CCTV Headquarters, Beijing

A Structural Design Overview

By Peter M. Bach (August, 2008)
Before we start…

Will it stand
by itself?
Before we start…

It can! But the question is: How much

effort does it take to make it fall?
Before we start…

THIS?!
 Topics

General Project Details

Architecture
Construction Challenges
Diagrid Framing System
Other Structural Features
Miscellaneous Topics
The Other Buildings
Conclusion
General Project Details
 General Project Details
Background
The new HQ for China’s CCTV
Completion in time for Olympics
Will broadcast the Olympics to the World
Components:

CCTV Building (Headquarters & Broadcasting)

TVCC Wing (Cultural Center, Performing Arts)
Media Park (Social Gathering Place)

 First of 300 towers to be constructed in Beijing’s CBD

 General Project Details
Location
InBeijing’s CBD (Third Ring Road)
East of Forbidden City
 General Project Details
Admin – Site – History
Project Manager: Dongmei Yao
Partners in Charge: Ole Sheeren & Rem Koolhaas
Architects: Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)
Structural Engineers: Ove Arup & Partners

10-hectare site
Two L-Shaped Towers, tallest tower is 230m high
Total Estimated Construction Cost: €600million

Will employ 10,000 people

 General Project Details
Admin – Site – History (cont.)
“…The building is by any conventional
definition a Skyscraper…”
(UK Telegraph)

Comparing Building Heights in Asia

Comparing Building Heights in the World

 General Project Details
Admin – Site – History (cont.)
Towers Lean at 60o angles and “kink” at right
angles at the top
Cantilever overhang starts after 36 floors and
is 13 floors high.
The towers cantilever 75m outwards

History
December 2002 - OMA wins design
March 2003 – Project Start (after review)
September 2004 – Groundbreaking
Mid 2007 – Overhang Construction Underway
Early 2008 – Finalizing Construction
 General Project Details
Space Usage

Parking Administration
13.98% 16.13%
Staff Facilities
6.45%
Program Offices
13.98%

Program Production
25.81% News Production
15.05%
Administration
Broadcasting
8.60% Program Offices

News Production

Broadcasting

Program Production

Staff Facilities

CCTV Total Area Distribution Parking

 General Project Details
Space Usage (cont.)
Yellow = Canteens
Dark Blue = Studios
Green = Open Studios
Orange = Lobbies (Tower & Sky)
Pale Green = Broadcasting
Light Blue = Sports & Recreation
Red = VIPAreas

-Lobbies on Ground & Top Floors

-Recreation mainly on bottom
-Elevators in both towers
-Separate Lobby & Elevator for
VIPs
-Two Ground Floor Lobbies
-Continuous Loop through Towers
-Studios mainly on the lower
Floors
 General Project Details
Nicknames & Descriptions

“Twisted Donut”

“The Pants”

“Two drunken, upside-down Ls”

“Each Tower is a banana, built with a deliberate slight

curve…”

“Contorted Loop”

“Lopsided Colossus”
Architecture
Architecture
 Architecture
The Skyscraper Concept

What do all the above buildings have in common?

Height! Human Capabilities

 Architecture
The CCTV’s Concept
Architect: Rem Koolhaas
China willing to try out new ideas
Everything to do with TV Production is within the CCTV Building
(“An inter-connected loop of inter-connected activities”)
Iconographic Constellation instead of hopeless race for
ultimate
height
“…As verticality soars, creativity crashes…”
“…An Expression of Verticality…”

Idea should create buildings that will actively engage the

cityscape
 Architecture
The Architect’s Opinion
Community combined as opposed to separate
Concentrate every program into a single system

“Itis important to encourage different kind of work of

engineering as it is with architecture”
“Experimenting with Engineering liberates imagination and
makes other things possible”
The idea links a bit with communism as is still seen in China

“There is a natural affinity between the values of architecture

and the values of socialism”
Hopes to spread this new building idea in Europe
 Architecture
The Basic Geometry
Mobius Strip (continuous loop)
Cantilever Overhang
Diagonal Structural Grid System
L-Shaped
Construction Challenges
 Construction Challenges
What kinds of Challenges will this Project face?
A lot steel is used  Weight Issues (instability)
Beijing is an Earthquake Prone Area (need
seismic stability)
Every building encounters vertical and lateral
loads
Temperature changes, material deformation
Subsoil Conditions:
Shallow foundation not sufficient
Pore Water present in great amounts
High Settlement Risk
 Construction Challenges
What kinds of Challenges will this Project face?
Needs to accommodate 10,000 people, heavy equipment 
High service loads
Vulnerable to Natural or Man-Made Disasters
How to design & construct?
Diagrid Framing System
 Diagrid Framing System
What is it?
Short for Diagonal Grid System
Triangulatedstructure with diagonal
support beams
Similar to a typical moment frame
Triangles connected at Nodes and Rings
intersect the nodes
Combines the benefits of a hollow tube
with a truss
Loads follow diagonals, gravity and lateral
loads can be transferred by the system to
Swiss Re, London
the ground
 Diagrid Framing System
What is it? (cont.)
Can be constructed of either:
Steel (most common)
Timber
Reinforced Concrete

Steelis typical because of high tensile and

compressive strengths

Essentially marrying columns, diagonals and

bracings into one system

Not a new technology, used in early aviation

and small-scale structures
Diagrid Framing System
Load Transfer

1.) Vertical Loads

2.) Lateral Loads
 Diagrid Framing System
Load Transfer
Load transfer happens primarily through diagrid
Internal Cores will transfer minimal amounts of gravity loads
Floor Slabs do not have to transfer lateral loads
Less internal columns required = more space

Floor plates do not have to be of the same shape on each floor

Continuous and Uninterrupted Load Transfer

Rings help to resist Buckling Loads

transforming whole system into one big tube
 Diagrid Framing System
Advantages of this System
Structurally very strong
Less material required (~20% reduction in
steel as opposed to typical moment frame
method)
Aesthetically Pleasing – Blends in together
with façade
Floor plan becomes open and free – more
internal space
Most forms can be created with a triangulated form
– architectural freedom
Self-reliant structure, simple in shape
 Diagrid Framing System
Advantages of this System (cont.)
Simple Construction Technique
Skyscraper Structural Failure minimized by diagrid construction
Better ability to redistribute loads than a moment frame (Failure of one
portion does not mean complete structural failure)
 Diagrid Framing System
Disadvantages of this System
Not thoroughly explored for skyscraper construction yet

Inexperienced construction crews

A diagrid structure will definitely show in the aesthetics, very difficult to

hide

Difficult to create a consistent window design

Heavy-handed if not executed properly

Material usage can be very excessive if loads are not high

Other Structural Features
 Other Structural Features
Connections – Butterfly Plates
Critical Members in the Structural System

Must ensure a “strong joint-weak member” system

Must resist maximum probable load from braces with minimum yielding
and stress concentration

Butterfly plates used to assist smooth

load transfer

Finite Element Analysis of Connection

Other Structural Features
Connections – Butterfly Plates
 Other Structural Features
Foundation – Piled Raft
Total Settlement estimated as <100mm
Differential Settlement kept to 1:500
Piles are 1.2m diameter and 35m long
Piled Raft is 7m thick and has a footprint greater than the towers
Tension piles used away from towers
to resist uplift pressures
 Other Structural Features
Load Transfer Assistance - Trusses
Hidden from view for architectural purposes inside

Link up external columns with internal steel core via pin-joints

Trusses span the bottom two floors of the overhang, loads above
are transferred to these trusses, which subsequently transfer
loads to the diagrid system

Majortrusses located at building base (podium) to support the

above loads
Other Structural Features
Load Transfer Assistance - Trusses
 Other Structural Features
Building Internal Cores

Three main cores accommodating

elevators

Cores remain vertical despite Tower Slope

(shifted against floor plates)

Onecore dedicated to “Grandness”

(Administrative), the other to “Newness”
(News & Technology)
Miscellaneous Topics
 Miscellaneous Topics
Construction Procedure
 Miscellaneous Topics
Seismic Stability Design Approach
CCTV Performance-based Design for Seismic Stability well outside
National Building Codes

Analysis for different seismic events

Level 1: Frequent Earthquake  No structural damage

Level 2: Intermediate Earthquake  Repairable Structural Damage

Level 3: Rare Earthquake  Severe Structural Damage permitted, must

not collapse
 Miscellaneous Topics
Seismic Stability Design Approach
Other Research shows test results depicting Overhang vertical
displacement with time during an Earthquake

Maximum downward
displacement = 700mm

Tests also show that some braces go into plastic buckling during the
Earthquake  Dissipate seismic energy (GOOD)
 Miscellaneous Topics
Dealing with Wind
Wind Tunnel Experiments had to be carried out to
assess the severity of Wind Loads

Buildingstrength against a 100-year Wind was

assessed

Method: Dynamic Analysis using High-Frequency

Pressure Integration Method

285 Pressure Taps installed on

1:500 Scale Model

North and West Winds Critical

Southwest Wind worst for Vertical Loads

 Miscellaneous Topics
Emergency Scenarios
Inthe event of a fire or a major disaster (natural or man-made) that
causes major structural damage, what are the possible escape routes
and how long will it take?
 Miscellaneous Topics
Emergency Scenarios (cont.)
Numerous Escape Routes

Looped Structure an
Advantage

Reduced Escape Time

Better Safety
The Other Buildings
 The Other Buildings
The TVCC Building
Hotels, Theaters, Cultural Center for Performing Arts
 The Other Buildings
Service Building & Media Park
Service Building: Energy Center, Guards Dormitories, Major
Broadcasting Vehicle Garages, Fire Control Center

Media Park: Social Gathering

place, filming options
 Construction Progress
Latest Pictures of the Building

Dated June 2008

Conclusion
 Conclusion
Building is to become an icon of Beijing’s Cityscape once completed and
will play an important role for the 2008 Olympics

Architecturelooks at iconography rather than the race for height –

engineering creativity is better than height

Many structural challenges to overcome in realizing the project 

Performance-based design needed

Diagrid System, Butterfly Plates, Piled Raft Foundations, Load Transfer

Trusses all deemed good solutions

Seismic and Wind Stability ensured through rigorous analysis

Emergency Escape Routes are effective

Other buildings on-site serve unique functions

 References
*1+ Carroll, C., Xiaonian, D., Gibbons, C., Lawson, R., Lee, A., Luong, A., Megowan, R., Pope, C., (2006), “China Central Television Headquarters – Structural Design”, Steel
Structures 6

*2+ CB Richard Ellis, (2007), “The CCTV Tower: Central Icon of Post-Urban Beijing?”, CBRE Research – Asia 2007 Issue 1

*3+ “CCTV Address”, China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House, http://www.ckni.net, Last Accessed 25th May 2008

*4+ “CCTV by OMA”, A+U Architecture & Urbanism July 2005 Special Issue, Tokyo, Japan

*5+ “China Central Television (CCTV) Headquarters”, Design Build Network, http://www.designbuild-network.com/projects/cctv/, Last Accessed 25th May 2008

*6+ Koolhaas, R., (2004), “Beijing Manifesto”, Wired Issue 8 2004

*7+ Lee, S., “Nonlinear Dynamic Earthquake Analysis of Skyscrapers”, CTBUH 8th World Congress, Dubai 3-5 March 2008

*8+ McCain, I., “DiaGrid: Structural Efficiency & Increasing Popularity”, http:// daapspace4.daap.uc.edu/~larsongr/Larsonline/SkyCaseStu_files/Diagrid.pdf, Last accessed
25th May 2008

*9+ “OMA – New Head Quarters – Central Chinese Television”, arcSpace.com, http://www.arcspace.com/architects/koolhaas/chinese_television/, Last Accessed 25th May
2008

*10+ Telegraph.co.uk, “2008 Olympics: New Towers for a New Superpower”, UK Telegraph,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/12/29/babeijing129.xml, Last Accessed 25th May 2008

*11+ Telegraph.co.uk, “China’s ambitious building passes key test”, UK Telegraph,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1572347/China%27s-ambitious-building-passes-key-test.html, Last Accessed 25th May 2008

*12+ Xie, J. , To, A., “Design-Oriented Wind Engineering Studies New China Central Television Headquarters”, Technotes Issue No. 26, RWDI Consulting Engineers &
Scientists
Questions