Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank Headquarters and The Robotic Construction of the Glass Vault have been named as Best Project Award winners by the Structural Engineers Association of Illinois (SEAOI). The awards were announced at the SEAOI Virtual Annual Awards Banquet on June 11th, 2021.
Building on SOM’s tradition of innovative structural engineering solutions, the design of the Shenzhen Rural Commercial Bank Headquarters incorporates a tightly-spaced diagrid that serves two primary purposes; the first is to provide an exterior shading system for the building, and the second is to create an entirely column-free floor plan and enable flexibility in floor layouts. In addition to carrying gravity loads, the exterior diagrid also resists a significant amount of lateral loads, which reduces overturning forces on the core, improving the structural efficiency compared to a traditional column and beam building.
Displayed at the heart of SOM’s exhibition “Anatomy of Structure: The Future of Art and Architecture” in London, the Robotic Construction of the Glass Vault was assembled live onsite by robots through the course of the exhibition. The interactive installation required an intricate collaboration between SOM and Princeton University CREATE Lab and Form Finding Lab, with assistance from the TU Delft Glass & Transparency Research Group. The robotic arms were provided by Global Robots and the glass bricks were provided by Poesia Glass Studio. SEAOI honored the installation as a winner in the Best Special Structures category.
SEAOI’s Excellence in Structural Engineering Awards competition takes place every year recognizing innovative achievements in structural engineering.