THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF

THE VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE

AND STATE UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FUL-

FILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE

YINGPING GUO

HEINRICH SCHNOEDT, CHAIRMAN

WILLIAM GALLOWAY

JOSEPH C. WANG

July 2003 BLACKSBURG VA

FOLDED INTERSECTION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This book is dedicated to my lovely daughter, my wife, my par-ents who have always supported me on my way in life.

I would like to thank

College of Architecture and Urban Studies, Virginia PolytechnicInstitute & State Universityfor offering me the opportunity to explore, learn and grow.

My committee Prof. Heinrich Schnoedt, Prof. William Gallowayand Prof. Dr. Joseph C. Wangfor the guidance and encouragement. I have enjoyed everymoment of their mentorship.

My special thanks go out to my studio friends, for the joy,critique, humor and the great time we shared;My friends Zheng Xu, Jun Xu for your nice suggestions in themaking of the book.

“The nature of space depends on the continuity of refer-ence to deeper structures of the human world, that thesestructures are in a certain sense related to the earth as aprimary reference (arche) and that the integrity of space isreflected in the coherence of human experience.”

---The nature of communicative space, Dalibor Vesely

2

ABSTRACT 5

THE SITE 7LOCATION 8HISTORY 11LOCAL CONTEXT 12PLANNING STRATEGY OF DOWNTOWN 14AREA CIRCULATION 15MISSION 17

CONTEXT AND BUILDING 19DEVELOPEMENT OF IDEA 20GEOMETRY OF THE INTERSECTION SPACE 24RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GEOMETRY AND CONTEXT 26DIALOGUE BETWEEN INTERSECTION SPACE AND CONTEXT 30

COMPONENTS 35THE COPPER BAND 37THE CONCRETE BAND 45THE CURVED WALL 55THE EDUCATION BOX 61THE THEATER 70

CONCLUSION 75

VITA 79

3

4

This project proposes a performing artcenter in Chattanooga, Tennessee, a 170--year old industrial city. As part of the cityrevitalization, the design seeks to build upa “stage”, and create a piece of edge atthe city’s northern boundary. Two foldedbands, one made of skeletal steel and sur-faced with copper connecting the river andthe mountainous landscape beyond withthe city, the other made of reinforced con-crete folded to form a spatial intersectionhousing a series of activities: performing,spectating, and exhibiting. A curved metalscreened circulation wall opens at the bot-tom to allow the copper band to pass asan entrance into the lobby to develop itsfolded intersection. Through it, an indus-trial stack in the middle of the site is iso-lated from busy city, and anchored with thebuilding as a monument. Along the westside, an additional element characterizedas the education box hovers over theground, with unobstructed views of theriver and the old steel bridge on one end,and the green hill on the other.

ABSTRACT

5

6

ABSTRACT

THE SITELOCATIONHISTORYLOCAL CONTEXTPLANNING STRATEGY OF DOWNTOWNAREA CIRCULATIONMISSION

CONTEXT AND BUILDING

COMPONENTS

CONCLUSION

7

35°04’06” N

85°20’30” W

85°20’30” W

35°04’06” N

LOCATION

8

Chattanooga, a city insoutheastern Tennessee,and the seat of HamiltonCounty, is a port on theTennessee River, nearthe Georgia border.Bridges span the river tolink the two sections of thecity, which is almostsurrounded by mountainsas the center of an areawith many scenicattractions, includingLookout Mountain, RubyFalls, and RaccoonMountain Caverns. Itsgeneral climate is hot andhumid during the summer,cool in the winter.

9

Old steel bridge

TENNESSEE RIVER

10

The city’s focus on development thatmeets the needs of futuregenerations has earnedChattanooga world-wide recognition.In the 1990s, Chattanoogaattempted to build its economyaround environmental principles, andtoday the city’s air is again clean.Tennessee Riverpark Master Plan,created in the mid-1980s, has beenthe outline for the ongoingrevitalization of the 35 km (22 mi)riverfront.

The community now known asChattanooga was laid out in 1838and grew as a river port; it wasincorporated as a city in 1839.After the Civil War, Chattanoogawas built as an industry base. By1880, it had become one of theleading manufacturing centers inthe nation. And, by 1950 the cityhad the highest number ofmanufacturing employees percapita of any city in the country.

The city also had a growing pollutionproblem, which was endangering itscitizens...and killing its downtown.

Between 1990 and 2001 over sixhundred million dollars were spentin improving its urban area. Thecity has received nationalrecognition for the renaissance ofits beautiful downtown.

HISTORY

11

SOUTH WESTEAST

Chestnut street

LOCAL CONTEXT

The site of the Experimen-tal Performing Arts Centerbuilding is located at the in-tersection of West 2ndStreet and ChestnutStreet, at the edge ofdowntown Chattanooga. Itlies between the Tennes-see Aquarium and theIMAX 3D Theater, facingthe Tennessee river. TheArts Center replaces exist-ing surface parking on thesite.

12

NORTHWEST EAST

CONTEXT OF THE SITE

THE SITE LOOKING FROM CHESTNUT

The site offers an opportunityto contribute to the develop-ment of downtown’s edge andthe connection of downtownwith the river and mountainsbeyond. The program requiresthat an existing industrial stackin the middle of the site mustbe incorporated into the designsolution as a monument tomany manufacturing facilitiesthat once line the riverfront andprovided an economic base forChattanooga.What is the proper relationshipbetween the industrial stackand the building, and how tocreate the relationship is a cru-cial point in the building design.

13

site

Buildings are approaching the city bound-ary in lines stretching from the center ofdowntown. Matching with the urban con-text became a starting point of the con-cept of the design, extending the lines to-wards the river and the mountains.

EDGE ED

DGE

GE EDGE EDGE EEDG DE GE E

EDGE EDGE EDGE EDGE EDGE EDGE EDGE

DGE

GE E

E

ED

D

GE

G

DG

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GE

D

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ED

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PLANNING STRADEGY OF DOWNTOWN

14

Second street

Che

stnu

t Stre

et

An analysis of local circulation showsthat the main approach takes place onthe site through Chestnut Street andmerges together at the intersection ofWest 2nd Street and Chestnut Street.The corner is a significant space inwhich the building communicates withother important existing buildings,forming a node and connecting the sitewith downtown space.

AREA CIRCULATION ANALYSIS

15

16

The programThe mission of the Center will be to nurtureexcellence and innovation in theperforming arts through education andpresentation. The center will provide ateaching lab for young people in theperforming arts and will invite outstandingprofessional artists to perform and teachwith the ultimate goal of establishing theCenter as a model of innovation in drama,music and dance.

The program includes :Public SpacesTheaterTheater Support AreasEducational SpacesWorkShopsAdministrative Suite

MISSION

17

18

ABSTRACT

THE SITE

CONTEXT AND BUILDING

COMPONENTS

CONCLUSION

DEVELOPEMENT OF IDEAGEOMETRY OF THE INTERSECTION SPACERELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GEOMETRY AND CONTEXTDIALOGUE BETWEEN INTERSECTION SPACE AND CONTEXT

19

Idea I:The stack is a fragment of the city’s indus-trial history. It penetrates the building inthe middle leading light into inside space.The building leaves a public green plazaunderneath, which faces the riverfront areaand frames the scenery on the oppositeside of the river. But this scheme was aban-doned because the building would block theview to the stack from the public urbanspaces, and the relationship between themcouldn’t be articulated.

UNDERSTANDING THE RELATIONSHIP- Initial ideas

20

Idea II:

The building withdraws from thestack, adjacent to West 2nd street, andmakes an alignment to the existingIMAX 3D Theater. The inclined wallfollows the city planning strategy, andmakes a plaza along Chestnut Streetwhich leads people into the building,and to the riverfront. Half of the build-ing is floating, leaving a shadedground underneath. This public spacemerges with the riverfront park. Thestack is embedded into the greenplaza, as a sculpture. Part ofbuilding’s geometry responds to thedirection of scenic views. The roof andcolumns frame the picturesque land-scape beyond. But this idea doesn’tcreate a strong relationship betweenthe industrial stack and the building.

21

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FINAL PROPOSAL

22

SITE PLAN 0’ 5’ 10’ 20’ 40’ 80’

23

GEOMETRY OF THE INTERSECTION SPACE

The copper band --- The Bottom and the Southern boundary.

The concrete band --- The Top and the Eastern boundary.

The curvered wall --- The Northern boundary.

The education box --- The Western boundary.24

AUDITORIUMAUDITORIUMPARKING SPACEPARKING SPACE

MONUMENT SPACEMONUMENT SPACE

EDUCATIONEDUCATION

LOBBY

LOBBY

ENTRANCE PLAZAENTRANCE PLAZA

SPACE ARRANGEMENT

BUILDING CIRCULATION

25

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GEOMETRY AND CONTEXT

26

0’ 5’ 10’ 20’ 40’WEST ELEVATION

27

EAST ELEVATION

Along 2nd Street, the building has the same height asthe existing buildings nearby as an attempt to achievecontinuity along the street.

28

NORTH ELEVATION

29

DIALOGUE BETWEEN INTERSECTION SPACE AND CONTEXT

To the west of the entrance hall,the natural setting and man-made space interact. The greenhill becomes a garden for the in-side space.

The plaza at the corner

A plaza is defined with setbacksfrom Chestnut Street and Sec-ond Street. From this plaza along entrance ramp leads to thelobby.

30

THE LONGITUDINAL SECTION

31

1.Dressing Room 2.Rest Room 3.Costume Shop 4.Stage Shop 5.Storage 6.Reception 7.Office 8.Auditorium 9.Stage(Workshop) 10. Storage 11.Foyer

1 1

2

3

45

67

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ing

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nce

THE GROUND FLOOR32

9

8

10

11

1213

14

14

15

20

19

16

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THE SECOND FLOOR THE THIRD FLOOR

12.Box Office 13.Lobby (Exibition Hall) 14.Class Room 15.Design Center 16.Choral Rehearsal 17.Dance Rehearsal 18.Balcony 19.Control Booths 20.Workshop

33

34

ABSTRACT

THE SITE

CONTEXT AND BUILDING

COMPONENTS

CONCLUSION

THE COPPER BANDTHE CONCRETE BANDTHE CURVED WALLTHE EDUCATION BOXTHE THEATER

35

36

The copper band begins as thetheater roof, folds and drops as aninclined wall, and folds again to levelas a walkable man-made floor thatreaches the edge of the river.Conceptually it connects the naturalsetting of Riverfront Park and themountains beyond with the denserurban environment. Underneath thisvast, horizontal copper deck, arrivaland parking are joined with a grandaccess toward the complex markedby the existing smoke stack.

THE COPPER BAND

37

The copper band forms the inclinedwall and the floor of the intersec-tion space.

38

The copper roof extends its edge out pastthe wall above the street, creating a cov-ered urban space.

39

The copper flows downas a inclined wall, andfolds as a man-madefloor. Between the walland floor, the copperforms a groove, a con-ceptual divide, housinglights which shine onthe inclined wall.

Copper band

C channel

Steel beam

Ground

Continuity at detail

40

The copper band flows out as a floorpassing through the gate-like open-ing at the bottom of the curved wall.The material continuity suggests aliteral coherence between inside andoutside.

Along two sides, the copper bandfolds up to an eye-level boundary.The two boundaries constrict theview, and present the beautifulmountainscape. They also exhibitinformation about events in the cityand its development on their sur-face.

41

At the end, the deck steps down into a balcony exposing the sharp horizontaldeck line without boundary. Upon arrival on the balcony, one realizes the riverdirectly below. From there, it is possible to enjoy the boating and other activityon the river.

42

DEVELOPMENT OF THE COPPER BAND

Underneath the copper roof andwall, the space frame structurespans 90 feet to contain the audito-rium and its workshop. The spaceframe system is composed of fourprimary structural elements and asecondary system of connectingelements.

43

44

Perpendicular to the copper band,the concrete band begins as afloating roof over the entrance hall.It folds and becomes a wall andfinally extends to the west as a floortoward the other institutionalbuildings. Along its side a plaza isdefined with setbacks from ChestnutStreet and Second Street. From thisplaza a long entrance ramp leads tothe lobby.

THE CONCRETE BAND

45

The concrete band is folded up toconstruct an intersection with cop-per band. Natural light, insertedinto the intersection space throughthe gap between the two bands,emphasizes the two bands.

The view from the western edge of the intersection space

The structure of the concrete band

46

THE TRANSVERSE SECTION AT THE INTERSECTION SPACE

47

LOBBY BOX IN THE INTERSECTION SPACE

Underneath the concrete bandis a hanging glass box, inwhich a small box-office andthe lobby are located. The pri-mary structure of the box issteel studs accompanied by aglass structure, one end ofwhich is hung by cables, whilethe other is held by the curvedwall. Two bridges lead peoplefrom the lobby into the theaterpuncturing the inclined copperband.

48

49

Lobby / Exhibition hall

Box office

SPACE AT THE INTERSECTION

One bridge extends to the outside fromthe theater’s foyer penetrating the metalscreen curved wall, and ends as a bal-cony close to the chimney. It ties thosecomponents together.

50

Balcony

The lobby is the circulation pivot and thecenteral “stage” in the intersectionspace. It houses display of student scen-ery designs and costumes.

51

12

3

4 4

Vertical section through main facade.1 Glass bracket.2 Glass stiffener, laminated safetyglass 19mm.3 “Planar”system laminated safetyglass, 12mm.4 Glass stiffener made from stainlesssteel.

MAKING THE GLASS BOX

52

The glass structureand hanging cablecreate the maximumtransparency. Itmakes the boundaryof the intersectionspace clear.

53

54

The curved circulation wall is aboundary membrane that sepa-rates the stack from the busy cityto promote serenity. At the sametime it provides a function asproscenium screen with its curvedgeometry as a response to thestack.

THE CURVED CIRCULATION WALL

55

The curved metal screened wall anchorsthe chimney with a terrace balcony. Thewall provides an opportunity to read thechimney at different height levels, fromdeck floor, bridge, education box and ter-race balcony.

56

The covered wall and the horizontal cop-per deck form a quiet space which is com-patible with the monument --- the stack.This space also provides a place for theout-air performing activities.

57

The one-directional long stair leadspeople from the underground parkingspace level and deck floor level to thelobby, inside balcony, and the high ter-race. It creates a strong space inside thewall.

concrete wall steel frame systerm

cover the concrete walland steel frame structure

perforated metal panels

58

The curved wall is con-structed with a con-crete wall and a steelstuds system coveredwith perforated metalpanels. Stairs are lo-

cated in between.

THE CURVED WALL GROUND FLOOR

THE CURVED WALL SECOND FLOOR

THE CURVED WALL THIRD FLOOR

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60

THE EDUCATION BOX

The education space is a floating hollow boxopening on two ends, linking the views point-ing to the river and the old steel bridge on oneend, and the green hill in the city on the other.It hovers over the ground along the west sideof the building, and defines the west boundaryof the intersection space. The floating boxmakes a place underneath. The transparencyof the box invites the natural environment intothe public space.

61

THE GROUND FLOOR

THE SECOND FLOOR

THE THIRD FLOOR

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63

The hollow box is occu-pied by the dance andchoral rehearsalrooms, a design centerand class rooms. It isdetached from otherspart of the building sig-naling its different char-acter. This requires arelatively quiet and pri-vate place away frompublic spaces.Perforated metal pan-els cover the box fromopaque to translucent.

64

65

View from the Entrance hall toward the Education Box

View from the Education Box toward the Entrance Hall

The box opens at the middle of the wall, which faces the public space at theintersection. The opening allows people to walk from the lobby, and pro-vides access for communication between the space in the box and theintersection space.

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67

68

The theater space itself is accessed via thelobby bridges puncturing the inclined cop-per band. The copper band, supported bythe space frame mega structure, sheltersthe stage and support rooms. A secondaryceiling suspended from the copper band, ahydraulic floor and rotating wall panels fur-ther assist the experimental character of thetheater space.

THE THEATER

69

The theater provides maximum flexibil-ity to arrange the seating. It can ac-commodate various arrangements ofthe stage such as a thrust, arena, oran innovative arrangement matchingthe creative drama. The movable floor,the main access to the workshop fromthe theater, provides convenience toinstall the stage.

70

SEATING ARRANGEMENTS

71

The rotating walls become both the door andthe wall. When the walls are closed, they con-nect to the other surfaces to complete the room.When they turn open, the walls disappear, andthey become separated pieces working as aboundary between two spaces. People can walkin or out between them.

THE ROTATING WALL

72

THE CEILING

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74

ABSTRACT

THE SITE

CONTEXT AND BUILDING

COMPONENTS

CONCLUSION

75

76

Conclusion

The design is not in making the elements. El-ements are realizations of the demands of thesite and its context. “ The design is the struggleto develop the elements into shapes compat-ible with each other, reaching for a wholeness,”and is realizations that “the order of structure,the order of construction, the order of time,and the order of spaces come into play.” --Louis I. Kahn. 77

PRINTED SOURCES

Urs Buttiker. Louis I. Kahn: light and space. New York: Whitney Library of Design, 1994.David G. De Long. Louis I. Kahn : in the realm of architecture. Los Angeles: Museum of

Contemporary Art; New York: Rizzoli, 1991.Klaus-peter Gast. Louis I. Kahn: the idea of order. Boston: Birkhauser Verlag, c1998.

Dalibor Vesely. “The Nature of Communicative Space”. Article in progressArchiLab : radical experiments in global architecture Edited by Frederic Migayrou and Marie-

Ange Brayer. London : Thames & Hudson, 2001.

Toyo Ito, 1983/1995. Madrid : El Croquis Editorial, c1994.GA Document 57

Heinz W. Krewinkel. Glass buildings : material, structure, and detail. Boston : Birkhauser, c1998.

All photographs are by the author or are in the public domain, unless otherwise noted.

78

VITA

EDUCATION2001 - 2003 Master of Architecture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA

1990 - 1994 Bachelor of Eng. in Architecture Design, Hefei Univ. of Technology, Hefei,China

EXPERIENCE2003 - Present Collaway Johnson Moore West, Winston-Salem, NC

2002 - 2003 VPI+SU:College of Architecture + Urban Studies:Graduate Teaching Assistant Blacksburg, VA

2002 Shriver & Holland Associate, Norfolk, VA

1999 Shangdi Architects Associate, Beijing, China

1994 - 2000 China Electronics Engineering Design Institute, Beijing, China

HONORS - AWARDS2003 Award for Excellence in the 2003 ACSA/American Institute of Steel Construction Student Design Competition.

Instructional Fee Scholarship, VPI+SU:College of Architecture + Urban StudiesTau Sigma Delta Honor SocietyOutstanding Student Honor Society

2002 Award for Excellence in the 2001-2002 ACSA/Wood Architecture Design International Competition.Instructional Fee Scholarship, VPI+SU:College of Architecture + Urban StudiesPhi Kappa Phi Invitee

2000 First prize, the “Excellent Project” awarded by the Information Ministry of China.

1999 “Excellent design project” awarded by CEEDI, China.

1993 First prize, the 1993 China National Design Competition of Architecture Students.

1992 - 1994 Outstanding Student Scholarship awarded by Hefei Univ. of Technology, China

CERTIFICATES1998 Registered Architect Class II, Beijing, China

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YINGPING GUO