Worlds First Diagrid Hyperboloid by Shukhov 1896

A diagrid (a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of diagonal grid) is a framework of diagonally intersecting metal, concrete, or wooden beams that is used in the construction of buildings and roofs. It requires less

structural steel Structural steel is steel used for making construction materials in a variety of shapes. Many structural steel shapes take the form of an elongated beam having a profile of a specific cross section (geometry), cross section. Structural steel sha ...

than a conventional

steel frame Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. The develop ...

. Hearst Tower in New York City, designed by

Norman Foster Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank (born 1 June 1935) is an English architect. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Lord Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. Hi ...

, uses 21 percent less steel than a standard design. The diagrid obviates the need for

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...

s and can be used to make large column-free expanses of roofing. Another iconic building designed by Foster,

30 St Mary Axe 30 St Mary Axe, previously known as the Swiss Re Building, is a commercial skyscraper in London's primary financial district, the City of London. Its nickname, The Gherkin, is due to its resemblance to the vegetable. It was completed in Decem ...

, in London, UK, known as "The Gherkin", also uses the diagrid system. British architect Ian Ritchie wrote in 2012:

Buildings utilizing diagrid

* Shukhov Tower in Polibino, Polibino, Russia (1896) * Shukhov Rotunda at the All-Russia exhibition, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia (1896) * Shukhov Tower, Moscow, Russia * Hearst Tower, New York, USA *

, London, England * 1 The Avenue, Manchester, England *

CCTV Headquarters The CCTV Headquarters is a 51-floor skyscraper formed out of a pair of conjoined towers that sits on the East Third Ring Road, Guanghua Road in the Beijing Central Business District (CBD) and serves as the headquarters for China Central T ...

, Beijing, China * The Bow, Calgary, Canada * Seattle Central Library, Seattle, USA *

Capital Gate Capital Gate, also known as the Leaning Tower of Abu Dhabi, is a skyscraper in Abu Dhabi that is over tall, 35 stories high, with over of usable office space. Capital Gate is one of the tallest buildings in the city and was designed to incline 1 ...

, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates * Aldar headquarters, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates * Guangzhou International Finance Center, Guangzhou, China *

Queen Elizabeth II Great Court The Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, commonly referred to simply as the Great Court, is the covered central quadrangle of the British Museum in London. It was redeveloped during the late 1990s to a design by Foster and Partners, from a 1970s ...

at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, London, England * Nagoya Dome, Nagoya, Japan * Westhafen Tower, Frankfurt, Germany *

Merdeka 118 Merdeka 118, formerly known as , KL 118, and PNB 118, is a 118-story List of megatall skyscrapers, megatall skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. At tall, it is the List of tallest buildings, second-tallest building and List of tallest structur ...

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

* MyZeil, Frankfurt, Germany * The Crystal, Copenhagen, Denmark * United Steelworkers Building, Pittsburgh, USA * Tornado Tower, Doha, Qatar * Newfoundland Quay, London, England *

Lotte World Tower Lotte World Tower (), is a 123-story, supertall skyscraper, located in Sincheon-dong, Songpa District, Seoul, South Korea. It is the sixth-tallest building in the world, the tallest in OECD countries and in South Korea, and also the firs ...

, Seoul, Republic of Korea * Atrio Towers, Bogotá, Colombia * King's Cross Station, London, England

References

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Bibliography

Design and construction of steel diagrid structures
by K. Moon, School of Architecture,

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

The diagrid system of Hearst Tower
by the Steel Institute of New York Building Construction Building engineering Roofs Structural system

Buildings utilizing diagrid

See also

References

Bibliography