Nordenson, Guy and Erik Anders Nelson
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ese e Eight residential towers and one hotel structure interconnected by elevated, public bridges constitute the Linked Hybrid mixed-use project in Beijing. This open city within a city also features a cinematheque, a kindergarten, parks, and other attractions. The structural and architectural features of this 220,000 m2 pedestrian-oriented development range from the practical to the whimsical and in many ways exemplify the various challenges and rewards that face designers working on major projects in China. • •• • • By Guy Nordenson, P.E., s.E., F.ASCE, and Erik Anders Nelson, P.E., s.E. WORKING IN CHINA CAN BE A CHAlLENGE FOR ten went to cronies as u•ell as to e11trept-enetm. lu China, as engineers and architects, in part because ofthe contradictiom in other developing economies, valuable land or industries intrinsic in modern Chinese culture--co11tradictions that sometimes went to those with connections rather than to those were cleady appa·rent during the emergenee ofptvgressive ar possessing merit. As a result, there was a very uneven sense of chitecture there in the 1990s and the first decade ofthis centu the value ofcapital and natural resources. Wbile many engi ry. 'There has alu •ays been a strong design and craft cttlture in neers, physiciam, and other professi01zals may have c01zcenz China because ofthe country's historical ambivalence toward for the management ofland, resources, and public welfare, fine art in the Westem sense a11d because ofthe dominant role those to whom opportunities at-e simply given are often will- ofengineers in Communist society. In- CONCEPT SKETCH OF ing to spmdfreely and without much regard. deed, matty of China's cttrrent leaders THE LINKED HYBRID 'This particular combination offactors-professional are engi11eers who often embody the val- CO MPLEX'S 'FILMIC progressivism together u•ith ctwzy capitalism--can create a ues offmgality, resourcefulness, ingenu- URBAN SPACE' unique challenge for both Western and Chinese designers. In ity, and daring in the tradi China, it has been possible to design and con tion ofengineering. struct buildings that would be inconceivable else For the older gmet'tltion where, except perhaps in the Persian Gulf. M01·e of Chinese engi11eers, mrmy over, the expense ofthese spectacular projects, of whom lived and sttffet·ed especially 'll'ith respect to Stich resources as stee4 through the upheavals of the concrete, aluminttm1 glass, and other materials, Cultural Revolution and has been extrat•agrmt by any measure. 'These were at the vcmguard ofDeng material costs are offset by the ve1y low wages of XU/oping's tramformati01z of the migt-ant UJOrkers who mostly originate from the Chinese ec01zomy, the in the countryside ofChina and often live in tem herent contradicti011s ofany poraty dormitories at or near the constmctio11 absolute rationalism are quite clear. Yet they site until the project's completi01z. have embraced a progressive disposition to Indeed the most disturbing and tl'ard contemporary engineering and archi challenging fttct()l; despite the tecture, although tempe1·ed by a continui11g nominal Communism in Chi feeling for frugality. 'Their progressive atti ua, is the economic exploitation tude is inj/ttential became ofthe conttvl that oflow-wage migrant UJOrkers to 1nany of them-particularly tbe universi the benefit oftho se given the busi ty professors-have Otler the building per tress oppm-trmities. mit approval process. 'This opem the u•ay for Many Chinese engineers aud mm1y radical projects. arr:hitects recognize the complex Facilitated by the call first mark in the ities of this situation and con CONCEPT SKETCH OF 1960s by Zhou Enlai (Chou En-lai) for modernization front the difficult social mtd moral dilemmas THE COMPLEX'S MAIN in the four ctreas ofagriculture, i1tdustry, national (/e PASSAGE ROUTES at stake. For the most part this is reflected in fmse, and science and technology and stressed again in debates and criticaltt•ritings, but tbese mis the late 1970s by Deng Xiaoping, this progressivism was cou givings have been unable to slow the rapid pace ofdevelop pledwith market liberalism. As was the case with the neolib ment. Because many designers express their reservatians ·with eralism that took root in many pmts ofthe world beginning courage and h01zesty, it t-emaim interesting to UJOrk in China, in the early 1980s, the opportunities for profit and wealth of as opposed to other t-egi011s ofexcess and extreme developtnent. I [ SZ ] Civ il Eng ineering MARCH ZOll 0885-7024103·001 1·0052/$2!5.00 PER ARTICLE HE UNKED HYBRID COMPLEX, in Beijing, is the gound garage that occupies the entire footprint of the site. The largest of four structural engineering projects that roof of the parking garage supportS both the cinematheque and Guy Nordenson and Associates has undertaken in a large reflecting pond in the center courtyard of the complex. China. It is also a project on which our firm worked Steven Holl has described the project as follows: "The on the design from its inception, in 2003, collaborating close 220,000 m2 Linked Hybrid complex, in Beijing, creates a po ly with Steven Holl Architects, which has offices in New York rous urban space, inviting and open ro the public from every City and Beijing, and with our collaborators in Beijing at the side. As a 'city within a city' the new place has a filmic urban China Academy of Building Research (CABR). The Linked experience of space-around, over, and through multifaceted Hybrid is a great example of the progressive, imaginative, and spatial layers. A three-dimensional public urban space, the daring architecture that has emerged in China recently. The project has programs that vary from commercial, residential, complex consists of 20 unique structures, including 8 resi and educational to recreational." dential towers (containing 644 apartments), a hotel, a cinema The key to this concept is the relationship between the theque, a kindergarten, and an underground parking garage. "courtyard" formed by the buildings-an allusion to that The 35m tall hotel and the eight approximately 60 m rail of the siheyuan, or quadrangle house type, common in Bei rowers are connected at their upper levels by a series of eight jing-and the openness of the building complex to the city bridges. These bridges are public spaces in which residents and around ir. Unlike many gated communities that have been visitors can walk and enjoy various pastimes and activities, and developed in Beijing, the Linked Hybrid complex is generally they accommoclate a care, a fitness room, a gallery, an auditori open ro the public. The bridges create both a landmark ~ um, and other functional spaces. One ofthe largest bridges even and an inextricable visual connection between the i contains a swimming pool. All of the residential towers and complex and the surrounding city. This balance of ; the other buildings can be accessed via the two-level under- community and citizenship is what makes this Unlike the many communi range in height from 2 stories to 20. The devel project unique among the many characterless ties in Beijing that are gated, oper, Beijing-based Modern Green Develop developments occurring in China. the Linked Hybrid complex ment Company, Ltd. (formerly Modern Group), The shape of the space berween the build is generally open to the has built several housing complexes in the im ings and the circulation loops provided by the public. The walk along the mediate area. It is among the major developers bridges were conceived before the buildings complete bridge circuit pro· and patrons of modern architectural develop and the bridges evolved as objects. The cinema vides an exhilarating and ment in Beijing. theque, the hotel, and the kindergarten were in- unique promenade in the air. The tower structures, which feature large eluded in the design after the central space, the cantilevered sections at their upper levels, were rowers, and the bridges had been developed as a composition. designed to be as simple and robust as possible. Each build The positioning of the eight main towers and the circuit of ing measures 30 by 30 m in plan and is typically divided into bridges that link them was skillfully calibrated to shape the four residential units. These typical plans change at the upper central shared space as well as the views to the city beyond. levels at the points where the bridges link to the towers. The The walk along the complete bridge circuit provides an ex bridges are located between the 12th and 18th floors of the hilarating and unique promenade in the air. towers. The cores, which house the elevators, the stairs, and The pedestrian-oriented complex is located adjacent to a the mechanical services, are all compact and enclosed in cast former city wall of Beijing, a choice site at the northeast cor in-place concrete shear walls. Four shear walls, cruciform in ner of the city's Second Ring Road where the highway to the plan, radiate from the central core to form the "party" shear airport enters the city. Similar to other parts ofBei walls for each unit, breaking the total plan into four quad jing, this is a dense urban area with buildings that rants. The floor systems feature cast-in-place beamless slabs with one large distinctive column in each unit to TRUSS cut the span from the core wall to the perimeter. CONFIGURATION The 900 mm deep perimeter moment-resisting frame consists of beams and columns of cast-in place concrete. The corners are open and free of columns, but the grid frame wraps continuously around to form a complete tube frame. The structural diagram is clear and easily adapt ed to numerous apartment layouts. The lateral force-resisting system comprises concrete shear walls, concrete moment-resisting frames, and concrete-en state.