6. PROJECT INTRODUCTION
IN A GROUP OF 7, WE ARE TO CHOOSE A PARTICULAR
BUILDING, EITHER ONE WITH A SOLID CONSTRUCTION OR ONE WITH A
SURFACE CONSTRUCTION (CHOSEN BY THE LECTURER), AND STUDY
THE VARIOUS STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS THAT ARE USED IN THE PAR-
TICULAR BUILDING. THE STRUCTURAL SYSTEM IS TO CONSIST OF
TWO OR MORE DIFFERENT TYPES. THE IDENTIFIED SYSTEMS ARE
THEN BEING DESCRIBED IN TERMS OF FUNCTION, MATERIALS AND
LOAD DISTRIBUTION. IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THE BUILDING
BETTER, A MODEL IS TO BE BUILT TO A SUITABLE SCALE AS WELL
AS A SUITABLE MATERIALS REPRESENTING THE ORIGINAL BUILDING.
7.
8. BUILDING INTRODUCTION
Church of Seed is a project designed by a Hong
Kongbasedarchitecturefirm;OStudioArchitecture.
The mentioned building is built at one of Chi-
na’s sacred mountain top which is the Luofo
Mountain Scenery District. Living up to its name
Church of Seed, the church is designed based
on a real seed as a representation of spiritu-
al growth, a metaphor element that frequently
appear in Gospel stories. Apart from that, the
particular shape was chosen as to respect
the natural environment as well as the local
culture. It is also to blend in together with the
surrounding as opposed to dominating them.
The entire building is divided into 3 parts which
contributes to 3 different entrances with the wor-
ship hall situated in the centre. The worship hall
consists of 60 handcrafted chairs which were
crafted by the locals in a nearby village. The
curved walls were constructed in situ with bam-
boo,which is one of China’s trademarks in the con-
struction world. In addition to that, the walls has
a finishing of bamboo imprints on them, symboliz-
es the local village’s hut. They were also created
to blend in well with area. The very distinctive
roof is also one of the church’s highlight. Sloping
steps are used as the roof to portray water
flow. This particular element can be seen from
the inside of the church. There are steps on
the roofs which are accessible to the public
which leads them to an observation deck.
The height of the roof gradually increased
with the lowest point starts from the main en-
trance. Such differences are to give the visi-
tors or users a sense of gravity as well as the
grandeur appearance. However, the splen-
dour is well balanced with the humble interior
that contributes in exhibiting peacefulness.
Although the building took the concept
(seed shape) in a literal manner, it is not
to the intention to illustrate the church. The
interplay of lights, shadows, materials and
texture are to be the main religious ico-
nography, apart from the 12 metres high
glass crucifix located on the southeast wall.
9. • 12 metres high crucifix as source of light and warmth
• Roof as steps leading to the observation deck over viewing the mountain and ocean beyond
• In situ bamboo used during the moulding of concrete
• Very minimalistic and unassuming (humble) interior for a quiet reflection and community engagement
• Handcrafted seats by the locals from local timber
• No other ornaments as religious iconography apart from the crucifix
FEATURED ELEMENTS
10. CONSTRUCTION METHODS
THE ENTIRE WALL FOR CHURCH OF SEED IS MADE OUT OF RAW
CONCRETE WHICH ARE CAST IN-SITU BY USING BAMBOO. THEREFORE,
THE MOST PROMINENT CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM FOR THE CHURCH
OF SEED IS THE FAMOUS BAMBOO REINFORCED CONCRETE. THE
FOLLOWING ARE METHODS TAKEN TO CONSTRUCT THE CHURCH’S
BAMBOO REINFORCED WALLS.
11. 1. CONCRETE MIX PROPORTIONS
A SIMILAR PROPORTION OF THE MIX ARE USED AS THE ONE APPLIED IN A
STEEL REINFORCED CONCRETE. HOWEVER, THE AMOUNT OF WATER SHOULD
BE CONTROL AS WATER WOULD AID IN THE SWELLING OF BAMBOO.
2. PLACEMENT OF BAMBOO
BAMBOOS ARE PLACED AND TIED IN A UNIFORM GRID-FORM ARRANGEMENT
(REPLACING THE NORMAL STEEL BARS). THE THICKNESS OF CEMENT BEING
POURED ONTO THE GRID BAMBOO ARE TO BE MORE THAN 2.5CM.
3. ANCHORAGE AND SPLICING OF REINFORCEMENTS
THE FOOTING FOR THE WALL REINFORCEMENTS WILL BE THEN BE IMBEDDED IN
THE CONCRETE UNTIL THE DEPTH OF BOTH BAMBOO AND CONCRETE REACH
A TENSILE STRENGTH WHICH IS USUALLY 10 TIMES THE DIAMETER FOR THE
WHOLE CULMS OF THE BAMBOO.
CONCRETE MIXING
PLACEMENT OF BAMBOOS IN GRID BEFORE
COVERED WITH CONCRETE
CONCRETE
CHICKEN / WIRE MESH
BAMBOO GRID
13. ROOF
MATERIALS ARE BEING CUT; SATAY STICKS AS THE
REINFORCEMENTS OF ROOF, ROOF SHAPE CUT-
OUT FROM MODEL MAKING BOARDS AS THE
TEMPLATE
THE CUTOUT MATERIALS ARE ARRANGED TO FORM
THE ROOF SHAPE
THE PLASTER ARE LEFT TO DRY THEN PAINTED TO A
SIMILAR COLOUR OF THE ORIGINAL ROOF
ROOF TEMPLATE ARE POURED WITH PLASTER MIX
AND IS PUT ASIDE VERTICALLY TO HARDEN
1 2
3 4
14. WALLS
CUTOUTS OF THE TEMPLATE FOR THE WALLS PLASTER ARE POURED INTO THE WALL TEM-
PLATE AND ARE LEFT TO DRY
THE WALLS TEMPLATE ARE REMOVED AND ARE
BEING LEFT TO COOL DOWN
1 2
3
15. FLOOR PLANS ARE BEING TRACED WHICH
WILL THEN BE TRANSFER TO MODEL MAKING
BOARDS AS REFERENCE
CUTOUTS OF THE FLOORS ARE ORGANIZED
BEFORE BEING GLUE TOGETHER
THE CUTOUTS ARE HOLD TIGHTLY TO-
GETHER TO LET THE GLUE DRY AND THAT
ALL OF THE CUTOUTS ARE PLACED IN THEIR
RESPECTIVE PLACE
FLOOR
1 2
3
16. WALL TEXTURE
VASELINE ARE APPLIED TO AN A3 CLEAR
PAPER TO MAKE SURE THE CLAY DOES NOT
STICK
ROLLING PIN ARE USED TO FLATTEN THE
CLAY
A RULER’S EDGE ARE IMPRINTED ON THE
FLATTEN CLAY TO PRODUCE A BAMBOO-
LIKE TEXTURE
CLAY WITH BAMBOO-LIKE IMPRINTS ARE
PASTED AROUND THE WALLS AND LEFT TO
DRY
WALLS WITH PASTED CLAY ARE BEING PAINTED
TO THE ORIGINAL BUILDING’S COLOUR
1 2
3
4
5
17.
18. TRIAL AND ERROR
UNEVEN SURFACE RESULTING FROM
THE DISPROPORTIONATE MIXTURE OF
PLASTER POWDER AND WATER
DIFFICULTIES IN MIXING PLASTER WITH
AN ANGLED CONTAINER
FROSTED PAPER WILL NOT STICK IN
BETWEEN THE PLASTER WITHOUT
CUTTING A SLIT BEFOREHAND
CARDBOARDS CUTOUT DOES NOT
GIVE OUT A PERFECT SHAPE FOR
THE PLASTER AS IT DO NOT HAVE
SMOOTH EDGES
CUTOUT PANEL CLAY AS THE BAM-
BOO-LIKE IMPRINTED WALL IS NOT
APPEALING
19.
20. LOAD DISTRUBUTION ANALYSIS
COMPRESSION FORCE TENSION FORCE
THE HORIZONTAL BEAMS (RED ARROWS) ARE ACTUALLY THE ROOF THAT HELPS
IN TRANSFERRING THE LOAD, TENSION FORCE, HORIZONTALLY TO A VERTICAL
PLANE; THE WALLS (YELLOW ARROWS).
THE TENSION FORCE IS THEN BEING TRANSFERED TOWARDS THE VERTICAL PLANE
WHICH IS THE WALL, VERTICALLY. SUCH ACT IS CALLED THE COMPRESSION
FORCE.
AS THE ENTIRE CHURCH OF SEED ARE MADE OF THE SAME WALL AND DOES NOT
CONSIST OF ANY COLUMNS OR ADDITIONAL WALLS ON THE INTERIOR, SIMILAR
LOAD DISTRIBUTION ARE BEING APPLIED.
THE BLUE ARROWS INDICATED IN THE ABOVE DIAGRAM ARE THE FORCE EXERTED
FROM THE LIVE LOAD ( PEOPLE, MACHINERY, ETC. )
LIVE LOAD
21.
22. FINAL MODEL
THE MODEL HIGHLIGHTS SEVERAL ASPECTS OF THE BUILDING SUCH AS THE MASSING, PLACEMENT OF BAMBOO REINFORCEMENT,
TEXTURE OF THE BAMBOO FORMWORK, ROOF TO WALL JOINTING SYSTEM AS WELL AS WALL TO WALL JOINTING SYSTEM
23.
24. CONCLUSION
UPON COMPLETING THE PROJECT, IT IS NOW EASIER
TO UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF THE STRUCTURAL
SYSTEM USED IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS.
WE COULD IDENTIFY THE DIFFERENCES IN STRUCTURAL
SYSTEM BETWEEN A SURFACE CONSTRUCTION AND A
SOLID CONSTRUCTION DIFFERENT METHODS ARE BE-
ING APPLIED TO DIFFERENT TYPE OF CONSTRUCTIONS.
FURTHERMORE, WE ARE ABLE TO DISCOVER THE LOADS
AND THE FORCES ACT ON THE STRUCTURAL ELE-
MENTS FOR BOTH SOLID AND SURFACE CONSTRUC-
TION. BASED ON THE INFORMATION OR KNOWLEDGE
GAINED, IT IS EASIER IN IMPLEMENTING THEM TO OUR
FUTURE DESIGNS.
