TABLE STACK
A proposal for an IKEA headquarter in Raleigh, North Carolina
Brief
The project is a part of the studio course, Mass Timber and Scandinavian Effect, offered and led by Jennifer Bonner and Hanif Kara in Spring 2020. Using cross-laminated timber (CLT) as the primary material, the studio challenges the current state of Tower typology in terms of its form, structure, materiality, and constructability.
CLT as primary material
CLT offers an alternative to the traditional stick-frame construction as 2x6s are laminated together to form a large sheet of panel. Tower typology is foreign to timber as its primary structure. While concrete and steel dominate as the primary material for tower historically, timber has established itself to be more sustainable and cost-efficient in the recent field of architecture, construction, and engineering. Coupled with the readily available CNC technology, CLT can offer endless possibilities for openings, shape, and geometry. Using CLT also simplifies the construction method. The panels are sliced and cut in the factory, then transported to the job site to be assembled using a crane without requiring unnecessarily large vehicles like that of mixer truck for concrete construction, keeping the job site clean and concise. Synonymous to once innovative and straightforward construction method like, tilt-up, building with CLT is simple and effortless.
Concept
Through the simple act of stacking tables, the proposal re-envisions a sprawled IKEA headquarter as a vertically stacked tower. Across the American landscape, department stores like Wal-mart and Target monetize itself on the ‘American bigness’. Comparable to these big box stores, IKEA utilizes ‘American bigness’ to introduce the Scandinavian Effect. Using the IKEA Plaza masterplan in Almhut, Sweden as a case study, various programs are extracted for the tower. The programs include museum, storage, showroom, office, hotel, housing, and rooftop bar. As the user moves up, the IKEA products are first viewed as coveted art pieces within the museum, to owned objects within individual apartment units.
Structure + Construction + Specification
Utilizing the nature of CLT’s mass-ness and blank-ness, four generic tables are created based on the 6m x 6m (20’x20’) grid, overlaid on the site. In Type 1, the tabletop is supported by 4 pinwheel legs. In Type 2, the legs are offset to achieve a cantilever top. Type 3 and 4 are scaled accordingly to the grid. The generic tables are then scaled vertically then stacked, nested, and rotated in various configurations to accommodate specific programs while creating spatial hierarchy. As the tables are scaled, the tabletops span farther from the core and the table legs are lengthened. In some cases, the tabletop and leg spans 54 ft. Diagonal walls are introduced to brace the table legs back to the core. The tabletop or floor plate assembly uses the diagrid system to help the floor plate span from the core to the wall. The result is a column-free plan that accommodates the diverse programs of the IKEA headquarter.
Façade + Detail
The façade utilizes CNC technology to route CLT panels in the aesthetic of a draped tablecloth. Similar to conventional construction methods used in big box stores, the CLT panels are tilted-up in place and assembled. The panel is then cladded with anodized aluminum and Canadian cedar shingles to protect it from moisture exposure. The detail illustrates how CLT is used both as a structural and façade component to affect the aesthetic of the exterior and interior. Both cedar shingles, a domestic material of a home, and anodized aluminum, an industrial material of an office, mimic the tone of the CLT. The tower utilizes the advanced structural and engineering material, CLT, to propose for a column-free plan to accommodate various programs while maintaining spatial hierarchy to reinterpret the tower typology.
The project is a part of the studio course, Mass Timber and Scandinavian Effect, offered and led by Jennifer Bonner and Hanif Kara in Spring 2020. Using cross-laminated timber (CLT) as the primary material, the studio challenges the current state of Tower typology in terms of its form, structure, materiality, and constructability.
CLT as primary material
CLT offers an alternative to the traditional stick-frame construction as 2x6s are laminated together to form a large sheet of panel. Tower typology is foreign to timber as its primary structure. While concrete and steel dominate as the primary material for tower historically, timber has established itself to be more sustainable and cost-efficient in the recent field of architecture, construction, and engineering. Coupled with the readily available CNC technology, CLT can offer endless possibilities for openings, shape, and geometry. Using CLT also simplifies the construction method. The panels are sliced and cut in the factory, then transported to the job site to be assembled using a crane without requiring unnecessarily large vehicles like that of mixer truck for concrete construction, keeping the job site clean and concise. Synonymous to once innovative and straightforward construction method like, tilt-up, building with CLT is simple and effortless.
Concept
Through the simple act of stacking tables, the proposal re-envisions a sprawled IKEA headquarter as a vertically stacked tower. Across the American landscape, department stores like Wal-mart and Target monetize itself on the ‘American bigness’. Comparable to these big box stores, IKEA utilizes ‘American bigness’ to introduce the Scandinavian Effect. Using the IKEA Plaza masterplan in Almhut, Sweden as a case study, various programs are extracted for the tower. The programs include museum, storage, showroom, office, hotel, housing, and rooftop bar. As the user moves up, the IKEA products are first viewed as coveted art pieces within the museum, to owned objects within individual apartment units.
Structure + Construction + Specification
Utilizing the nature of CLT’s mass-ness and blank-ness, four generic tables are created based on the 6m x 6m (20’x20’) grid, overlaid on the site. In Type 1, the tabletop is supported by 4 pinwheel legs. In Type 2, the legs are offset to achieve a cantilever top. Type 3 and 4 are scaled accordingly to the grid. The generic tables are then scaled vertically then stacked, nested, and rotated in various configurations to accommodate specific programs while creating spatial hierarchy. As the tables are scaled, the tabletops span farther from the core and the table legs are lengthened. In some cases, the tabletop and leg spans 54 ft. Diagonal walls are introduced to brace the table legs back to the core. The tabletop or floor plate assembly uses the diagrid system to help the floor plate span from the core to the wall. The result is a column-free plan that accommodates the diverse programs of the IKEA headquarter.
Façade + Detail
The façade utilizes CNC technology to route CLT panels in the aesthetic of a draped tablecloth. Similar to conventional construction methods used in big box stores, the CLT panels are tilted-up in place and assembled. The panel is then cladded with anodized aluminum and Canadian cedar shingles to protect it from moisture exposure. The detail illustrates how CLT is used both as a structural and façade component to affect the aesthetic of the exterior and interior. Both cedar shingles, a domestic material of a home, and anodized aluminum, an industrial material of an office, mimic the tone of the CLT. The tower utilizes the advanced structural and engineering material, CLT, to propose for a column-free plan to accommodate various programs while maintaining spatial hierarchy to reinterpret the tower typology.