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E-NEWSLETTER | SUMMER 2013
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COLLABORATION WITH STRUCTURAL DESIGN IMPROVES FA�ADE DESIGN |
Multidisciplinary collaboration - one of Cornell University's goals for Bill and Melinda Gates Hall, a new computing and information science center in Ithaca, N.Y. - was also an important element in the building's design. Architect Morphosis selected Thornton Tomasetti to provide building skin consulting and structural design services, which allowed the two teams to work side-by-side to deliver integrated, coordinated designs for both disciplines.
Gates Hall features sloped and vertical glazing with integrated brackets that support stainless steel shading panels. The entire fa�ade is supported on a cantilevered structural system, which involves large deflections that presented a significant design challenge and required close collaboration between building skin and structure.
We worked with our structural team to clarify how varied building movements - under dead load, live load, snow, temperature, and wind and seismic loads - would affect the fa�ades. The structural team was able to minimize the deflections by stiffening the building at local areas, a solution that improved the curtain wall by minimizing visible joints. Coordinating the fa�ade and structural engineering in-house also improved our ability to communicate design intent and issues to the architect efficiently and effectively.
Contact: Rob Otani |