ng ridging rriver’s iver’s eedge dge ssports ports ccomplex

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BB RIDGINGRIDGING RRIVERSIVERS EE DGEDGE SS PORTSPORTS CC OMPLEXOMPLEX

A STUDY IN STRUCTURE

BYROBERT L. THOMAS

1997

Thesis submitted to the faculty of Virginia Polytechnic Instituteand State University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for

the degree of MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE

APPROVED BY:

_________________________________________Paul Clark, Chairman

_________________________________________Mario Cortes

_________________________________________Bill Green


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INTRODUCTION

MODERN STRUCTURAL HISTORY

RIVERS EDGE SPORTS COMPLEX (SITE)

RELATED STRUCTURES AND DESIGN PROCESS

THE BRIDGE BUILDING AND FACILITIES

ILLUSTRATION CREDITS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

VITA

TTABLEABLE OOFF CCONTENTSONTENTS

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II NTRODUCTIONNTRODUCTION

I think that a great step towards a new, true, structural architecture will havebeen made as soon as designers are convinced that every part of a structure has- in itself, and in its relationship to the materials of which it is built and to itsspecific static functions - a potential, intrinsic, formal richness, and that theessence of a structural project and the widest field for the manifestation of per-sonal sensitivity consists in accepting, interpreting and rendering visible theseobjective requirements.

-Pier Luigi Nervi

Between the size of the house and that of the tower or the bridge lie the buildingson which most architects focus their attention. At that in-between scale, whetheror not structure is expressed, is a function of the architects personal morality of

form . . . (However), when the span is large or the building high, the flow offorces insists to be recognized.

-Peter McCleary

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In the past, the structure ofthe building was more evident:unobstructed columns revealedthe amount of force being carriedthrough their degree of slender-ness; flying buttresses counter-acted the lateral force of a specificload; even the load bearing wallsindicated the pressures beingwithstood by their varying thick-nesses. Today many architectshave disguised their buildingswith an all encompassing curtainwall facade that hides its struc-tural composition. The trend to

mask structure in the work of ar-chitecture overlooks the potentialof structure to add to a buildingsdesign. Louis Kahn believed theartist instinctively keeps themarks which reveal how a thingis done. There is an innate hu-man desire to understand thefunction and stability of a build-ing, and the clarity of the struc-

tural design is a foundation forthis understanding. When askeda question concerning the role ofstructure in architecture, PierLuigi Nervi stated, Structuralcorrectness . . . is identical withfunctional, technical and eco-nomic truthfulness and is a nec-essary and sufficient condition ofsatisfactory aesthetic results.

In the present project, I ex-plore this issue of revealing thestructural integrity of a buildingthrough the design of a recre-ational sports facility. The desig-nated site for this sports facility isthe Rivers Edge Sports Complexlocated in Roanoke, Virginia. Aunique setting because theRoanoke River nearly cutsthrough the center of this site di-viding the northern half with theexisting football stadium, VictoryStadium, the National Guard Re-serve Armory, and Maher Baseball

Field from the southern portioncontaining athletic fields, tenniscourts, and a playground. In or-der to consolidate the facilities intoone sports complex, I propose anumber of interventions includinga bridge building, observationtower, coliseum, natatorium, rac-quetball courts, and exerciserooms. The goal of providing a

smooth unifying path over theriver, while creating a unique set-ting, presents an intriguing archi-tectural challenge. The investiga-tion focuses on the appropriate ar-chitectural expressions and struc-tural possibilities of the long span-ning bridge building since it is thecentral unifying element of thesports complex.

Massive unobstructed columns inthe Hypostye Hall of the greattemple complex at Karnak, Egypt.

At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,France, flying buttresses elegantlyresist the lateral forces of the roof.

Notice the window depths in theload bearing walls of the Monad-nock Building in Chicago. Thewalls vary from 18 inches at the

top to 6 feet at the base.

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MM ODERNODERN SS TRUCTURALTRUCTURAL HH ISTORYISTORY

AN ARCHITECTURAL LOOK AT SPAN AND HEIGHT

Considered an international symbol because of its architectural excellence, the Golden GateBridge also has the tallest towers of any bridge, and one of the longest spans in the world.

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Modern structural architecture was born 146 years ago in London, Englandwith the construction of William Paxtons celebrated Crystal Palace (see figure).Although it was a very large building with significant spans, the Crystal Palacewas assembled and dismantled with unheard of efficiency due to its modular de-sign and use of prefabricated components. Also, unlike the masonry buildings ofits time, only an iron lattice work supported the uniform sheets of glass in woodused throughout the building. This famous glass and iron building presaged theprefabrication and demountability of metal frame construction which has totallyaltered the structure and design of architecture in the twentieth century. The de-sign of the Crystal Palace was so revolutionary that it remained at the forefront ofbuilding progress until the erection of Eiffels timeless tower in Paris in 1889.

When the Eiffel Tower was completed it soared nearly twice as high as theWashington Monument, the tallest structure during that time. Through his knowl-edge gained from building high railroad viaducts through the windy valleys of theMassif Central, Eiffel designed the nearly transparent structure with graceful ta-

pering lines to resist the force of wind (see figure). This tower was not only the firsttruly large-scale industrialized construction project, but also exemplified harmoni-ous integration of architecture and engineering. For the first time in history thedesign of a large public project was not dictated by formalistic preconceptions, butwas truly an abstract form rooted in the laws of physics. Eiffels ingenuity alsomade possible the physical construction of this project. All the sections were pre-fabricated off-site because of time constraints and the enormous size of the struc-ture. Additionally, hydraulic jacks were placed at the base of each leg so the towercould be raised or lowered into perfect alignment - an invaluable idea since twoand a half million rivets, locking 12,000 pieces together, needed to line up perfectly.

In the United States, bridge construction pushed the envelope of structuralknowledge with singular daring: the most famous during this time being John andWashington Roeblings Brooklyn Bridge, another engineering triumph and workof art. Hailed as the eighth wonder of the world when completed, the BrooklynBridge was the worlds longest suspension bridge with a span of 1600 feet. Its twomassive Gothic towers soared 276 feet above the river, and the four main cablessuspended from these towers were an enormous 16 inches in diameter. One ofJohn Roeblings many innovations, the slanted cable or stay, was used alongwith the suspension cables to help keep the roadway steady in high winds (seefigure). He also invented a traveling-wheel rig for this project which enabled

Crystal Palace

Eiffel Tower

Brooklyn Bridge

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workers to lay looped cable wire one loop at a time - a method continued by bridgeengineers to this day. This invention eliminated the necessity of hoisting heavycable, and the possible harm inflicted on the towers due to hoisting.

The experiments and calculations of the bridge engineers led logically to theevolution of the contemporary steel-framed skyscraper - a unique American devel-opment centered in Chicago in the 1880s. There were several factors which led tothe development of the skyscraper. Elishas Otiss invention of a reliably safe el-evator, and the soaring cost of land in the large metropolitan areas were two promi-nent ones, but the heights of the modern skyscrapers would not have been possiblewithout the evolution of engineering knowledge with respect to the new materialsiron and steel. Beginning with William LeBaron Jenneys Home Insurance Build-ing in 1885 (see figure), a buildings design incorporated an internal steel frame tocarry its weight. Earlier cast-iron and wrought iron frames had been used success-fully with masonry walls; however, it was the lighter internal steel skeleton, withsignificantly higher compression and tensile strengths, that made tall buildings

practical, changing the urban skyline throughout the world.Bridges and towers have continued to be on the forefront of technology andarchitecture in the area of structural steel design. One of the first people who un-derstood the significance of this new engineering, and used it artistically was LouisSullivan around the turn of the century. He raised the technical achievement of theskyscraper to the level of great architecture. The 1920s gave us the elegant ChryslerBuilding, while the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge were com-pleted in the 1930s. All are known for their architectural greatness, and each brokethe record for height and span respectively. Mies van der Rohe designed the SeagramBuilding in 1958, the prototype of the glass-and-metal, flat-topped, high rise. The

awe-inspiring Verrazano Narrows Bridge, completed in 1964, is currently the recordholder for the longest span in the world. The exterior x-braced John Hancock Cen-ter, designed by Fazlur Khan and Bruce Graham, was finished in 1968, and set theprecedent for the 1980s exterior braced Hongkong Bank (see figure) by NormanFoster and Shanghai Bank designed by I.M. Pei.

The iron and steel frame changed the world or architecture by significantlyincreasing the limits of height and span possible, but when steel bars were embed-ded in concrete to form reinforced concrete, a radical new style and structure wasborn. Concrete alone had been used by Roman builders to enclose large open spaces.The most famous example of this being the concrete dome of the Pantheon, which

Home Insurance Building

Hongkong Bank

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had a span of 144 feet. Notwithstanding, reinforced concretes unparalleled strengthand unique monolithic nature made possible the enclosure of space with unprec-edented spans. These spans could be achieved by methods such as thin-shelledvaults and free-curving shapes impossible to the traditional post and beam con-struction. Through the work of architects like Nervi, Candela, Saarinen, andCalatrava reinforced concrete has shown its true potential, and has been lifted to agreat architectural form of its own. A building which exemplifies reinforcedconcretes unique architectural form is Pier Luigi Nervis Palazzetto dello Sport(see figure), whose considerable span is supported by striking y-shaped columnsalong the entire perimeter of the roof. Ganter Bridge in Switzerland (see figure)shows the potential of reinforced concrete for bridge design and other industrialprojects.

Throughout the ages technology has continued to enable new and fascinat-ing possibilities for architects and engineers. Normally the potential of a new in-novation is not realized in its early stages. The reasons for this are mainly two-fold:

the designers need time to fully understand the new technology, and our naturalresistance to change requires some time be allowed for adjustment. Many Parisiansfelt the Eiffel Tower was an eye sore when it was first completed, and critics ini-tially called the new structures using reinforced concrete unsubstantial and aes-thetically unsatisfactory. The complete readjustments of structural depth, in rela-tion to the loads and stresses made possible by steel and reinforced concrete, of-fended traditional sensibilities.

Changes in building technology have increased dramatically in the yearssince the dawn of the Crystal Palace. People have adjusted themselves to acceptchange more willingly because it is so common. In fact many would argue that one

now has to be willing to accept change to survive. Even though new materialsprompt original structures, the architecture of a building will always be based onthe solidity of the design and attention to detail. Pier Luigi Nervi stated it elo-quently, Today no one doubts that a work of architecture must be a stable, unified,enduring organism, in accordance with its surroundings and the functions that itmust satisfy, balanced in all parts, sincere in its supporting structure and technicalelements, and at the same time capable of giving that indefinable emotion that wecall beauty. . . and that this result can be achieved with a liberty of means unsus-pected yesterday.

Ganter Bridge

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Palazzetto dello Sport


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RRIVERSIVERS EE DGEDGE SS PORTSPORTS CC OMPLEXOMPLEX

THE EXISTING SITE CONDITIONS

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Looking west over the Rivers Edge Sports Complex from Roanoke Memorial Hospital


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The Rivers Edge Sports Complexis located in southwest Virginia, arelatively temperate climate withlong pleasant spring and falls.Winters are cold with normal lowsin the mid 20s Fahrenheit. Snow

is common, the average annualsnow fall in Roanoke is 23 inches,but amounts vary greatly depend-ing on location. Summers are hotand humid with the normal highsreaching nearly 90 degrees Fahren-heit. According to BOCA, the windspeed used for design is 70 m.p.h.,and the average yearly precipita-tion is around 40 inches.

Roanoke is the largest city in Vir-ginia west of Richmond with apopulation of nearly 100,000. It isthe center of the Roanoke Valley, a270,000 population area also com-prised of Roanoke, Craig andBotetourt counties, the Town of

Vinton and City of Salem. Relativeto the middle of downtownRoanoke, the Rivers Edge SportsComplex is located slightly to thesoutheast, just off the 581 bypassand Route 220. An important geo-logical feature of this city and thecomplex is the Roanoke River,which flows through the heart ofeach.


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Roanoke is a beautiful city nestled in the Appalachian mountains. Many refer to Roanoke as TheStar City because of its most visible attraction, a 100 foot high star shaped illuminated structure.This picture of Roanoke was taken at the base of this star which lies on the top of Mill Mountain.


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A view of the Rivers Edge SportsComplex north of the RoanokeRiver. The main structure in thissection is Victory Stadium, with theNational Guard Reserve Armory atits northern end and a fountain toits south. Behind the west standsis the stadiums unpaved parkinglot. West of this is the Parks andRecreation Building, with its park-ing lot surrounded by trees.Maher Baseball Field is on theother side of this parking lot, whilethe School Department is the build-ing still further to the west.

A view of the southern part of theRivers Edge Sports Complex. Thesouthern and eastern limits aremarked by the railroad tracks.Wiley Drive runs along its north-

ern end with tree shaded parkingaccessible on the southern side ofthe road. Looking east to west,there are two practice baseballfields with rest rooms and an eat-ing area just to their southwest.Next are several soccer/footballfields with large light poles, andbarely visible are the tennis courtsin the distance.


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The existing service entrance toVictory Stadium, which is verysimilar to the entrance conditionfor the proposed facility (the ma-jor difference being the rows oftrees would be twice as long.) Atthe end of this existing processionof trees is a gate surrounding thestadium. Once past this gate, ser-vice vehicles can continue straight,traveling between the West Standsand the exterior fence, or make animmediate left. By turning left, ve-hicles can continue past another setof gates and onto the football field.

The procession of trees for the ser-vice entrance to Victory Stadiumcan be seen here on the left. Thispicture shows the location of theproposed northern entrance to the

new facility. This entrance will belined with trees on both sides formost of its length, except for twoplaces which allow cars to turnright into the main parking lot. Thevisitor will have the option of turn-ing into this parking lot, or drop-ping passengers off first at a turn-around which will terminate theprocession of trees.


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An exterior view of the west standsof Victory Stadium, a stadiumwhich commemorates the veteransof World War I. Here was thebattleground for the heated rivalrybetween VPI and VMIs footballteams. This was considered bymany the biggest event of the yearin Roanoke, and was eagerly an-ticipated by fans and media alike.Although Victory Stadium nolonger hosts this game, local highschools play football games at thestadium, and other events such asconcerts are also performed here.

The location of Victory Stadium isquite unique. These are the eaststands with Roanoke MemorialHospital and Mill Mountain in thebackground. With the impressive

mountain as a backdrop, and theRoanoke River flowing just past aninteresting fountain south of thefield (see next page), it is truly abeautiful setting for viewing anevent. Unfortunately, the stadiumhas deteriorated and is in need ofrepair. Therefore, a renovationwould coincide with the erectionof the new sports facility.


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Trees line both sides of the RoanokeRiver for its entire length until thestretch south of the stadium. Thisallows spectators a good view ofthe citys graceful namesake.

The trees lining the Roanoke Riverprovide a naturally beautiful back-drop for many of the activities inwhich one could participate at theRivers Edge Sports Complex. Theproposed facility would cut acrossthe Roanoke River at this location;an environmentally sensitive routewhich would require less choppingof trees than most paths would re-quire.

These two magnificent poplar treeswould stand like sentinels on eitherside of the proposed bridge build-ing. These are just two of the manybeautiful trees which constitute thevertical walls enshrouding theRoanoke River. This picture wastaken from the small, very ordi-nary, pedestrian bridge whichwould be demolished and replacedby the core building, the build-ing which would bridge the riverunifying the entire Rivers EdgeSports Complex.


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There are six tennis courts in su-perb condition which would re-main untouched by the proposedlayout for the entire complex. Lo-cal tournaments are held here aswell as the tennis for the Common-wealth Games - a tournamentwhich attracts players from allaround the state. Most of theRivers Edge Sports Complex isvery flat, but this picture was takenfrom a nice shaded knoll wherespectators could watch the tennisfrom an elevated position withoutsitting on the hot bleachers.

A backboard is located adjacent tothe tennis courts which offers anexcellent place to practice yourgroundstrokes. It is also used bythe locals for a place to practice

throwing and catching lacrosseballs. This masonry block wall hastwo practice areas on either sidewhich are completely surroundedby a fence to keep stray balls fromtraveling too far. Some efflores-cence caused by exposure to raincan be seen on the wall, but thisdoes not affect the trajectories ofthe balls coming off it.


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A gazebo is located south of thebackboard, and to the west of thetennis courts. It provides a niceshelter from the sun for the tennisspectators, or for parents keepingwatch over their children enjoyingthemselves on the playground.Since there is not a building nearby,the gazebo also offers a convenientplace to wait out a short summerstorm for people playing tennis. Inaddition to providing shelter, thisgazebo has a picnic table inside sopeople can eat a lunch or snack ina pleasant environment.

The playground located west of thetennis courts has a rope swing, sev-eral slides, and numerous climbingstations to keep young kids enter-tained for hours. This view also

shows the quaint grove of trees inthe background. This grove, whichis just west of the backboard, pro-vides a perfect spot for relaxing inthe shade or having a picnic. Thetrees in the grove, along with theother trees surrounding the play-ground, effectively shelter this en-tire area from the traffic on FranklinStreet.


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RRELATEDELATED SS TRUCTURES ANDTRUCTURES AND DD ESIGNESIGN PP ROCESSROCESS

The original idea for this project was to have a bridge building hung by verticalcables connected to an arch similar to the Pont dAusterlitz in Paris, France.

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My originalconcept unified the twohalves of the Rivers Edge SportsComplex by bridging over theRoanoke River and Wiley Drive.Unification and spanning were thedriving forces behind the corepart of the new facility. I envi-sioned a smooth flowing path be-tween the football stadium andfields to accomodate the majorityof the circulation. The bridge alsoenabled spectators to readily enjoya baseball game, or watch the ac-tivities on the tennis courts locatedon the other side of the river.

The first masterplan for the entirecomplex indicates the three pri-mary components of the proposedfacility: the core bridge building,a natatorium, and a basketball coli-

seum. The northern entrance to thenew facility is a straight path fromReserve Avenue, allowing visitorsan uninterrrupted view of thecore building and tower fromthis road. The parking for foot-ball is located west of Victory Sta-dium, while the parking for thepool and basketball is positionedsouth of the gym and natatorium.

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The masterplan is in the final stagesof the design. The natatorium andexercise buildings are located farenough apart that the view of theunification path over the river isnot compromised. Trees arealigned along both sides of thenorthern entrance to make an en-ticing promenade. The major prob-lems which still need to be resolvedare: the fields and tennis courts ontheir own axis do not fit well withthe rest of the complex, and theparking lots still need further re-finement.

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The forms of the coliseum, exercisebuilding, and natatorium are to thepoint where they can be visualized,and the locations of their interiorspaces are well developed. The

structural systems of the two largebuildings, the coliseum and nata-torium, can be recognized. Theobservation tower is aligned withthe bridge building and not theother facilities to distinguish themas the core section of the pro-posed sports complex. A thoroughstructural investigation of thebridge building is now needed.


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The notion of a building function-ing as a bridge is unusual, but notunprecedented. One of the earli-est, and perhaps the most famous,is London Bridge which began itsconstruction in 1176 and took 33

years to complete. It was designedby Peter of Colechurch, a priest andengineer. This icon functioned asa 900 foot long bridge, as well as aplace to live and shop, for over 600years, despite misuse and neglect.The bridge had a draw, 19 pointedarches, and sturdy piers on pointedfoundations to resist the tides.

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An existing example of a bridgealso functioning as a building isPonte Vecchio in Florence, Italy. Itis the oldest bridge in Florence andwas reconstructed out of stone in

1345. After the previous woodenbridge was destroyed by a flood in1333, Neri di Fioravante designedthis stone bridge to have shops runalong both sides. These shops wereoriginally rented to butchers; how-ever, they were later assigned togold and silversmiths: a traditionthat is still respected to a good ex-tent today.


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The original idea for the bridgebuilding has it spanning width-wise over the Roanoke River. Thisconcept enables people to cross theriver, but it has several problems.Wiley Drive separates this build-

ing from the rest of the proposedfacilities, and spectators have totraverse across its traffic. This ori-entation also necessitates an enor-mous suspended building whichsignificantly increases the cost ofthe project.

Later versions orient the bridgebuilding to span length-wise overthe Roanoke River. A pedestrianbridge crosses over Wiley Drive,and a small observation tower al-lows visitors to either continue tothe fields below, or an elevatedview of the entire complex.

A cross section of the final designhaving the bridge building sus-pended by an arch. This designrequires elevators which disruptthe smooth crossing of the river.Therefore I moved to a cable stayedsystem to facilitate and expressflow, unification and bridging.


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The Albert Bridge, which spansacross the River Thames in Lon-don, England, opened in 1873 mak-ing it one of the earliest examplesof cable-stayed bridges. It wasstrengthened in 1884 by replacing

the wire ropes with the steel linkchains of the present bridge, and amid-span support was added towithstand modern traffic loads.The structure uses both curvedchains hung from each tower, andstraight chains acting as the cablestays, to support the three spansof 147 feet, 384 feet, and 147 feet.

This is Santiago Calatravas pro-posal for the Sevilla Bridge, an ex-tra-urban viaduct linking the Span-ish cities of Sevilla and Camas. Thetwo twin towers at the one end of

the bridge soar to a height of 531.5feet and secure the cable staysalong most of their length. Thisharp cable arrangement sup-ports the 820 foot long bridge deck,which has a road and a raisedwalkway nearly 15 feet wide. Thetwo towers are inclined to moreefficiently resist the lateral forcedue to the cables.


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This cable-stayed concrete bridgenear Vienna, Austria, elegantlycrosses the Danube Canal. Like theAlbert Bridge, all the cable staysoriginate from the top of the sup-ports, however, these cables do not

fan outward, but are aligned inparallel. This bridge was con-structed in two self-supportingpieces, each parallel to the banksand balanced on one pier. Thehalves were then rotated on thepiers and connected at mid-span.The outer spans are 180 feet, whilethe center span measures 390 feet.

This is a close-up of how the cablestays of the bridge above are an-chored to the bridge deck. Thecable stays for my bridge buildingare anchored in a very similar man-

ner; the major difference being mydesign calls for them to fan out-ward, therefore causing each stayto be secured to the building at in-tervals. Like this bridge, the staysin my project are initially securedto the supports, then tensionedfrom below. They are also attachedto the base of the building wheresmall adjustments can be made.


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The roof of the airport terminalbuilding at Dulles InternationalAirport is supported in tension bycables. This building, which is lo-cated near Washington, D.C., wasdesigned by Eero Saarinen in the

late 50s and early 60s with a spanof 141 feet. There are two rows ofcolumns forty feet apart on eachside of the concourse, sixty-five feethigh on the approach side, andforty feet on the field side.Saarinen likened his design to ahuge continuous hammock sus-pended between concrete tress.

This cross section of the Dullesconcourse reveals how the roof issuspended. The point of connec-tion of the roof cable to the pierson the approach side is nearly 50

feet above the ground, while theconnection for the field side occursat approximately 34 feet. Similarto my project, these piers increasetheir width towards the groundand are inclined to efficientlycounteract the resultant cable forcelocated near the top of the sup-ports.


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This building in Squaw Valley,California shows how a roof can besuspended by cable stays in a strik-ing style. Built for the WinterOlympic Games, this building en-closes an ice rink with a 300 foot

roof span designed to withstand asnow load of 50 psf. The specified100 psf snow load for this area wasreduced by pumping warm airthrough the cells of the roof deck.The towers are restrained frombuckling inward by cables, andthey were prestressed backwards,so they are straight under live load.

The Westcoast Office Building inVancouver, Canada shows that en-tire buildings can be suspended bycable stays. In this twelve storybuilding, the floors are hung from

the top of the central 270 foot highconcrete core by sets of continuoussteel bridge cables. The floors wereerected from the top down, and thecables are largest at the top and re-duce in size toward the ground asthe loads lessen. The core is 36 feetby 36 feet in section, and can beseen at both the top and bottom ofthe building.


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My exploration of the cable stayedbridge building considered theform of the observation tower andthe arrangement of the cables. Inthe early stages of design I experi-mented with supporting the pedes-

trian bridge from the observationtower as well as from the bridgebuildings structural towers. Bothentrance ramps are also supportedby cable stays in many of the earlysketches, an idea changed at a laterstage. My early designs also havethe cables attached to the top of thebridge building; further in the de-

sign process the connections arelocated at the buildings base.

This is one of the last drawings ofthe bridge building before I startedcompleting the design usingCADD. The cable stays now sup-

port it from below, plus its eleva-tion and plan are well developed.The inclined supports have foun-dations which extend outward,nearly to the ends of the building,to counteract the large overturningmoment. The elevation clearlyshows my intention to have thisbuilding hover by only being

vertically suppprted by the cables.


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The east elevation of the first de-veloped study model using thecable stayed support system. Theshape of the bridge building andits four supports are close to theirfinal version. A left entrance, or

southern ramp, is in the final de-sign, but I was thinking visitorswould just use an elevator or stairsin the tower to reach the groundduring this time. The pedestrianbridge is not supported by cables,but it is only in the very early stagesof design.

The northern elevation of the facili-ties comprising the path acrossthe river from an elevated per-spective to clearly show the cablestays are connected to the roof ofthe bridge building. The location

of the observation tower betweenthe supports of the bridge build-ing has been determined, and itsexterior walls are aligned with therest of the path, but it is still justan unarticulated volume. Obvi-ously the northern entrance is notvery developed, but it is straightlike the final version and approxi-mately the same length.


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Three precedents considered in thedevelopment of my observationtower were left to right: the televi-sion tower in Stuttgart, Germany,the Seattle Space Needle, and theCN Tower in Toronto. The base di-

ameter of the television tower is35.4 feet with a concrete wall thick-ness of only 2.4 inches. The threecurved legs of the Seattle SpaceNeedle consist of three 36 inchwide flange steel beams weldedflange-to-flange to form a 3-sidedtube. The CN Tower is the tallestfreestanding structure in the world

and gracefully soars to a height of1,815 feet.

While studying numerous existingtowers like the three above, I real-ized I needed to begin my explo-ration of its form with a clear pureconcept. Here I dismiss with thenotion of having several levels ofobservation decks for one near thetop of the tower. This idea leads toa much stronger form, and due tothe height of the coliseum and na-tatorium, is a more reasonable al-ternative.


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The observation tower for the secondstudy model is taller than the first for a

better view over the natatorium and coli-seum. The hexagonal base allows for asmooth circulation pattern around the coreof the tower. An elevator is located insidethe core and can be accessed from theground level, the pedestrian bridge level,or the observation deck. An enclosed ex-terior staircase winds its way around thestem to the observation deck revealing theslenderness of the towers core.

The southern entrance to the new facili-ties affords visitors two paths. The lower

one allows them to check into the com-plex on the ground level of the tower, andthen to either proceed to the natatoriumon the right, or left toward the exerciserooms and coliseum. The curved ramp,which is not monolithic in the final design,is used to gain access to the bridge build-ing or to cross the Roanoke River. Alongwith the change to the ramp, the observa-tion deck is reduced in the final design.


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The west elevation of the secondstudy model shows the curvedramp for the southern exit leadingpeople to the fields on that side.Both ramps are monolithic on thismodel; however, the final design

calls for ramps to be supported onunobstructed columns. Thischange allows pedestrians to walkunderneath the northern ramp onthe jog path, and it enables thelower entrance to the observationtower to be widened. This isneeded because many of the visi-tors will also be using this path.

This east elevation shows the lowerpath to the observation tower tun-neling through the curved south-ern ramp. As mentioned above,this lower path needs to be wid-

ened and a nonmonolithic designmakes this possible. The pedes-trian bridge still needs to be devel-oped. Here it would be supportedby the tower and bridge building,but the end of the bridge buildingis already cantilevered making thisdesign very inefficient. The finalversion has the pedestrian bridgesupported by two columns.

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The proposed buildings for the Rivers Edge Sports Complex

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Nervi quote: Building, Projects Structures 1953 - 1963. p. 8McCleary quote: AIA Journal. p. 58

Hypostyle Hall: The Builders: marvels of engineering. p. 215Notre Dame Cathedral: Structural Engineering Slide Library. F8Monadnock Building: Fundamentals In Building Construction. p. 283

Golden Gate Bridge: Structural Engineering Slide Library. C35

Crystal Palace: A History of Architecture. p. 593Eiffel Tower: 4 Days In Paris. p. 9Brooklyn Bridge: Structural Engineering Slide Library. C17

Home Insurance Building: William LeBaron Jenney: a pioneer of modern architecture. p. 238Hongkong Bank: The Builders: marvels of engineering. p. 144

Palazzetto dello Sport: Buildings, Projects Structures 1953-1963. p. 36Ganter Bridge: The Builders: marvels of engineering. p. 72

Pont dAusterlitz: Structural Engineering Slide Library. B24

London Bridge: The Builders: marvels of engineering. p. 55Ponte Vecchio: Structural Engineering Slide Library. p. B9

Albert Bridge: Structural Engineering Slide Library. C54Sevilla Bridge: Santiago Calatrava: engineering architecture. p. 163-164

Vienna bridge: Structural Engineering Slide Library. C61

Vienna bridge: Structural Engineering Slide Library. C63

Dulles Airport: Structural Engineering Slide Library. C66Dulles section: TWA Terminal Building and Dulles International Airport. p. 43

Ice rink: Structural Engineering Slide Library. F26Westcoast Office Building: Structural Engineering Slide Library. C80

German television tower: Structural Engineering Slide Library. F15Seattle Space Needle: Structural Engineering Slide Library. F14CN Tower: The Builders: marvels of engineering. p. 109

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BB IBLIOGRAPHYIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, Edward. Fundamentals of Building Construction: materials and methods. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1990.

Blaser, Werner. Santiago Calatrava: engineering architecture. Basel: Birkhauser Verlag, 1990.

The Book Division. The Builders: marvels of engineering. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1992.

Bonechi. All Florence. Florence: Arti Grafiche Parigi and Maggiorelli, 1974.

Godden, W.G. Structural Engineering Slide Library. 2 volumes. Berkeley: International Structural Slides, 1981.

Heinle, Erwin, and Fritz Leonhardt. Towers: a historical survey. New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1989.

Hozumi, Nobuo. TWA Terminal Building and Dulles International Airport. Tokyo: A.D.A. EDITA Tokyo Co., Ltd., 1973.

Huxtable, Ada Louise. Pier Luigi Nervi. New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1960.

Kostof, Spiro. A History of Architecture: settings and rituals. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.

McCleary, Peter. Structure and Intuition. AIA Journal. Oct. 1980: 56-58, 119.

Nervi, Pier Luigi. Buildings, Projects, Structures 1953-1963. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1963.

Saarinen, Eero. Eero Saarinen on His Work. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1968.

Siege social, services commerciaux. 4 Days in Paris. Paris: A. Leconte, 1994.

Turak, Theodore. William LeBaron Jenney: a pioneer of modern architecture. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1986.

Wood, Richard A. The Weather Almanac. New York: Gale Research, an International Thomson Publishing Company, 1996.

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VVIT AITA

Robert L. Thomasborn: Richmond, Virginia, USA raised: Winchester, Virginia, USA

Bachelor of Sciencecivil engineering VPI&SU 1993

Master of Architecture architecture VPI&SU 1997

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