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Thesis submitted to the faculty of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at VirginiaPolytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for thedegree of Master of Architecture.

Mario Cortes

James Jones

Michael O’Brien

Committee Chair 26 July, 2001

Graham Douglas Farbrother

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This book is dedicated to my wife, without whose support I could never have accomplishedthis, and to the rest of my family, for whom I work to make proud.

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I would like to acknowledge those people who have assisted and guided me throughout thisprocess.

Brad BittermannAlan Dodson

Jonathan FooteAlice Hillery

Matthew McNeelyDavid Snider

Neal TerrellAndrew Queen

My Colleagues:

My Committee: Mario CortesJames Jones

Michael O’Brien

James Madison University

National Collegiate Athletic Association

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The project presented here is a NCAA Division I capacity football stadium located on thecampus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

This stadium is a vehicle for exploring and expressing my ideas about the role of structure ina rchitecture, and about an architect’s realm of control in a building project. The typology ofa stadium allows for a limited number of functional requirements while, at the same time,allowing for, if not demanding, a creative structural solution.

Abstract

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Table of ContentsDedication 4Acknowledgements 5Abstract 6The University 8The Influence of Technology 10Take Me Out to the Stadium? 11The Landscape 12Formal Studies 13Master Plan 17Path 18Bluestone 19The Stadium 20Foundation 21Ramps 22Gameday 23Tailgating 24Optimal Viewing 25Assembly Crews 26Kit of Parts 28Component Studies 30The Tripod 32The Beam 36The Connection 41The Outrigger 42The Assembly 43Bibliography 46Vita 47

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James Madison Univers i ty s i t s in theShenandoah Valley in Harrisonburg, Virginia.The campus is divided by I-81, with the oldersection to the north and the newer section tothe south.

The older part of campus contains the originalquadrangle which is surrounded by academicand dormitory buildings which are constructedof the university’s trademark bluestone. Alsoon the northern campus is the majority of thecampus’ other dormitories, academic andadministrative buildings, and dining facilities,as well as the old fieldhouse and the currentfootball stadium.

The newer part of campus houses a fewresidence halls, academic buildings, and eatingfacilities. However, the predominant feature sof this area of campus are the recreationalfacilities. The Convocation Center (forbasketba l l games , indoor graduat ionceremonies, and trade shows), the UniversityRecreation Building (the student fitness center),the soccer stadium, and the arboretum take upmost of the space on this southern side ofcampus.

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Bridgeforth Stadium, the current football facility for JamesMadison University, was designed by D’Earcy Davis Jr. &Associates and was built in 1975. It sits on the northernsection of campus with its long axis oriented north-south.It has two seating sections, one along each long side of thefield. A large scoreboard stands behind the north end zone,and a set of temporary metal bleachers for the marchingband is located behind the south end zone. At the top ofthe eastern seating section stands the press box. The spaceunderneath the seats is enclosed, and houses the footballoffices, locker rooms, bathrooms, and is home to theuniversity’s military science department.To date, the stadium has sufficiently served its functions.Thanks to football, lacrosse, and intramural games, trackand field meets, students jogging on the track, and graduationceremonies, there is hardly a day when the stadium goesunused. The facilities are in good condition and the groundsa re meticulously maintained. There are enough seats to meetthe demand for tickets..However, the stadium has some shortcomings, bothfunctionally and architecturally. First, it has a capacity of12,500, which falls well short of the 30,000 minimum fora NCAA Division I-A football stadium. The footballp rogram is the university’s only athletic program which doesnot enjoy Division I-A status, and would not ever be allowedto become a Division I-A program without a bigger stadium.Second, the field is made of artificial turf, which is allegedby many to cause more injury to players, and is looked downupon by football purists.Lastly, and most architecturally, the stadium lacks a sense ofenclosure. Of course it is physically enclosed, by the seatingareas on the two long sides and by chain link fences on theshort ends, but visually the stadium has no containment.The result is a loss of intimacy between the fans and players.Furthermore, any architectural presence the stadium has stopsat its walls, and in the case of the chain link fences, does noteven make it to the physical boundary.

Home Seats and Press Box at Bridgeforth Stadium

Steps and Benches at Bridgeforth Stadium

Visitor’s Seats at Bridgeforth Stadium

Bridgeforth Stadium Superstructure

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Throughout time, technological advances have continually changed the face of architecture.New and refined materials have achieved higher performances. We can support heavierloads, span incredible distances, and scrape the sky. The development of materials such asconcrete and steel, in combination with the power of cranes and trucks, have expanded thea rchitect’s palette tremendously. Structures such as the Eiffel Tower, the Brooklyn Bridge,the Hoover Dam, and the Petronas Towers all stand as a testament to the advances made intechnology.

However, while technology has undoubtedly contributed greatly, it has created uncertaintyin architecture. Increasingly, the role of the architect in our society is challenged. Whencorporations had limited resources in the form of paper files, it was critical that all theemployees were in one place to share them. At the same time, the price of land demandedthat an owner get as much use possible out of that land. Constructing skyscrapers was thenatural response. Computers have virtually destroyed the need to have all the workers inthe same country, let alone the same building. Libraries suffer a similar predicament. Witha wealth information a mouse click away, the need for a building to house books loses itsutilitarian importance. Some banks actually discourage their customers with fees for comingto the building to do business that can be done at the ATM or over the phone.

Similarly, stadiums cannot avoid the questioning of their existence. Before radio andtelevision, the only way to experience was to go to the stadium. Now, going to a stadiummust provide enough positive qualities to make up for the comforts visitors lose by leavinghome. Going to a stadium must provide something to pry sports fans away from their bigscreen televisions and out of their recliners, and leave their food and drink in their climatecontrolled residences. One could begin to question if it would not suffice to simply havea field with surrounded by television cameras, so that everyone could stay home and watchin comfort.

THE INFLUENCE OF TECHNOLOGY

Eiffel Tower - 1889 - 320 meters tallThe World’s Tallest Building until 1930

Brooklyn Bridge - 1883 - 486 meters longThe World’s Longest Bridge until 1890

Hoover Dam - 193645,000 psf of water pressure at base

Petronas Towers - 1998 - 452 meters tallWorld’s Tallest Building

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Despite the convenience and comfort of staying at home to watch a game, people continue to flock tostadiums much as they did over 2,500 years ago. As early as the eighth century B.C., the Greeks builtstadiums to facilitate foot races. Soon, as more events attracted more spectators, countless more arenas,hippodromes, circuses, and stadiums were built, the most glorious example of which is, of course, theRoman Colosseum.

These glory days of stadiums ended as Christianity spread across Europe and people spent their architecturalefforts on churches. Thanks in large part to the reestablishment of the Olympics in 1896, the age of themodern stadium began, as countries the world over built stadium complexes to house the Games.Meanwhile, people were hungry for other spectacles, and stadiums were erected for tennis, soccer, rugby,baseball, and football.

As the game of American Football developed throughout the second half of the 19th Century on thecampuses of several colleges, the popularity with spectators grew. The games attracted not just the studentpopulation, but the surrounding communities too. Soon, there were so many onlookers that standing onthe sidelines no longer sufficed, and permanent stadiums began to go up in the 1920s.

Early on, the only way for a team owner to make any money was to have a full house. Stadium designfocused on fitting as many seats as possible with little thought to fan comfort, no thought to accessibilityissues, not to mention architecture. Due to their sheer size and lower frequency of use as compared tobasketball and baseball venues, football stadiums often receive little consideration when it comes to highquality finishes that might add to the overall quality of the design.

With the advent of televised sporting events, the influences on designs change. Suddenly, the money fromowning a team came not from the ticket holders, rather from the television revenues, and the stadium-going fan was secondary. As a result, stadiums were designed as platforms for television broadcasts, andthe fans were thought of even less. The lighting needs for a good television broadcast do not necessarilyequal lighting needs for good stadium viewing. That is not to say that achieving proper lighting for boththe television and stadium viewing is impossible, but the priority was certainly in favor of the cameras.

Since the advent of free agency, team owners once again look to the fans for that extra revenue needed tokeep a franchise afloat. This does not mean a return of trying to pack the stadium full of seats. Rather,attention is being payed to fan comfort in terms of seat size, number of seats in a row, number of restrooms,sight lines, amenities and so on. The introduction of luxury club boxes bring a tremendous amount ofrevenue from corporations and, in the college realm, loyal alumni.

TAKE ME OUT TO THE STADIUM?

Race Fans at the New River Valley SpeedwayDublin, Virginia

Baseball Fans at the Home of the Salem AvalancheSalem, Virginia

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...a civilization’s greatest remnants. ...an attempt to demonstrate national strength and pride.

...billboards.

...a nationally recognizable symbol of its institution....an integral part of a city’s urban fabric.

A stadium is first and foremost the staging ground for spectacles for masses of people.However, this utilitarian perspective is limited and it belies the bigger implications of astadium’s effects on the individual visitor and on the community it serves. The influenceof a stadium is tremendous in its immediate surroundings, and, in some cases, can be feltaround the world.Having set a historical context to the stadium building type and seeing that it has hugeramifications on its environment, it is critical to determine the reasons for visiting astadium versus watching a game from home. More specifically, it is critical to determinethe reasons over which the architect has control. Clearly, having a winning team draws ac rowd, but there is more to it than that. Even the losingest teams have supporters. Theremust be more reasons to the experience of stadium-going than a winning team, and thearchitect must have some influence over some of these reasons.Looking a little further at today’s stadium, it is clear that it is more than just a place for asporting event. What was simply a game has become a Game Day, filled with activitiesthat revolve around preparing for the game, watching the game, and celebrating a win ormourning a loss. Stadiums can be thought of as a giant room for 10,000 to well over100,000 people, where, for at least the duration of the game, most of these people areunited with one another as they intensely cheer for the home team and viciously boo thevisiting team. They become a community, if only temporarily, dressed in the samecolors, waving the same flags, and chanting in unison.This experience begins even before the game.For the players, it starts when they load on the bus and head off to the stadium, wherethey will put on their uniforms and prepare for the battle ahead.For the student, it starts that morning when people paint their faces and bodies, and walken masse to the stadium.For the alumnus, it starts when he shines his class ring and drives the pick-up to theparking lot where he fires up the grill on the tailgate.Every one converges on the stadium in their respective costumes. Everyone knows whatsongs to sing, when to dance, and what routes to run.In other words, the first thing that draws a crowd is the experiential, theatrical nature ofgameday and for at least that day, everyone shares a bond through their participation inthe show.This is where the architect comes in.

Stadiums can be...

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Given all the activities surrounding a game, itis appropriate to position and design thestadium to facilitate these various activities.Furthermore, the sheer size of a stadiumautomatically has a monstrous effect on thelandscape in terms of its visibility, as well asthe demands for space for the actual stadiumand all the associated activities like parking.Therefore, the stadium’s realm of influence doesnot stop at its physical boundaries. The designmus t de f ine a new l andscape fo r thesurrounding area. As a defining element of acampus, the stadium’s appearance, size, andlocation relative to other campus buildings arecritical. The new landscape should integratethe spaces for activities outside the game.The new football stadium is to be the visualand symbolic center of this new side of campus.Due to the stadium’s size(it holds approximately32,000 people) and its location on top of ahill, it is the crowning piece on the new sideand has a presence on the original part ofcampus, the interstate, and parts of the townof Harrisonburg. In addition, it is encompassedby a massive bluestone wall connecting itsymbolically to the original section of thecampus.

Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, HawaiiThe influence of this stadium ripples through itsparking lot. The sections of parking describeconcentric circles centered in the middle of theplaying field.

Stadium in Turin, Italy

1972 Olympic Stadium in Munich, GermanyThis collaborative effort between Günther Behnisch,Frei Otto and Fritz Leonardt take the idea of thestadium as landscape to greater heights with anundulating roof system that creates a new symboliclandscape.

The elliptical shape of architects Hotter & Ossola’sWorld Cup stadium radiates over the surroundingwalkways and roads and into the parking lot.

THE LANDSCAPE

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An exploration of forms through the use of folded paper models and sketches begins toanswer the question of how a stadium should look. Although the studies focus on theoverall configuration of seats, with little thought to the construction of the stadium,some of the models do imply a structural idea. While not every aspect of these studiesexists in the final design, some of the major ideas about overall form and the pieces thatmake up the whole are present at the earliest stages of design.These studies also reveal the fact that the form of all stadiums is derivative of the building’sfunction, and not the other way around. In other words, stadiums look the way the dobecause they are designed for a specific task, namely, allowing a large group of people tosimultaneously focus on the same event. Accordingly, it would not do to design a stadiumwith seats facing away from the field, or to have seating sections with no incline. Theformal similarities that stadiums share stem from their functional requirements, and thevariety of architectural quality found in stadiums is due, at least in part, to the resolutionof these functional demands. This idea of finding the architecture through the expressionof the utilitarian is also applied to design of the pieces which make up the stadium.

This s tudy (5) most c lose lyresembles the final design of thestadium. It shows enclosure on allsides. In addition, it representsper iodic pr imary structuralmembers which hold up thespanning seating areas. All ofthese elements appear, albeit itdifferent ways, in the end product.

The concern here (4) is solely with an overall layout with no consideration for the mannerin which it would be constructed. While it definitely achieves the sense of a room thanksto the complete enclosure by extremely sloped seating areas, the seating configurationleaves something to be desired. Seats along the long side of the field allow the viewers towatch the movement of the teams pushing their way up and down the field. Viewers frombehind the end zones get to watch the blocking patterns develop. Those who have cornerseats are caught in between and do not get to enjoy either of these aspects. This studyhelped in the realization that corner seats are the least desirable seats and that the numberof corner seats should be reduced whenever possible.

Similar to JMU’s currentstadium, these two-sidedconfigurations (1,2,3) areunsatisfactory as they do notprovide the feeling of a room.A good stadium should givea sense of containment thatthese corridor-like designss i m p l y l a c k . T h i sobse rva t ion he lped indeciding to design a stadiumthat is enclosed on at leastthree sides. The second andthird images do imply astructural hierarchy. In thesecond image, the seatingareas span between twoprimary arches. In the caseof the th i rd image, theseating areas span betweentwo secondary membersw h i c h , i n t u r n , a r esuspended from primarysupports. The final stadiumdesign is not exactly thesame, but the study presentsa thought about a structuralh i e r a r chy even in theprimary stages of design.

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This focuses on the structuralhierarchy being the definingarchitectural quality of thestadium. It also stands as areminder that functionalelements, such as the lights,must be included, and shouldbe made integral with theoverall design.

Shown here is a stadium withthe majority of the seatingalong the long sides of thefield, one open end that formsthe entrance, and no cornerseating. It also demonstrates,once again, an attempt ofc r e a t ing an impre s s i v estructural solution.

This drawing shows a simpleh o r s e s h o e p l a n . T h eimportant idea representedhere is that of a repeatedelement that serves as theprimary structure while givingthe stadium a rhythm and acharacter.

This deals with the stadium’sr e l a t i o n s h i p t o t h etopography. The horseshoe isnestled into the landscape inattempt to lower the visuali m p a c t o n w h a t i sautomatically a tremendouspresence. This technique canbe found in the final design.

This reflects an early thoughto f m a k i n g a s t a d i u mcomprised of a series of smallerbuildings. The question markin the corner shows the long-standing desire to minimizecorner seats.

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The playing field is at grade and the seatinga rea touches the ground. This creates anintimacy between the spectators and theplayers, but with respect to crowd control isha rd to justify.

This variation provides a separation betweenthe spectators and the grade-level playing fieldwith the use of a height change.

This represents a stadium in which the field iswell below grade. This has the advantage oflowering the profile of the stadium.

This sketch shares a strong likeness to thefinal stadium design. The field sits below gradeand the entry level separates the upper andlower seating sections.

The sketch demonstrates an idea that theseating section is the roof for an inhabitablespace below. This idea can be seen in the finaldesign as the locker rooms and service facilitiesare housed beneath the seats of the lower deck.

A simple horseshoe plan. A entirely enclosed stadium No corner seats

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Clearly, one of the most important aspects ofa stadium is its accessibility to the stadiumvisitor. To demonstrate the new stadium’slocation in relation to the rest of the campus,a green circle represents the area in a one mileradius from the center of the stadium. Thisdistance was established as a reasonabledistance to expect most people to be willingand able to walk to the stadium.The green shaded areas represent the totalavailable gameday parking on campus otherthan the parking directly next to the stadium.All of the available parking spaces fall withinthe one-mile radius of the stadium. In total,there are over 5,500 parking spaces. Assumingthree people arrive in each vehicle, over halfthe stadium’s occupancy is taken care of.Highlighted in blue are the Residence Halls.Most of them fall with a one mile radius ofthe center of the stadium.The red lines indicate the pedestrian pathsfrom all the dormitories and parking lots tothe stadium.

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The red line highlights the most commonly used foot path to the stadium site.This West Side entrance in particular will see the most traffic as the connectionfrom the old campus(highlighted below) is already developed thanks to thebasketball arena which lies just northwest of the new stadium.

This tunnel runs under the highway toconnect the old side of campus withthe new.

Looking back after exiting the tunnelon the new side of campus.

Continuing up the path towards theConvocation Center

Footprints of JMU’s mascot, the DukeDog, lead the way to the stadium.

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The original buildings on campus are easily recogonized by theirbluestone walls. The perimeter wall surrounding the new stadium isalso made of bluestone. The use of the bluestone wall connects thestadium to the original section of campus. At the same time, itestablishes the stadium as the symbolic centerpiece of the new sectionof campus.

Inside the large perimeter wall stands another bluestone wall which separatesthe open space from the stadium. These three arches are smaller versions of themain entrance arch and mark the location where visitors surrender their tickets.

Wilson HallMain Administration Building at the Head of the Quad

Maury HallBluestone Buildings Surround the Quad

Gifford HallResidence Hall in the Older Section of Campus

This composition shows the main entrance through the bluestone wall thatsurrounds the stadium’s site. Beyond this wall, there is open green space withample room for grilling and picnicking before the game.

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The design of the stadium and its surrounding site starts withthe football field. The yard lines act as the generator for theplacement of the structural members and for the layout of theparking area and adjoining open space.The lower seating section holds 18,932 chairs. In an effort tocreate as intimate a stadium as possible, the seats in this lowerdeck completely enclose the field. The top of this section isactually at grade level. This move helps to lower the overallprofile of the stadium. As is, it is massive and the structurereaches over 100 feet above grade. If the field were placed atgrade level, the stadium would be over 160 feet tall.The upper section holds 13,188 seats in a horseshoeconfiguration. The opening is located the northern end of thestadium, pointing to the original section of campus in anattempt to make a connection between the old and new.During the games, the sound of the roaring crowd would bedirected towards campus as if out of a megaphone.The space in between the upper deck seating sections is usedfor the system of ramps and elevators. The placement of theramps in these spots helps to minimize undesirable corner seats,and they do not cut into to the open space surrounding thestadium. The ramps also provide views of the field from certainpoints which means people seated in the upper deck can stillwatch the game when coming to or going from their seats.

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A view of the foundation system which also serves as the wall for the area underneath thelower deck seating. This is the area in which the locker rooms, first aid room, kitchens,and the mechanical rooms are housed. The retaining wall utilizes a series of tiebackswhich reveal their ends on the inside of the wall in an architectural expression of the workthat the wall is performing.

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The ramps, as with the stadium, are constructed from precast concretepieces. They feature space where people can take a break from walkingup the ramp without being in the main flow of traffic.

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The green shaded area shows an open park-like area with room for grills and benches toencourage pregame festivities. The provisionof this space is consistent with the position thata stadium does more than house a game, ratherit is the centerpiece of a full day of activity.Furthermore, this space could be madeavailable all year round as opposed to a meresix or seven Saturdays a year, providing thecampus with another place for communalgathering which did not previously exist.The grey areas point to the car region of thestadium’s parking lot. The roads are narrowwith many turns so as to keep the traffic speeddown. These 540 parking spaces are premiumspots and could be a good source of revenuefor the university on gamedays.The blue zone is the pedestrian region of theparking lot. The goal is to provide amplespace in between rows for comfortabletailgating and to ensure that pedestrians neverneed enter the grey shaded zone to reach thestadium.

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Tailgating has become an integral part of thegameday experience. At JMU’s new stadium,space is provided to facilitate comfortable, safetailgating. During game day, as the parkinglot fills, the pedestrian zone is enclosed byprotective walls of parked vehicles providingan area safe from speeding cars. There isplenty of room for grills and coolers fortailgating, and there is no need for people tobe where moving cars are. This zone isbordered on one side by a small bluestone wall

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This graphic delineates the optimum andmaximum viewing distances for football. Theregion within the red circle is ideal. The nextbigger region is the recommended maximumdistance which is determined by describing a150m arc from each of the corners. Beyondthe outer ring, the ball would virtually disappearfrom view. This image demonstrates that themajority of the stadium’s seats fall within therecommended distance, and all of them fallwithin the maximum distance. This isconsistent with the goal of providing the bestgameday experience possible, which includesbeing able to clearly watch the game beingplayed.The blue lines represent lines of sight fromvarious seats throughout the stadium. In theplan view, the lines outline a 60 degree field ofvision from particular seats. This rangeapproximates the range of a person’s visionlooking straight ahead. In the section view,the blue lines demonstrate the ability of a personto see the field from various seats. The upperdeck seating has a greater slope than the lowerdeck, to ensure that the people who sit thefarthest away from the field still are able to see.

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It used to be that construction crews were made up by groups of craftsmen. The architectwas considered a master builder and had the ultimate control on a construction site. Now,construction crews could more precisely be called assembly crews.

The architect no longer plays the role of master builder and must rely on the assemblycrews to realize his vision. Given the inconsistent and sometimes inferior workmanship inthe construction industry, the architect takes a big risk by leaning too heavily on the builders.

If the designer cannot control the builders, then what is within the designer’s control?

The architect can control the building blocks.

The building should be viewed as a set of pieces, each one of which should be able to becritiqued on its own, but come together as a whole.

This idea lends itself particularly nicely to a project as large in scale as a stadium. The sheersize of the structure makes for an astronomically high cost, but the initial investment intosophisticated concrete forms could be recovered in such a project.

ASSEMBLY CREWS

For that matter, whole houses are trailered to their foundations, set in place, and the homeowners can move in withina matter of days.

2x4 walls arrive on the job site nailed together and sheathed. The framing crew simply has to put the walls in the rightplace and plumb them up.

Steel framing is craned into place and the workers tighten the bolts or weld them together.

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James Stirling

Residence Hall for the University of St. Andrews

For the design of a Residence Hall atthe University of St. Andrews, JamesStirling chose a precast concrete panelsystem “because of a lack of skilled localbuilding workers”. Stirling designed aset of components that could be cranedinto position, leaving little opportunityfor the builders to do anything butassemble the pieces.

Like pieces of a giantpuzzle, the crane putsall the panels in theirproper places.

The result is a building whichderives its architecture from theclarity of its manufacture. Thefact that the precast concretepanels are not hidden behind afacade indicates that Stirlinglooked to his prefabricated piecesfor the architectural expression ofthe building.

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Section of Lloyd’s of London

One Floor of Lloyd’s of London

The architecture of this buildingstems from the legibility of theindividual pieces that make up thewhole.

Richard Rogers sees the Lloyd’s ofLondon building as a “flexible kitof parts”. He states that “the key ...is the legibility of the role of eachtechnological component, which isfunctionally stressed to the full.Thus one may recognize in eachpart, its process of manufacture,erection maintenance, and finallydemolition: the how, why and whatof the building.”

A KIT OF PARTS

The new stadium takes its architecture from the set of pieces that make up the whole. Here is the actual number of pieces that make up the majorcomponents of the stadium. All of the pieces are made of precast concrete and can be assembled on site.

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Pier Luigi Nervi

Santiago Calatrava

Train Station

The designs of Santiago Calatrava and Pier LuigiNervi are influential in a couple of ways. For onething, they both find their architecture throughstructural expression. The beauty of their workcomes from the simple clear solutions to structuralproblems. Also, they both treat concrete with alightness and sensitivity that only someone with atrue understanding of the material can.

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This model attempts to perform severalfunctions at one time. Its front is slopedto hold seats. Underneath the seats thereis circulation area, including platforms forwalkways that could be part of a rampsystem. The top of the model couldcontain an integrated lighting system forthe field.

This model embodies the idea of havinga primary structural member whichfulfills several functions simultaneously.In this case, the cantilevered section of themodel was to be the supports for seatingsections which would provide a canopyfor the seats below it. At the same time,this piece allows for passage through itbelow.

This model a l so takes i t shape byproviding support for seats and, at thesame time, a space for circulation.

These two sketches, like some of themodels search for an element that acts asthe primary structure while creatingcirculation space and is visually distinctive.

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This is another model of two converging arches. It questions the constructability of such anobject by treating the whole as the sum of layers.

These images depict a model made of two arches. The lower arch supports the upper one,and hints at a circulation space beneath. The upper arch acts as the supports for the bleachersand as a canopy.

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In the plan and elevation views of the tripod above, the stacking of the precast blocks is shown.

Here the individual layers of the tripods clearly demonstrate the way in which the forces are distributed.

The first major elementin the uppe r deckseating area is the tripod.The tripod holds up them a i n b e a m w h i l eproviding space belowfor crowd circulation.Us ing a t r ipod , a sopposed to a s ing lelarger support, reducesthe visual massiveness ofthe member. Likewise,the individual legs of thetripods have a facetedhexagonal cross-section.The facets catch light ina way that g ives theimpress ion that themember s a r e muchlighter than they appear.T h e t r i p o d s a r econstructed of precastconcrete blocks. Eachblock stands four feettall and is six feet across.The fact that the blockis angled means thatthere is only one way tostack the pieces, leavinglittle room for error onthe job site.

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The individual pieces of the tripod stack uponone another like a set of children’s blocks. Eachpiece is fed onto post-tensioning cables likebeads on a string. The cable, which is connectedto the foundation, is tightened when each legof the tripod is complete, thus putting eachleg into extreme compression and holding theseparate blocks in place.

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The tripods establish a rhythm for the building. The front legof the tripods are in line with the ten-yard lines, which connectsthe outside of the stadium with the inside. Also a zone forcirculation is created in the space under the tripods. The tripodshelp to designate a border line between the inside and outsideof the stadium.

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Each leg sits on a base to indicate that the bottom of a columnis a special instance deserving of recognition. The base of thelegs is the zone of human interaction. The base provides a placeto sit against the column

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This beam is the showcase piece of the stadium. As with the other pieces, and the stadium as a whole, the beam design stems from the job it has to do. In the caseof this beam, it must span between two members and support the upper deck bleachers. As the moment forces move through the beam, different depths arerequired, hence the changing curvature on the bottom of the beam. The circular voids and the thinner middle section of the beam indicate that, although a certainbeam depth is called for, it does not have to be solid material. The top of the beam is stepped to receive precast concrete bleachers which span beam to beam.Finally, the beam is designed to receive the lighting system at its top.

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The diagram to the left traces the moment forces through the main support beam. Themoment force equals zero just left of the support on the right. This spot is the perfect placefor the joint of the pieces to occur. At this point, the beam must only resist the shear forces.Also, the beam is cantilevered to help reduce the maximum moment force, thus allowing fora shallower beam.The drawings on the right show the method of transportation for the components of themain beam. The length of the beam components are short enough to be trucked on thehighway. They also act as their own trailer by simply attaching a set of wheels to the end.

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This series investigates different possibilities of making the seam between the two parts of the beam.The two pieces are welded to one another at the seam. The bottom left beam was chosen because itprovides a great amount of space in which to weld, it makes it exceedingly difficult for the two parts toslide away from each other, and neither of the pieces are too long to truck to the site.

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The upper component is lowered onto the bottom piece. A short rod of steel is placed in the circle in the joint, and all the pieces are weldedtogether. With all the parts welded in place, the two pieces cannot slide apart from one another.

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After one beam comes together, two large beams are connected by yet another piece. This middle piece separates the two beams theappropriate distance and is formed to receive the bleacher components. By joining two beams in this manner, the final assembly has a widthof five feet.

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This piece connects the tripods to the support beams. This connection ties the three legs of the tripod together. At the same time,the beams rest on the shoulders of this connection piece while the protruding part of the connection sits between the two beams.

4 2Stadium

The last major piece of the assembly is the outrigger which sits in the space between theupper ends of the main support beams. The outrigger is welded to the beams with a steel rodthe same diameter as the rod that welds the two beam components together. The shape ofthe outrigger is reminiscent of the main beam, and it also has a notch from which the lightingsystem or banners can span.

4 3Stadium

The components all come together and themain support beam spans from the tripod to aconcrete box on two rows of columns. Theconcrete box transfers the load from the beamsto the columns below. The rows of columnssit at the top of each flight of stairs that leadinto the lower deck seats. The concrete boxalso contains any electrical and plumbing needsto serve the neighboring spaces that contain thepress and luxury boxes.

4 4Stadium

The pieces get stacked up like a set of blocks. Each structural assembly sits 30 feet from the next one. This distance isspanned by concrete bleacher sections which tie all the assemblies together. The end result is a stadium made from asystem of pieces with a clear structural hierarchy

4 5Stadium

4 6Stadium

Bibliography

Geraint, John and Rod Sheard. Stadia: A Design and Development Guide. Boston, MA: Architectural Press 1997.

Stewart, Alva W. College Football Stadiums: An Illustrated Guide to NCAA Division I-A.Je fferson, N.C.: McFarland and Co. 2000.

Gaines, Thomas A. The Campus as a Work of Art. New York, New York: Praeger 1991.

Raitz, Karl B. The Theater of Sport. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press 1995.

IES Committee on Sports and Recreational Areas Lighting. Current Recommended Practice for Sports Lighting.New York, New York: Illuminating Engineering Society of North 1989.

Nervi, Pier Luigi. Structure s. New York, New York: F.W. Dodge Corp. 1956

Sudjic, Deyan. Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, James Stirling: New Directions in British Architecture.London, England: Thames and Hudson 1986.

Tzonis, Alexander and Liane LeFaivre. Movement, Structure, and the Work of Santiago Calatrava.Basel, Boston: Birkhauser 1995.

Puhalla, Jim and Jeff Krans and Mike Goatley. Sports Fields: A Manual for Design, Construction, and Maintenance.Chelsea, MI: Ann Arbor Press 1999.

Nicolin, Pier Luigi and Marcel Meili. The Daring Flight.New York, New York: Rizzoly International Publications Inc.1987.

Mitchell, William. “Do We Still Need Skyscrapers?” Scientific American. December 1997.

Kroloff, Reed. “Pay to Play.” Architecture. November 1998.

Stoddard, Brooke C. “Trends in Stadium Construction.” The Construction Specifier. July 1998.

Fenley, Goreth. “Wheel Me Out to the Ball Game.” Architectural Record. July 1992.

www.jmu.edu

www.timbertruss.com

www.ccsteel.com/about.htm

www.sunwayhomes.com/H.S.S.2.html

www.royalhomes.com

www.reidsteel.co.uk

www.cp-tel.net/bmwj/building.html

www.ballparks.com

Pastier, John. “The Sporting Life.” Architectural Record. August 1999.

Pelli, Cesar, and Charles Thornton, and Leonard Joseph. “The World’s Tallest Buildings” Scientific American. December1997.

4 7Stadium

VitaGraham Douglas Farbrother

Born on 25 January, 1975Fairfax, Virginia

James Madison University, 1993-1997Bachelor of Arts in Modern Foreign LanguagesMinor in Business Administration

Phillips Universität, 1995-1996Marburg, Germany

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1998-2001Master of Architecture