PTH Light Gauge Steel -Suspended “Cloud”: Tai'an Book Bar

PTH's latest light gauge steel construction work -Tai'an Book Bar, which is a suspended "cloud" we built at the peak. Construction of the project started in April 2019, and completion and acceptance in September 2019. PTH's accurate and fast assembled light steel construction system provided a guarantee for the construction period.

The shape of building is divided into three parts from top to bottom: white "clouds", transparent glass, and heavy gravel walls. The narrow aisle at the entrance connects the coffee area and reading lounge at both ends, and the large glass curtain wall connects the building with the natural scenery, giving guests the feeling of being on the top of the mountain.

At the beginning of the design, the client put forward the requirements for the overall image of the building--floating, light and transparent. The gentle appearance of the building conflicts with the plain and tough mountain environment. Therefore, we chose the light steel structure system for the main building, which is strong and lightweight. The internal and external skeletons of the roof are stretched from a series of gradual arched light steel keels, which accurately guarantees the smooth and soft shape of the special roof.

On the north side, a large-area frameless glass window is used without reservation. The transparent large-surface glass accommodates the external flowing landscape, and at the same time, hides the solid structure below the roof. From a distance, the "cloud" has floated on the rocks. The interior furnishings are also layered with integrated curved surface bookshelves and seat.

The factory prefabricated unit components of the PTH ensure construction accuracy. Thin steel columns with a diameter of 150mm supports an arc-shaped ring beam. A pair of 28 pairs of arched keels are built on the ring beam. This sequence of gradually-shaped and densely arranged arc-shaped keels provides support for the smoothly tensioning of the inner and outer double-layer membrane.

When the morning light is slightly exposed, the transparent glass is reflected in the forest; when night falls, the "clouds" glow with a glimmer of light floating in the mountains; indoors, visitors can immerse themselves in a relaxing space atmosphere to read and meditate. The environment-derived architectural space exists in a dynamically evolving natural landscape, and we attribute it to nature in the simplest and most direct way.