TAMEDIA OFFICE BUILDING
LOCATION: Zurich, Switzerland
BUILDING TYPE: Office Building COST: 50 million Swiss Francs ARCHITECT: Shigeru Ban Architects Europe, Paris YEAR: 2013 MASTER PLAN: Itten +Brechbuhl AG, Bern CONTRACTOR: HRS Real Estate AG, Frauenfeld WOOD SUPPLIER: Blumer-Lehmann AG, Gossau TOTAL FLOOR AREA: 8,905 m² FLOORS: 7 (including mezzanine gallery) AMOUNT OF WOOD USED: 2,000 m³ |
The Tamedia Building is the new headquarters for the Swiss media company Tamedia. It is situated in the centre of Zurich. This seven storey building is supported by a post and beam style exposed timber frame with a double glass façade (low-e). The structure is built using traditional Japanese carpentry, requiring no glue, nails or screws. The structural components were prefabricated and then assembled on site. The timber elements (including continuous columns of greater than 20 m tall) that interlock together using pin connections, which are stabilized by a secondary structure.
The double glass façade acts as a thermal buffer for the building and the exterior glass façade has retractable glass panels to allow meeting rooms and work spaces to become open and passively ventilated.
All the wooden structural elements are over-dimensioned by 5 cm for fire protection, and due to the protective charring process when wood burns, it is said that the structure would be stable for longer than a steel structure.
This building shows the possibilities of timber as a construction material. Wood is a renewable resource and if forests are sustainably managed it is an environmentally friendly material with no embodied CO2. It is also a very appealing material for people using the building due to its appearance, smell and feel. The Tamedia building is also operated CO2 free using geothermal groundwater for heating and cooling.
The double glass façade acts as a thermal buffer for the building and the exterior glass façade has retractable glass panels to allow meeting rooms and work spaces to become open and passively ventilated.
All the wooden structural elements are over-dimensioned by 5 cm for fire protection, and due to the protective charring process when wood burns, it is said that the structure would be stable for longer than a steel structure.
This building shows the possibilities of timber as a construction material. Wood is a renewable resource and if forests are sustainably managed it is an environmentally friendly material with no embodied CO2. It is also a very appealing material for people using the building due to its appearance, smell and feel. The Tamedia building is also operated CO2 free using geothermal groundwater for heating and cooling.
CENTRE POMPIDOU DE METZ
The Centre Pompidou de Metz is formed of a large hexagonal woven patterned wooden roof that was inspired by the form of a chinese bamboo-woven hat. The roof is covered in a translucent teflon coated fibreglass membrane, allowing soft natural light into the interior space, and the building has a glass facade which together with the roof elements allow for a continuous transition between the interior and exterior space.
References
- http://archrecord.construction.com/projects/portfolio/2014/07/1407-Tamedia-Headquarters-Expansion-Shigeru-Ban-Architects.asp
- http://www.designboom.com/architecture/shigeru-ban-tamedia-office-building-in-zurich-completed/
- http://www.arcspace.com/features/shigeru-ban/tamedia-office-building/
- http://www.detail-online.com/inspiration/centre-pompidou-metz-103525.html
- http://www.shigerubanarchitects.com/works/2010_centre-pompidou-metz/index.htm