providing a reveal which contributes immensely to the idea that the sheaves penetrate through the floor slabs and exist as the primary elements of the building.

1.2 Architecture | Detail The end plates terminate and extend far above the hollow floor construction, further giving an impression of penetration. The plates are circular & mitigate the angled quality of the glass enclosure.

1.2 Architecture | Detail The 12mm steel tubes which support the mullion system are extremely slender and are largely concealed behind the horizontal mullions. The effect adds to the lightness of the structure, as a glass skin seems to float around and enfold the structural sheaves.

1.2 Architecture | Detail The main tubes are selectively painted to emphasize the reading that the bundles are a single piece extending through the floors (even when they are composed and assembled in sections). The end ring of each bundle section is painted black rather than white, concealing the actual joint between the bundle sections and the differing ring section.

1.2 Architecture | Detail This shadowing effect through the thickness of the floor is very effective and highlights the continuation of the vertical pipes themselves through the building as free-flowing, continuous sheaves.

1.3 Structure | Construction Process Beginning with a uniform orthogonal 3x4 grid of bundled tubes, the engineer was able to transform and irregularize the grid by offsetting bundle center points and inserting additional bundles off the grid.

The engineer further varied bundle diameters and set the individual tube orientations at varying oblique angles within each bundle to more closely achieve the flowing, free-form, asymmetric qualities that the architect envisioned.

1.3 Structure | Construction Process These manipulations were made possible only through computer simulation; load & moment recalculations, node verifications, and member resizing with each successive transformation would have been much too laborious and slow with traditional methods.

1.3 Structure | Construction Structure >> 13 structural sheaves of tubes (2-9m wide) >> 4 corner sheaves - complex, three-dimensional lattice structures - bear gravity loads and provide rigidity to resist horizontal seismic forces. - provide primary resistance to eccentricity of vertical loads from the slanting of bundles & offsets of sheave center points from an orthogonal grid >> 9 other sheaves - more simple radial tube-ring structure - bear gravity loads only - some are twisted about z-axis to distribute loads more uniformly and reduce risk of buckling >> tubes: fire-resistant steel. thick pipe section (139.8 241.8 mm in outside diameter) tube thickness varies from 9 39mm depending on loading requirements

1.3 Structure | Construction Construction >> Sheaves are built in sections and are pre-fabricated and pre-welded in the manufacturers factories (Kawasaki Heavy Industry Ltd.) >> Sheaves are shipped to site as single weldment to be positioned and later welded to the sandwich floor plates and other weldment sections on site.

1.3 Structure | Construction Construction >> Each weldment, or section, has a top ring with an I-section and a bottom ring composed of either an I-section (corner sheave) or a single plate >> the I-beam/plate of the section above is welded and bolted with high tension bolts to the top flange of the I beam below (with a softer steel plate inserted between to reduce stresses).

1.3 Structure | Construction Construction >> The radial floor plate assembly pieces are then aligned with the sheaves >> the top plate of the floor piece extends and rests directly on top of the flange of the upper I-section. Stiffening plates on the topside and underside of the top plate provide rigidity at this connection. >> the top plate of the floor piece is then welded to the sheave flange for the four corner sheaves and bolted to the sheave flange for the other nine sheaves. The more orthogonally ribbed floor plates are then attached to the radial floor plate afterwards.

1.3 Structure | Construction Construction >> All structural connections were welded by hand on site, including the sheave to floor connections. Due to the incredible quantity and complexity of the welding required on site, thirty to forty shipyard workers were employed on site to work with the construction specialists.

1.4 Fireproofing | Glazing >> high performance fire-resistant steel was used for all structural members >> all structural steel treated with 3 levels of fire-resisting paint. >> fire-resistant cladding wraps the underside of the floor plates and extends into the sheave space to meet the lightweight concrete on the topside. >> framing for the glass is fireproofed and 3 types of glass were used to create adequate partitioning of floors from fire and smoke including: - heat-resistant glass (German-manufactured - fireproof tempered glass (Japan-manufactured) - wired glazing

2.0 PLATES Conceptually, each floor of the Sendai Mediatheque takes on a different character. Recognizing the ever-increasing multi-tasking in todays high-tech generation, Ito wanted to design a space that can take on different activities and programs. To further break the rigidity of highly specific functional spaces, the space was defined by aggregation of activities instead of designing the space according to the specific programmatic function. The spaces seek to transform themselves continuously as the citizens of these neighborhoods appropriate the space for their own activities.

Area 1 around the tubes

Area 1 requires load to be transmitted radially from the opening for the tubes. The web construction around this area consists of steel beams, arranged triangularly, that transmit loads directly onto the Ibeam ring that is connected to the tubes.

Area 2 where tubes are arranged in lines

Area 2 requires load to be transmitted in both directions equally to normalize the loads. The structure here consists of beams that are arranged in square grid to spread out the loads onto Area 1.

Area 3 remaining floor plate

Area 3 occupies between Area 2s and the beams in this area are rectangularly organized to direct the loads onto Area 2.

The plate construction in Area 2 and Area 3 are conventional The rectangular alignment of the beams in Area 3 is utilized here to distribute the load axially to Area 2.

These loads are then taken into Area 2 via the y-axis and re-direct to x axis in order to spread the load into Area 1.

The complexity of the construction Area 1 where loads have to be redistributed radially for the transferal of the load onto the tubes.

2.1

Area 1 requires load to be transmitted radially from the opening for the tubes. The web construction around this area consists of steel beams, arranged triangularly, that transmit loads directly onto the I-beam ring that is connected to the tubes. Area 2 requires loads to be transmitted in both directions equally to normalize the loads. The structure here consists of beams that are arranged in square grid to spread out the loads onto Area 1.

Area 3 occupies between Area 2s and the beams in this area are rectangularly organized to direct the loads onto Area 2

The I-beam rings around the tubes are prefabricated and brought to the site for assembly. Then the meshwork of Area 1 are constructed on site and welded on top of the I-beam rings of the 13 tubes. The structure of Area 1 is then connected by the square orthogonal matrix of Area 2. Finally, the plates are completed by bolting to the rectangular matrix of Area 1. The plate is then topped with light weight concrete along with a hollow floor construction for the sub-floors.

3.0 faade | skin 3.1. Design intent

The faade/skin is treated as separate entity from the other structural components of Mediatheque. Because of its transparent and immaterial quality, the skin does not distract visually from the tubes.

3.2 Double glazed south faade

The uses of glass fins, steel point fixing and tension rods minimize the connection joints, which further reinforces the faade as one continuous piece. The plenum in between further lends the Mediatheque a quality of openness.

3.3 Double functionality

The double skin faade acts as both an acoustic barrier and a buffer zone against solar gain. The discontinuous aluminum bands on the surface of the glass conceal the floor slabs behind. Again, reinforcing the separation between the three elements.

3.4 Aesthetics

While the faade is physically the most outer layer, it is the most recessive visually. The real and virtual worlds all melt into a seamless condition onto the skin/screen.

4.0 SEISMIC

In protecting occupants of the building, it is quite rarely the failure of structural systems, but rather the nonstructural systems failures (such as non-load-bearing wall, breakage of glass window panes, falling ceiling fixtures, and stuck-elevators) that have contributed the most to human fatality, injury, discomfort, and to property damage. But we assume that in high seismic zones, such as in Japan, these issues have already been confronted and solved.

TUBE - PLATE detail

Foundation detail Perimeter Wall detail

4.1 Vibration Theory | Foundation Detail | Perimeter Wall Detail The general theory of plate tectonics stipulates that seismic forces are created by earthquakes and manifest themselves in many forms: ground ruptures in fault zones, ground failure, tsunamis, and ground shaking. These complex seismic forces demand a more systematic design of building elements. This symbiosis then, can be demonstrated by examining two seismic theories vibration theory diaphragm theory And three details the foundation perimeter wall the plate-to-tube connection Under the previously described scenario of ground shaking, vibration theory describes the seismic force as a series of harmonic motions (but one should be aware that recent studies tend to model these motions as not simple harmonic motions, but rather eccentric), against which the building needs to laterally resist through its rigidity and damping

The Mediatheque, then, also employs both a base isolation device at the basement level and multiple dampening systems to include the perimeter wall to resist seismic forces in a manner that begins to reinforce the conceptualization of a simple building of tubes, plates and skin.

At the perimeter, the plate is supported at points and is allowed to move in a socket, a type of roller connection. The socket, of course, is lined with plastic absorptive material, and therefore the connection is also designed as a dampening device that could absorb the seismic vibration energy. However, there dampening devices, at the perimeter wall and at the connection between the tubes and foundation, provide little solace for major earthquakes that are prone to occur in Japan.

4.2 Diaphragm Theory | Tube-Plate Detail

The Mediatheques rigid structure is composed of four major tubes that resist both lateral and vertical loads and a diaphragm plate that transmits lateral loads to the tubes. While the four major tubes, located at the corners of the building in plan, provide a rigid structure, the rigid diaphragm plate maintains the rigidity of the structure by transmitting lateral loads to the tubes. Since the details of the tubes and plates have been discussed, it is important to understand the diaphragm theory that requires the plate and tubes to act together in resisting lateral loads.

The photograph and drawing shows that the connection between the diaphragm and the corner tubes relies on both welded connections and bolted connections. The Ibeam at the edge of the floor plate is welded to form the edge of the plate and then bolted to the I-beam that connects to the tubular steel. The I-beam that connects to the tubular steel are, in turn, welded to the tubular steel. Hence, we may be able to attribute the use of bolts rather than welds as an efficient method of constructing the building rather than for performance issues. At any rate, no matter which type of moment connection was used, the connection between the diaphragm and the tubular steel would be profoundly different from the connection used only to resist vertical forces.

For the vertically supporting tubes, the edges of the floor plate are simply connected to the I-beam that connects the tube. In this respect, although a line is drawn to represent either a bolt, we may be able to assume that the connection is not pinned but allowed movement, a roller joint. Additionally, the geometry of the tube itself lends us to believe that the tube is not capable of resisting lateral loads. Unlike the four corner tubes that use a xcross configuration, the nine other tubes do not triangulate the individual tubes to form the tube structure. As a result, the tubular structure interacts specifically with the diaphragm to clearly identify the laterally resisting tubes from the vertical only tubes through the detail of the joint.

4.3 Conclusion

Although Ito maintains the simplicity of his design as that composed of three elements, an examination of its seismic performance demonstrates how the tubular structure was differentiated into laterally and vertically supporting tubes that could interact more efficiently with the diaphragm. In diagram, Ito presents a rigid structure that can isolate itself from catastrophic ground movements and is mediated by only four main tubular structures at the corner of the floor plates. The rest of the tubes are more flexible in their lateral resistance and rather supports most of the vertical loads. Although the structure isolates itself from ground movements and dampens vibrations that are created by earthquakes, one would still be cautious of the use of glass structural members at the faade as a means to resist lateral load. The glass members, although strong, are quite brittle. Hence, the use of gaskets and absorption material is critical in the connections of the glass members.