The Bank of China Tower

BACKGROUND

I. M. Pei (Architect) Leslie E. Robertson (Engineer)

STRUCTURAL ART A structure that eloquently displays how it functions through its form. Also the structure should be a blend of social, symbolic, and scientific elements. The structure also needs to be economical in design and construction.

SYMBOLIC

“[I. M. Pei’s] vision of the future is to look to the past to preserve the subtle characteristics of Chinese architecture.” - Ron Gluckman, American reporter for Asiaweek

B A M B O O T O W E R

SCIENTIFIC

Design The building is a vertical space truss made from composite materials. The building’s frame includes 5 major vertical columns and X-bracing which is used to distribute horizontal loads to the columns and shearing tubes.

Materials & Composite Structure The building uses steel and reinforced concrete frame. The reinforced concrete allows the numerous plane frames to be connected in a very simple manner. Because of the composite design the structure uses about 40% less steel then most high-rise structures and used a quarter the amount of welds.

Construction Foundation uses caissons and slurry walls The steel work was completed in 15 months As the steel work was completed the concrete was also poured and the curtain wall constructed. Minor delays were caused by cracks and faults in bedrock

Loads The major loads the tower has to deal with are live, wind, and seismic loads. The requirements for wind load are nearly twice those required in NYC, and the seismic loads are four times greater than those of LA.

Wind Loads The cross bracing and composite columns carry the horizontal loads down to the fourth floor. Here shearing tubes transfer these loads down to the slurry walls.

Vertical Loads Because the building is not symmetric the vertical loads are not equally distributed throughout the columns. The total calculated vertical load on the building is about 309,589 k.

AESTHETICS

Although the curtain wall does somewhat explain how the structure functions it is a bit deceiving.

van de Rohe’s Seagram

WRAP UP