Course Overview
The Aspen Art Museum, designed by architect Shigeru Ban, includes a long-span three-dimensional wood space-frame roof. Ban’s charge was to create a wood space frame with spans of more than 50 feet and cantilevers of 14 feet, in a structural depth of 3 feet. The space frame was to have two planes of intersecting diagonal webs of curved members that undulated up and down to touch the planes of the top and bottom chords with no visible connectors. This case study presentation will describe the design and construction of the wood structure, including paths explored but not chosen for the final design.
Learning Objectives
- Articulate the particular demands associated with creating a 3-dimensional space frame entirely in wood.
- Recognize the advantages and disadvantages of several wood connection strategies in space-frame structures.
- Be aware of manufacturing capabilities and limitations that influenced the design of the Aspen Art Museum roof structure.
- Be aware of manufacturing capabilities and limitations that influenced the design of the Aspen Art Museum roof structure.
Course Video
Speaker Bio
Gregory R. Kingsley, PhD, PE
President and CEO
KL&A Inc.
Gregory is the president and CEO of KL&A Inc., Structural Engineers and Builders in Golden, Colorado, a firm of 65 that includes structural engineers, steel detailers, and construction managers. He enjoys working with design architects on innovative structures, especially wood and steel.