Considering the Quake

“Considering the Quake: Seismic Design on the Edge” explores the intersection between the architectural form and the structural design, through the lens of earthquake engineering.

The exhibition “Considering the Quake: Seismic Design on the Edge” at the Center for Architecture in New York explores the elegant, and oftentimes, elusive intersection between the aesthetics of architectural form and the technicality of structural design, through the lens of earthquake engineering.

Architecture based exhibits are largely concerned with aesthetic detailing and design philosophy-models and visuals support a largely surface view of architecture, which is understandable and with merit, as we are trained to foster a unity and beauty with the environment – this is the crux of an architect’s training. Engineering, on the other hand, explores technical aspects, with little and no interaction with respect to architectural concerns – again traditional training precludes this.

With background/training in both architecture and engineering, the curators Effie Bouras and Ghyslaine McClure begin to think of intersecting, shared, and at times conflicting, ideologies of both the architect and engineer. This fine line becomes an obsession at times; but, how does one explore this? And what do we discover when we expose this “hidden art form”? Bouras and McClure felt that devising an exhibit might help answer, or open a platform, for the discussion of these issues. This exhibit seeks to “peel back the protective coating” of a structure (its facade, interiors) and capture the moment where the philosophy of architecture and the technicality of structural design intersect. This intersection has been explored specifically through earthquake requirements, which represent the most extreme form of structural design because of enhanced detailing demands needed to make a building safe.

Consequently, this exhibit also underlines the importance of architectural involvement in seismic design – not only from the view point of choosing, for example, ceiling or façade systems that are safe under extreme loads, but also extends back to the philosophic beginnings, or “sense of place” developed by the architect, through to the structural reasoning, which is the traditional domain of engineer. In many cases, (and which is certainly true of this exhibit), architectural requirements underscores and pushes structural design towards new systems/products and eventual breakthroughs, and in some cases new ways of thinking about building.

International in scope, projects include OMA’s groundbreaking Taipei Performing Arts Center, CCTV and Shenzhen Stock Exchange; a house rebuilt on the site of a catastrophic earthquake, by Chilean architects Pezo von Ellrichshausen; The Regional Emergency Management Center in Italy; Daniel Libeskind’s Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco with OLMM Consulting Engineers; Singapore/Tokyo based, Studio SKLIM’s, Earthquake resistant Hansha Reflection house; work by California-based Tipping Mar Engineers and Degenkolb Engineering – the oldest seismic engineering firm in the USA; Star Seismic, an innovative seismic technology firm based in Utah that has pioneered the engineering and design of buckling restrained braces (BRBs).

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OMA, CCTV, Beijing. Photo Philippe Ruault. Image courtesy of OMA

On the left: OMA, CCTV, Beijing. Image courtesy of OMA. On the right: Oma, CCTV, Beijing. Photo Iwan Baan. Image courtesy of OMA

OMA, CCTV, Bejing. Butterfly node testing at Tsinghua University by Chas. Image courtesy of OMA

OMA, CCTV, Bejing. Installation of first connection element. Image courtesy of ARUP

Studio SKLIM, Hansha Reflecting House, Japan. Image courtesy of Studio SKLIM

Studio SKLIM, Hansha Reflecting House, Japan. Image courtesy of Studio SKLIM

Studio SKLIM, Hansha Reflecting House, Japan. Image courtesy of Studio SKLIM

OMA, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, China. Photo Philippe Ruault. Image courtesy of OMA

OMA, Shenzhen Stock Exchange, China. Photo Zhang Yihong. Image courtesy of OMA

OMA, Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC), Taipei. Images courtesy of OMA

from February 13 until May 26, 2014
Considering the Quake: Seismic Design on the Edge
curated by Effie Bouras, Ghyslaine McClure, McGill University
exhibit installation by SOFTlab in consultation with ARUP
Center for Architecture
536 LaGuardia Place
New York

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Considering the Quake

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