Wuhan Blue Sky Prototype

Wuhan Blue Sky Prototype seeks to provide a highly rationalized steel construction system that is cost effective; appropriate to the current site, program, and project partner production facilities; and readily adaptable to future diverse sites, programs and environmental conditions. With Living Steel’s coordination, the Blue Sky Prototype architects have met with representatives of Bao Steel and SBS Engineering Construction Company, and have visited the project site, neighboring SBS construction sites, and the SBS fabrication facilities in Wuhan where portions of the project will be prefabricated. As the primary engineering and construction collaborators with whom the next stages of the project will be developed, the Blue Sky Protoptype has been designed for practical application of the current research interests and production capabilities of SBS. The architects have pursued further housing and building code research with local architects and engineers and have developed the construction system, site and building design in coordination with both current codes and with some expansions of current code objectives based on local industry explanations of new national initiatives for housing innovation, land conservation, and affordability. Based on these national objectives, the Blue Sky Prototype challenges a number of current residential building norms and pushes certain code prescriptions based on the proposal of alternative approaches that will meet or exceed current safety, health and life quality code objectives; further meet new national objectives for affordability, increased density and land conservation; and further create a much higher level of life quality and long term sustainability. The design makes only minor deviations from fundamental building codes with clear offsetting rationale. For example, as a demonstration project innovation, the proposed 12 story building configuration achieves greater life-safety and circulation convenience than is provided in code-category maximum 11 story buildings; and achieves increased dwelling density, improved sunlight orientation, increased public and private open space and ventilation; and still reduces total land coverage and distance between buildings without shading adjacent dwellings. However, the design will function equally well with the removal of the twelfth story for this prototype if that is required. The primary quality of the Blue Sky proposal is not so much in the precise form and space of its configuration for this site, but instead in the broad adaptability that this system provides for efficient design modification for this and future projects without altering the fundamental building components or detail engineering which can be continuously developed and refined in parallel with larger scale planning and program changes.

The fundamental building block of this system is a modular moment frame box assembly that can be easily stacked at full building height without temporary bracing or scaffolding, before in-fill beams are placed and floor slabs are cast. This construction sequence allows for extremely rapid, precise erection, with immediate working floor space providing safety and efficiency at each step in the building process. Each of these modules is designed to be prefabricated offsite for optimum efficiency and quality assurance, and is sized to match the international standard high cube shipping container dimensions. This regularity is central to the concept of factory quality; seamless transportation options within standardized truck, rail and overseas shipping systems; and the inventory and job site advantages of just-in time manufacture, uniform production scheduling and the ability to serve distant as well as local markets in order to maintain production line efficiency and sustainable job stability for the factory workers. This basic module is designed to incorporate all of the more complex building systems that will be most effectively produced in a controlled factory environment. For example, the moment frame module contains all critical structural welds. In-fill beams spanning between the modular moment frame towers require only bolted connections with no field welding. There is substantially improved cost and schedule efficiency as well as increased quality assurance just within this innovative modular framing system, using only the existing SBS production facilities. This efficiency can be greatly expanded for this or for future buildings if the factory production is expanded to include additional prefabrication bundled into this core module. All plumbing, mechanical systems, electrical sub-panels and dwelling unit stairs are designed to occur within the basic moment frame modules. This affords the opportunity for factory fabricating most of the complex building tasks and minimizing on site work, resulting in very rapid construction at greatly reduced costs, and introducing a highly competitive, easily transportable construction product capitalizing on local excess capacity for steel production and fabrication.

The basic moment frame module is adaptable for a range of conditions within efficient production limits, but unlike most modular systems, this core component does not require standardization or system limitation on the larger bulk of the building infill, which can be developed with great design flexibility, since the most complex construction issues are efficiently contained in the base module. In addition to the base module that defines the bulk of the building volume for both residential and ground level commercial and public space, the Blue Sky Prototype system provides an additional kit of parts that delivers specialized green technology capabilities along with a distinctive and inspiring thread of spatial experiences within the public and community circulation and social spaces. This secondary kit of parts is based on spherical geometric volumes framed with rolled hollow tube steel structure in-filled with a calligraphic steel rod screen of varying densities created by overlapped windings of steel rod efficiently produced using standard cad-cam rebar bending and spot-welding machinery. This distinctive thread of lacy spatial definition serves multiple purposes as it weaves through the public spaces of the buildings. Its primary function is as a fine-grain modulator of light, wind velocity and privacy as a seemingly light and fluttering screen wall embedded across the deep ventilation corridors of the south façade. While the overall form of the building does most of the solar screening and wind channeling, the screen wall is an essential tool for optimizing the varied shading and wind screening needs that analytical software identifies at each point and elevation in the building. This varied porosity of the steel rod

All aspects of the project design are intended to facilitate a healthy, sustainable and joyful open-air life of “streets” and public gardens in the sky. The “streets” occur at every other floor in the building, providing great efficiency and facilitating social interaction. The building is highly porous and is designed to provide abundant air and light at all sides of each dwelling unit, and to make for pleasant travel and accommodation throughout the building. The residential tower is integrated with the surrounding site with strong spatial, environmental, and social connections that work to weave the building into the life of the surrounding community.