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

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 Chinas CCTV

Completion
Will

in time for Olympics

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 Beijings
CBD

General Project Details

Locatio
InnBeijings 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
Two

L-Shaped Towers, tallest tower is 230m high

Total
Will

site

Estimated Construction Cost: 600million

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
o
Towers
Lean at 60(cont.)
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
14%

16%

6%
14%

26%
15%
9%

Administration
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 = VIP Areas
- 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
Wh
at d
o

you
thin
k

lo
gic
and

be
aut
y
is

def
in

ed
as?

Architecture
The Skyscraper
Concept

What do all the above buildings have in common?

Height!

Human Capabilities

Architecture
The CCTVs 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

Architecture
The Architects
Opinion
Community
combined as opposed to separate
Concentrate

every program into a single system

It is 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

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?
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
A

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?

Performance-based
Design Approach

Diagrid Framing System

Diagrid Framing System

What is it?
Short

for Diagonal Grid System

Triangulated

structure 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

lateral

follow diagonals, gravity and

Swiss Re, London

Diagrid Framing System

What is it? (cont.)
Can

be constructed of either:
Steel (most common)
Timber
Reinforced Concrete

Steel

is 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

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
Rings

and Uninterrupted Load Transfer

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 faade
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
SimpleSystem
Construction (cont.)
Technique
Skyscraper
Better

Structural Failure minimized by diagrid construction

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

diagrid structure will definitely show in the aesthetics, very

difficult to
hide
Difficult

to create a consistent window design

Heavy-handed
Material

if not executed properly

usage can be very excessive if loads are not high

Other Structural Features

Other Structural Features

Connections Butterfly
Critical Plates
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
Piles

Settlement kept to 1:500

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
Major

trusses located at building base (podium) to support

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)
One

core dedicated to Grandness

(Administrative), the other to
Newness
(News & Technology)

Miscellaneous Topics

Miscellaneous Topics
Construction Procedure

Miscellaneous Topics
Seismic Stability Design
Approach Design for Seismic Stability well
CCTV Performance-based
outside
National Building Codes
Analysis
Level

for different seismic events

1: Frequent Earthquake No structural damage

2: Intermediate Earthquake Repairable Structural

Damage
Level

3: Rare Earthquake Severe Structural Damage

permitted, must
Level

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

Miscellaneous Topics
Dealing with Wind
Wind

Tunnel Experiments had to be carried out to

assess the severity of Wind Loads

Building

strength 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
In

the 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
Better

Escape Time

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 Beijings Cityscape once

completed and
will play an important role for the 2008 Olympics
Architecture

looks 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

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 25 th 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, Chinas 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

Questions