Archinect
Hedi Mao

Hedi Mao

Philadelphia, PA, US

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The Nexus Beam Hub

The architecture and construction industry is indeed responsible for serious waste problems. The construction process leaves significant waste and debris, including demolishing structures to construct new buildings at the end of the life cycle and the waste and debris resulting from the material processing and preparation for new construction. They all contribute significantly to the waste problems globally. To address this problem and eliminate waste, the continual use and reuse of resources should be at the core of the design process.  Moreover, the building design and use characteristics should also be involved in this process. Only then, a circular design process may be established, which would be at the intersection of the material properties and building design and use (Geldermans, 2016; Van den Berg et al., 2019). This design approach values the ”creative and distinctive use” rather than the quality of material (Aravena, 2011).

The project follows the structural principle of hammer beams, but changes parameters, especially in the horizontal direction, to break the symmetry of the original structure to form diverse spaces with different qualities. By organizing mega structures in different ways, buildings can achieve large-span space and cantilever structures, but at the same time the mega structure will generate outward thrust, which needs to be offset by the tension provided by the secondary structure.

In addition, by following the structural language of the innovative hammer beam system, not only can form columnless large-span spaces of different qualities, but also eliminate corners of building floor slabs and achieve curving floor , thereby obtaining spaces with different publicity and diversity.

 
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Status: School Project