Course info

The Aspen Art Museum, designed by architect Shigeru Ban, includes a long-span three-dimensional wood space-frame roof. Ban’s charge was to create a wood space frame with spans of more than 50 feet and cantilevers of 14 feet, in a structural depth of 3 feet. The space frame was to have two planes of intersecting diagonal webs of curved members that undulated up and down to touch the planes of the top and bottom chords with no visible connectors. This case study presentation will describe the design and construction of the wood structure, including paths explored but not chosen for the final design. 

By the end of the course, you will be able to do the following:

• Articulate the particular demands associated with creating a 3-dimensional space frame entirely in wood.
• Recognize the advantages and disadvantages of several wood connection strategies in space-frame structures.
• Be aware of manufacturing capabilities and limitations that influenced the design of the Aspen Art Museum roof structure.
• Understand the importance of early engagement of manufacturing and engineering partners in the design process for innovative wood structures.