Presentation given at the Architectural Iron & Steel Conference, Boston, April 2 - 3, 2016

1. CURVES
&
CASTINGS
Terri Meyer Boake
Professor of Architecture
University of Waterloo
Canada
Queen Richmond Center | Toronto, Canada
& Co Architects

3. CURVES
Arganzuela Bridge | Madrid, Spain
Dominque Perrault

4. 3 Ways of Tackling “Curves”
 Bend the steel
 Using a 3 point smooth
bending machine
 Using a brake press
 Heat applied bending
 Facet the building to give
the appearance of curves
while using straight
members
 Cut curved forms out of
plate material

5. Bending Steel Issues
 Member type
 Orientation of member
 Length of member
 Shipping considerations
 Sourced out work
 Accuracy of curve
 Multiple curves

6. Hard Way vs. Easy Way?
 Different shapes are more
or less “easy” to bend
 Tendency for buckling on
tighter curves
 Thin steel likely to buckle
 Heavier steel harder to bend

7. Three Point Pressure Method

8. Correctness of curve

10. Wells Fargo Pedestrian Bridge | Salt Lake City, Utah

11. Sage Theater | Gateshead, UK
Foster + Partners

13. Railway Station | Melbourne, Australia
Nicholas Grimshaw

15. Kings Cross Station | London, England
John McAslan + Partners

16. Phoenix New Media Center | Beijing, China
BIAD Architecture

18. World Financial Center Entry Pavilion | New York City, NY
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects

20. Image: Courtesy Walters Inc.

21. Image: Courtesy Walters Inc.

24. Rolling plate with a 3 point pressure system
 Plate can also be rolled using this machine.

25. Arganzuela Bridge | Madrid, Spain
Dominique Perrault

30. Brake Forming Plate Material

31. Peace Bridge | Calgary, Canada
Santiago Calatrava

32. BSA Stair | Boston
Höweler + Yoon Architecture

34. OCAD University | Toronto, Canada
Will Alsop

36. Image: Courtesy Walters Inc.

37. Barajas Airport | Madrid, Spain
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

39. Induction bending
This sort of
specific heat
application
process is used
more for
industrial pipe
rather than
architectural
applications.

40. Amgen Helix Bridge | Seattle, WA
Johnson Architecture

42. Facet the Building to Give the Impression of Curvature
University of Phoenix Stadium
Peter Eisenman

44. Cut Curved Forms out of Plate Material

45. EMP | Seattle, WA
Frank Gehry

46. Beijing National Theater | China
Paul Andreu

48. CASTINGS

49. CDP | Montreal, Canada

51. Contemporary Castings
Used for special connections
Used for standard connections
Can be one-of large pieces formed with
expendable molds (i.e. Structural)
Can be smaller die cast pieces made in great
quantity (i.e. glazing attachments)
Can be solid or hollow depending on size and
purpose
Generally either NODES or END CONNECTORS

52. Use Steel Castings for
 Architecturally exposed
structural steel particularly
for HSS or timber
connections
 Complex connections
complex geometry; arduous
loading; for increased
connection stiffness
 Fatigue critical connections
 Functional applications
to satisfy a need for special
performance

53. University of Guelph | Canada
Young + Wright
Casting and steel by Walters Inc.
Nodes

54. Image: Courtesy Walters Inc.

55. Image: Courtesy Walters Inc.

56. Image: Courtesy Walters Inc.

57. Image: Courtesy Walters Inc.

58. Image: Courtesy Walters Inc.

59. Image: Courtesy Walters Inc.

60. Image: Courtesy Walters Inc.

61. Image: Courtesy Walters Inc.

63. Notice that the physical
connection is about 12” away
from the main trunk, shifting the
connection away from the point of
highest stress in the connection.

66. Hauptbahnhof Station | Berlin, Germany
Gerkan Marg & Partners

67. Kings Cross Station | London, UK
John McAslan and Partners

68. QRC | Toronto, Canada
&Co Architects

69. Image: Courtesy Walters Inc.

70. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

71. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

72. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

73. Images: Courtesy CastConnex

74. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

75. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

76. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

85. Esplanade Pedestrian Bridge
Rosales + Partners Image: Courtesy CastConnex

86. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

87. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

88. Pin Connectors
Image: Courtesy CastConnex

89. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

92. Whitney Art Museum | New York City
Renzo Piano
Image: Courtesy CastConnex

95. Brisbane International Airport | Brisbane, Australia
Young + Wright

98. Clark University | Massachusetts
Architerra
Image: Courtesy CastConnex

99. Image:CourtesyJonathanEdelman

100. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

101. UMass Amherst Press and Skybox, MAAmherst Press and Skybox

102. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

103. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

104. Transbay Center | San Francisco
Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
Image: Courtesy CastConnex

105. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

106. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

107. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

108. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

109. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

110. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

112. Splice moved away from
point of load transfer.

114. University of Connecticut Innovation Partnership Building
SOM Image: Courtesy SOM

115. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

116. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

117. University of Massachusetts-Amherst (Integrated) Design Building Image: Courtesy CastConnex

118. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

119. Image: Courtesy CastConnex

120. Berlin 1936 Olympic Stadium Retrofit

121. Contemporary Castings …
making complex connections, simple.

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