Tamedia Building
Zurich, Switzerland · 2013
Photo · Photo by Shigeru Ban Architects Europe
A construction-phase precedent showing Shigeru Ban's innovative interlocking glulam timber structure for the Tamedia Building, highlighting complex timber-to-timber joinery without metal connectors.
- What we like about this project
- The complete absence of visible steel plates or bolts at the primary structural intersections.
Materials
- timber
- glulam
- concrete
Visual identifiers
- timber-structure
- interlocking-joints
- glulam-frame
- construction-phase
- shigeru-ban
Style tags
- high-tech
- organic
- structuralist
- mass-timber
Visual tags
- mass-timber
- timber-joinery
- structural-frame
- sustainable-design
- swiss-architecture
- Geometry
- A multi-story orthogonal grid of heavy timber columns and beams, featuring rounded interlocking joints and a pitched roof profile at the top.
- Facade system
- Open structural frame (pre-glazing installation).
- Structural guess
- Interlocking glulam timber post-and-beam frame with timber dowel connections.
- Spatial scale
- Five-story commercial scale, with construction workers and scissor lifts providing a clear sense of human proportion.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting sharp shadows within the open timber frame.
- Atmosphere
- An active, precise assembly of monumental woodwork under clear daylight.
- Environmental context
- Active construction site in an urban setting, with neighboring office buildings visible in the background.
- Spatial experience
- The open structural frame reveals a deep, layered interior floor plate with visible circulation stairs and temporary safety barriers during construction.
- Composition rhythm
- A rigorous, repeating modular grid of columns and beams intersected by rounded joint nodes.
- Style reading
- High-tech organic structuralism
- Program
- Office building
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- timber, glulam, concrete
- Visual identifiers
- timber-structure, interlocking-joints, glulam-frame, construction-phase, shigeru-ban
- Style tags
- high-tech, organic, structuralist, mass-timber
- Visual tags
- mass-timber, timber-joinery, structural-frame, sustainable-design, swiss-architecture
- Geometry
- A multi-story orthogonal grid of heavy timber columns and beams, featuring rounded interlocking joints and a pitched roof profile at the top.
- Facade system
- Open structural frame (pre-glazing installation).
- Structural guess
- Interlocking glulam timber post-and-beam frame with timber dowel connections.
- Spatial scale
- Five-story commercial scale, with construction workers and scissor lifts providing a clear sense of human proportion.
- Lighting
- Bright, direct daylight casting sharp shadows within the open timber frame.
- Atmosphere
- An active, precise assembly of monumental woodwork under clear daylight.
- Environmental context
- Active construction site in an urban setting, with neighboring office buildings visible in the background.
- Spatial experience
- The open structural frame reveals a deep, layered interior floor plate with visible circulation stairs and temporary safety barriers during construction.
- Composition rhythm
- A rigorous, repeating modular grid of columns and beams intersected by rounded joint nodes.
- Style reading
- High-tech organic structuralism
- Program
- Office building
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture