Washington Dulles International Airport at Dusk

A suspended structure is a structure which is supported by cables coming from beams or trusses which sit atop a concrete center column or core. The design allows the walls, roof and

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cant ...

ed floors to be supported entirely by cables and a center column. Another type of suspended structure, suspended catenary, uses outer-wall concrete columns angled away from the center with a cable system strung between them suspending a roof and outer wall structure. In this example there are no supports or visual obstructions inside the structure.

Background

Some of the first suspension structures were

bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

. The first iron chain suspension bridge in the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

was the

Jacob's Creek Bridge Jacob's Creek Bridge (1801, demolished 1833) was the first iron-chain suspension bridge built in the United States. Designed by James Finley, a local judge and inventor, it spanned Jacob's Creek, just south of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. Noth ...

(1801) in

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 364,663. The county seat is Greensburg. Formed from, successively, Lancaster, Northumberland, and later Bedford co ...

, designed by inventor James Finley. The

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco P ...

in San Francisco, California, is another example of a suspension structure. Much like the suspended building structure, towers hold the weight and cables support the bridge deck. In the case of suspension bridges, there is "tensional force" transferred to the columns.

Design

Minimal interior visual obstruction is a feature of all suspended structure buildings. The architectural method creates a visually striking open space in the interior of the structure. The load for the suspended structure is either a suspended

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary (, ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superficia ...

or is supported by truss-work carrying the weight of the building through a building core.

Engineering

Suspended structures of the center column type utilize high-strength cable to suspend or support the floors. In some cases beams are cantilevered out from the concrete column at the center of the building. From the top of the center column, cables are used to support the roof system and the walls. Cables run down from the top of the tower to support floors. The external skeleton of the structure is a type of curtain wall which also is supported by cables. Suspended structures often allow much light to enter, because of the unobstructed interior. Kokuritsu Yoyogi Kyōgijō 1

An example of a

-shaped suspended structure is the

Eero Saarinen Eero Saarinen (, ; August 20, 1910 – September 1, 1961) was a Finnish-American architect and industrial designer noted for his wide-ranging array of designs for buildings and monuments. Saarinen is best known for designing the General Motor ...

designed

Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and ...

. The roof of the structure is made up of suspension cable which stretches across angled concrete columns. In the design of Dulles airport, the floor, the columns and the roof all work together to allow the walls and ceiling to float. This leaves a large open space for the building. The

Yoyogi National Gymnasium Yoyogi National Gymnasium, officially is an indoor arena located at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, which is famous for its suspension roof design. It was designed by Kenzo Tange and built between 1961 and 1964 to house swimming ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

is an example of a cable suspended structure. The roof system is a large span and the structure has been called "one of the most beautiful buildings in the 20th century", largely due to the suspended roof system.

Examples of suspended structure buildings

BP Building (Antwerp) The BP Building, previously also known as the Axa-Royale Belge Tower, is a suspended-structure office building in Antwerp, Belgium, designed by the Belgian architect Léon Stynen. The building was completed in 1963 and features a unique cantile ...

(1963) *

HSBC Building (Hong Kong) HSBC Main Building is a headquarters building of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, which is today a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based HSBC Holdings. It is located on the southern side of Statue Square near the location of the ...

(1985) *

Central Plaza (Dublin) Central Plaza, also known as the Central Bank of Ireland Building for its former tenant, is an office building on Dame Street in Temple Bar, Dublin. It was the headquarters of the Central Bank of Ireland from 1979 to 2017. It is Ireland's only ...

Riverplace Tower The Riverplace Tower is a 28-floor office building on the south bank of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida. At the time of its construction, it was the tallest building in the state of Florida and was the defining landmark in Jacksonvil ...

(1966) *

(1964)

Gallery

File:BP-building, Mastvest, Antwerpen (6958) 29-07-2019 12-38-49.- cropped.jpg, BP Building roof truss suspended structure File:HK HSBC Main Building 2008.jpg, HSBC Building (Hong Kong) steel suspended structure File:Riverplaceameris.jpg,

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

: structural support from the central core and the external vertical beams. File:Central Bank Of Ireland - external structure.jpg, Central Plaza (Dublin) external support detail

References

External links

Buildings with suspended structures in seismic areasEarthquake resistance of buildings with suspended structures