Structural engineers are often shy and not good at public speaking. At the structural engineering division, all staff members, regardless of position or age, always strive to make proposals and actively express their opinions on structural planning. A group that competes with a strong sense of purpose will produce better architecture and structures that push the boundaries. That is the kind of creative group we aim to be.
In this context, the client requested that we reconsider the design of the Marine Messe Terrace structure during the design development of the Fukuoka Marine Messe Building B. Seeing this as a good opportunity, our team of four, including myself (the deputy director,) the manager, the supervisor, and the newly hired staff member, decided to hold an internal structural design competition. The winner would be responsible for the design development of this project. In this competition, we each made proposals on an equal footing in response to the concepts and requirements, such as "creating a festive and exciting atmosphere for visitors” and "taking advantage of the flexibility of membrane materials to achieve a free formal expression." We pursued aesthetics and structural rationality while seeking comparative advice from a membrane manufacturer on the workability, economic efficiency and legal compliance of each proposal.
We pursued design aesthetics and structural rationality, and the membrane manufacturer compared the workability, economic efficiency, and legal compliance of each proposal and gave us advice. Ultimately, we each presented our proposals to the architect in charge, narrowed them down to two proposals, and conducted a 3D verification to determine the winner. It was a good competition, except that I unexpectedly won first place.
Following the Fukuoka Marine Messe Terrace, we made a similar attempt with the entrance canopy of a hospital in Okayama Prefecture. Furthermore, we started a training program last year to help young employees, ranging from one year to twelve years in employment, to develop their creativity through proposal training using our past works. The assignment from this training program was also incorporated into the new employee training program the following year, and the interns were also asked to work on the same assignment while consulting with the employees. This allowed students to learn about Kume Sekkei's operations and use the materials produced for their job-hunting activities.
In the most recent proposal training, participants were asked to propose a roof structure for a media center at a junior high school in the Tohoku region. Teams of one to three members who had been on the job for one to twelve years worked together to make proposals. The subject is the roof with a triangular plan, which covers the media center at the center of the school. This roof plays a key role in design, creating a space full of light and expressing the structural framework. The proposed structure was expected to be structurally rational and economical as well as aesthetically outstanding. During the training, ten different proposals were submitted. Each team gave a presentation, and senior experts evaluated each proposal.
The following seven items were used as criteria for evaluation.
・Will the students like it? (5 points)
・Openness and aesthetic appeal of design (10 points)
・Comfort (5 points)
・Economic efficiency (10 points)
・Structural rationality (20 points)
・Workability (10 points)
The total score was 60 points, and the proposal with the highest score was chosen as the winner.
Ms. S (First year of employment)
・Since the assignment was a triangular roof, it was interesting to see many different ideas.
・I found it challenging to pursue both design aesthetics and structural rationality.
・Working in a group taught me a lot about what I need to think about when designing
Mr. T (First year of employment)
・While working as a team, I was surprised by the speed with which the seniors analyzed the assignment. I learned various points that should be considered when designing a structure.
・I realized the difficulty of creating an attractive structure and matching structural rationality with landscape and design rationality. I want to explore this further.
Ms. M (Second year of employment)
・Working in a group helped me learn ways of thinking that I would never have been able to discover independently.
・I found the presentations engaging and inspiring, as there were many different ways of thinking
Mr. Y (Second year of employment)
・I should have improved the way I conveyed my ideas. The feedback I received about how well the ideas matched the space was especially valuable to me personally. Needless to say, I felt one must design with the premise of creating a good design not only from an engineering perspective but also from an architectural perspective.
Mr. U (Third year of employment)
・I realized how you present something can make a big difference in the impression it makes
Mr. S (Fourth year of employment)
・This group work was refreshing. Working with a group of people of my generation was exciting despite the inevitable opposition and conflicts of opinion.
Mr. H (Sixth year of employment)
・Each group had a different way of developing ideas, creating deliverables, and giving presentations, and the comments from the architects were beneficial and informative.
・The structural comments on the rationality of the framework and architectural perspectives also inspired me greatly
Mr. M (Sixth year of employment)
・Discussing things as a team led to lively debates, which I think was very meaningful
Mr. S (Eleventh year of employment)
・The teamwork was a good opportunity to practice sharing opinions and complementing each other's weaknesses.
・This training program covers various topics (idea generation, structural design, team-based problem solving, presentations, cost...)
・It was challenging to interpret the characteristics of the triangle.
The team was formed by members who had always wanted to design structures using wood as the structural material. The team name MOK (moku means wood in Japanese) was created by combining the members' initials. Given that there are few opportunities for young engineers to design wooden structures, we feel designing a wooden structure on an occasion like this is a good way to develop a flair for designing actual wooden structures.
Since this was a proposal-based training program, we generated ideas for relatively bold structures, broadly divided into "reciprocal" and "truss" systems. The reciprocal system was a novel and attractive structural design, but we decided on a roof structure using a truss structure with lower chords made of LVL boards that looked like sails to match the school’s communal space.
The span and the truss height are correlated in a truss structure. If a truss is applied in one direction in a triangular plan, the span for each material will change, and the required truss height will also change accordingly. We thought that a structurally rational framework would directly result in a design with a three-dimensional feel.
The three-dimensionally stacked wooden boards envelop the expansive space, and the sunlight filters down through the gaps between the boards, producing a warm atmosphere.
We also focused on details, recognizing the importance of joint details in designing a wooden structure. Workability is another critical factor in large-span structures, so we designed a structure that could be built without needing temporary support.
The three of us exchanged ideas and divided up the work, and we feel we successfully produced a highly concentrated proposal quickly..
"Will the students like it?"
After listening to the explanation of the assignment, the evaluation point of "Will the students like it?" stuck in my mind. Looking back, the three years of junior high school were a short period, but for many children entering adolescence, it was a time full of memories and encounters, and the same was true for me. First, I considered incorporating the regional culture, traditions, and local specialties into the roof structure. This led to the idea of a roof structure featuring steel beams called "fan-shaped beams" and "sword-shaped beams." For the roof with a triangular plan, the key to the assignment, I focused on the "centroid," a fundamental concept in plane geometry, when arranging the beams. I created a learning space for students to deepen their understanding of each lesson by constructing the roof plane based on the rules of the formulas and theorems for geometry covered in junior high school mathematics. The roof surface, comprised of many similar triangles, allows for greater in-plane stiffness, creating a large, light, and rhythmical roof without horizontal braces. With the above plans, I believe I successfully created a school where the students could feel a sense of attachment and pride in their alma mater.
"How can I create something that makes sense to me?"
All young employees are required to participate in this task. I was very busy with work when we had the training, so I felt I should be exempted, especially when my workload was heavy. However, we sometimes must make proposals on short notice in our daily work. With that in mind, I decided to participate because I understood the importance of the assignment for creating good works in the future.
First, I considered how to take advantage of the triangular shape. I thought about connecting the centers of each side of the triangle to minimize the span, but I felt that this didn't fully take advantage of the triangular shape. So, I decided to align the main beams and vary the beam size to match the different spans, emphasizing the three-dimensionality of the space. The atrium space generates not only a horizontal but also a vertical circulation. The three-dimensional roof creates different views from all directions. In this way, I successfully created a proposal that makes the most of the three-dimensionality by letting in light through the three-dimensional roof.
Since it was a training program, I initially opted for a bold design, but given the time constraints, I decided on a simple design that made sense to me. I am happy with the result. The assignment was challenging, but looking back on it now, I'm glad I did it.