concrete’s materiality can be expressed. These buildings are essays in
the architectural exploitation and expression of cast-in-place concrete
as a structural material.
The typical characteristics of precast concrete – thin and compact
cross-sections, relatively complex forms and repetitive member layout –
are exemplified in the Ferry Terminal and office building, Hamburg
(Fig. 7.17). Thirty-three pairs of precast concrete A-frames define the
200 m long building. Generally placed just inside the exterior skin on
each side of the building, each pair of frames supports simply-supported
beams and suspended floor slabs that span between them.
Several frame bases are exposed within the ferry terminal waiting-
room. They support precast concrete cantilever brackets, similarly
detailed as the main frames, to extend the terminal area beyond the
main building line (Fig. 7.18). Given their skeletal form, blue painted fin-
ish and smallness of cross-section, the brackets could actually be mis-
taken for steel construction! The architect clearly articulates the pin
connections between the A-frames and their brackets, and therefore
emphasizes the site-jointed nature of the precast components. Both in
their forms and connections, the brackets and frames are consistent
with and expressive of the materiality of precast concrete.
The final two examples where structural materiality and construction
are expressed clearly begin with the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao. Just
enough structure is exposed to explain the building’s constructionSTRUCTURAL DETAILING 141
▲ 7.17 Ferry Terminal and office building,
Hamburg, Germany, Alsop and Störmer,
- Partially exposed precast concrete
A-frames.
▲ 7.18 Precast bracket and frame junction.