surpassed by two lines of slightly inclined timber posts that delineate
circulation from office area (Fig. 7.8). Spindle-shaped, the slender posts
are capped top and bottom by conical steel shoes. The two bays of
tension-only bracing are also far more elegant than usual. They avoid
repeating the simple and conventional diagonal cross-braced solution
where straight members connect to diagonally opposite joints. Structural
refinement in the form of two additional rods that extend from the
upper corners of the bays avoid the ubiquitous pair of diagonals. This
structural complication yields a more visually interesting arch-like
shape, increases the width available for circulation underneath the brac-
ing and helps raise the level of structural sophistication to that of its
surroundings. Even in the warehouse, fine rod cross-bracing has been
so carefully designed and integrated with the portals, the wall-lining and
the structurally essential horizontal members, that it reads more like
sewing stitching than conventional bracing (Fig. 7.9).
Structural detailing also expresses aspects of building function at the
Kunsthal, Rotterdam. When visitors approach the building at street
level their aesthetic sensibilities are assaulted by two structural details.
First, a large brightly painted unrefined I-beam projects crudely above
the roof (Fig. 7.10). Secondly, adjacent to the main entry, three columns
within close proximity to each other are detailed completely differently.
136 STRUCTURE AS ARCHITECTURE
▲ 7.8 Tobius Grau KG office, Rellingen,
Germany, BRT Architekten, 1998. Structure
in the office interior.
▲ 7.9 Fine diagonal bracing reads as
‘stitching’.
