ARCH 653 Project 1

1. Target building Information

• Target Building: Torre Agbar
• Designer: Jean Nouvel
• Location: Barcelona, Spain
• Built-in: 1999 – 2005
• Height: 142 meter
• Surface area: 47,500m2
• Floors: 34+4(underground)
• Materials: concrete, aluminum, and glass
• Award: International Highrise Award décerné par le Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM), Francfort, Allemagne (2006)
• Shape Description: The building shape is not circular but slightly elliptical. The shape is completely straight from the ground floor to the 18th floor. From the 19th floor to the 26th floor, it is close to the parabolic curve, and the remaining part (from the 27th floor to the top) is dome shape based on the ellipse. 

2. Drawings and Images

• Full scene



• Sectional view

• Floor plan view

• Close-up view to windows

3. References

• http://www.jeannouvel.com/en/projects/tour-agbar/
• https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/agbar-tower/

4. Modeling

4.1. Creating conceptual mass model

As explained in Section 1, the building shape is completely straight from the ground to the 18th floor and follows a parabolic curve from the 18th floor to the top of the building. The shape of the bottom section is elliptical. To create this type of building in Revit, I divide the process into two stages as shown in figure 1. 

Figure 1. Stage 1: an elliptical column (the ground to the 18th floor) and Stage 2: a parabolic dome (the 19th floor to the top).

1)  Elliptical column
The first stage is designed as a column with two elliptical shapes at the top and bottom. The elevation of the floors and the elliptical shapes can be adjustable because the height (denoted ‘h’), the semi-major axis (denoted ‘a1’), and the semi-minor axis (denoted ‘b1’) are parameterized. The default value of a1 and b1 is 80’ and 60’ separately, but the factor_a1 and factor_b1 are applied to adjust the length of the elliptical shape. To make a smooth curve (straight line), I used seven elliptical shapes at each level. 

2) Parabolic dome

There are five floors in the second part and the elevation of the floors (denoted ‘h’) can be changeable. For the parametric design of the floor shape that is also adjustable, two parabolic curve equations are employed as follows:

 

- Parabolic curve 1

a=2×√(k×(T_h-h) ),
where,
a = semi-major axis of the floor,
k = focus,
T_h = Total height of the building,
h = height of the floor from the ground

- Parabolic curve 2
b=2×√(m×(T_h-h) ),
where,
b = semi-minor axis of the floor,
m = focus,
T_h = Total height of the building,
h = height of the floor from the ground

For the parametric study of each elliptical shape, several factors are employed. The summary of parameters is shown below:

Figure 2. Parameter summary table

Finally, the conceptual mass model is created.

Figure 3. Conceptual mass

The following four figures demonstrate the parametrical control of the conceptual mass model. 

Figure 4. Parametric analysis: k and m

Figure 5. Parametric analysis: a1 and b1

Figure 6. Parametric analysis: factor_a2, factor_a3, factor_b4, and factor_b5

Figure 7. Parametric analysis: factor_a4, factor_a5, factor_a6, factor_b3, and factor_b6

 

4.2. Creating façade model 

Before creating the façade model, the conceptual mass model surface is divided as follows:
- Vertical grid: 66

- Horizontal grid: 22

Figure 8. The conceptual mass model with a grid

The façade model is created by using a curtain panel pattern-based model. The section shape is a rectangle with 1’’ width. The curtain panel consists of two materials: 1) Frame: Stainless steel, brushed, and 2) Glass: Glass, Clear Glazing.

Figure 9. Curtain panel pattern for façade

Figure 10 shows the conceptual mass model after merging the curtain panel and the conceptual mass model. The original building’s shape of façade is a rectangular shape. However, for the geometric issue, there is an error when I load the façade model into the conceptual mass model. I tried to fix it through several solutions such as rearrange constraints, split mass model, change the formula for parameterization, and so on, but nothing was effective for this problem. Finally, I adopted a new pattern for building façade (Rhomboid pattern) different from the original one, and now it works well. 

Figure 10. The conceptual mass model with a facade

 

4.3. Creating the Revit project with the conceptual mass 

The building model view at the project site is shown in figure 11. The conceptual mass model with façade was loaded into a new Revit project. 

Figure 11. Whole view of the building model

 

For the interior design the floor at level 10 was selected and six rooms and one conference room were created. 

Figure 12. floor plan at level 10

4.4. Rendering images

The exterior and interior views of the final model were rendered in the condition of high resolution, good lighting conditions (Sun only for exterior view, Sun and artificial light for interior view).

Figure 13. Rendering Image – Exterior view

Figure 14. Rendering image – Interior view

4.5. Project Movie