ARCHITECTU

RAL

STRUCTU

RES

CASE STUDY

DURHAM CATHEDRAL

General Information

Function / usage: Cathedral Built: 1093 - 1280Status: in useGeographic Information & Related Structures

Location: Durham, County Durham, North East England, England, United Kingdom, EuropeNext to Durham Castle

DURHAM CATHEDRAL

PLAN: LATIN CROSS STYLE, GOTHIC

The two sketches above show the difference between a rib vault and a groin vault. The shaded areas of the rib vault are the key structural elements, while the unshaded areas are fillers. The combination of the pointed arches and the ribs enable greater height to be achieved than in a groin vault of roughly the same size.

THE PALM HOUSE

ArchitectureDecimus Burton (architect)Richard Turner (architect)

General Information

Function / usage: Green house Built: 1844 - 1848Status: in useGeographic Information & Related Structures

Location: Kew, Richmond upon Thames, London, England, United Kingdom, EuropePart of:Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Chronology

3 January 2003The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew are officially inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

THE PALM HOUSE

While the design of the Palm House was Burton's, the extraordinary engineering and construction work was very much Richard Turner's. The technology was borrowed from shipbuilding and it can be seen that the design is essentially an upturned hull.The unprecedented use of light but strong wrought iron 'ship's beams' made the great open span possible, giving room for the unhindered growth of tall specimen palms.For its tropical plants, the Palm House needed heat. Originally, the boilers were in the basement, heating water pipes under iron gratings on which the plants stood in great teak tubs, or in clay pots on benches.The smoke from the boilers was led away through pipes in a tunnel under the Palm House Pond to the elegant Italianate Campanile smoke stack 150 m (490 ft) away. The tunnel also housed a small railway which transported coal the the Palm House boilers.However, the basement flooded in 1848, it took several years to lower the level of the water by pumps. In 1853 the floor level of the boiler room was raised, which had the unfortunate effect of reducing the amount of draught to the flues, badly affecting the efficiency of the heating system and making some parts of the Palm House too cold.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PALM HOUSE

ZARZUELA HIPPODROME

ArchitectureCarlos Arniches (architect)Martín Dominguez (architect)EngineeringEduardo Torroja (engineer)

General Information

Structural Type:Horizontal cantilever structure Function / usage: Horse race course / track Other name(s): Hipódromo de la ZarzuelaCompleted in: 1935Status: in useGeographic Information & Related Structures

Location: Madrid, Madrid, Spain, Europe

ZARZUELA HIPPODROME

CMIT EXPOSITION PALACE

FEDERAL RESERVE BANKArchitectureGunnar Birkerts Architects Inc.Gunnar Birkerts (architect)

Structural engineeringLeslie E. Robertson & Associates, R.L.L.P.

General Information

Structural Type:Cable-supported structure Function / usage: Office building Other name(s): Marquette PlazaCompleted in: 1973Status: in useGeographic Information & Related Structures

Location: Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA, North America

Technical InformationDimensionsheight 67 mnumber of floors (above ground) 13

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK

BANK OF CHINA

ArchitectureI. M. Pei and AssociatesI. M. Pei (architect)

Structural engineeringLeslie E. Robertson & Associates, R.L.L.P.Leslie Earl Robertson (structural engineer)

ContractorKumagai Gumi (Hong Kong) Ltd.

Mechanical & electrical engineeringJaros Baum & Bolles

General Information

Function / usage: Office building Built: 1985 - 1990Status: in use

Geographic Information & Related StructuresLocation: Central, Central and Western, Hong Kong, China, AsiaAddress: 1 Garden Road / 2A Des Voeux RoadCoordinates: 22° 16' 45.00" N 114° 9' 41.00" E

BANK OF CHINA