The details are stunning. The size - mammoth. The temperature - frigid. They are some of the most awe-inspiring creations made out of mother nature’s most exquisite winter ingredients: snow and ice.
Equally impressive are the artists, architects and engineers who take that snow and ice and design and build structures for the “Extraordinary ICE Building Design Competition” organized by Harbin Institute of Technology in China and Working Group 21 of International Association for Shell and Spatial Structures.
The organizing committee invited elite universities from around the world, including ɫҹ University - which created a design team made up of 14 students from ɫҹ’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design, led by Mark Mistur, dean of the college, and Rui Liu, Ph.D., assistant professor.
The team developed two separate designs that they named “THRICE” and “PNEUMAT-ICE.” Out of more than 20 entries from the United States, Netherlands, Belgium, and China, 18 projects were selected for awards. PNEUMAT-ICE received an excellence award, and THRICE was selected as one of six for full-scale construction by the students in Harbin.
When designing THRICE, the team found inspiration from legendary Swiss engineer, Heinz Isler, who used materials such as fabric to form shells out of snow and ice. The team then turned to J.R. Campbell, director of ɫҹ’s Fashion School and Vincent Quevedo, associate professor of fashion design, who helped select fabric and sew it all together.
Before heading to China, the team started testing the prototype. They gathered outside ɫҹ’s College of Architecture and Environmental building.
The design of THRICE employs intersection of three asymmetrical cones covering an approximate area of 100 m2. Using heavy machinery, students hoisted the first column off the ground. They attached radially arrayed ropes to a rope loop connected to the top of each column. The structural system provides the initial formwork, which employs ropes and fabric acting in tension against the three columns.
After a successful mock-up construction for the initial formwork, 12 members of the team traveled to Harbin to replicate the structure in temperatures dipping below 15-degrees Fahrenheit. With the frame in place, the team covered it with the fabric and sprayed it with a mixture of water and cellulose until it formed a 2.5-inch ice shell Rope loops (oculi) at the top to allow natural daylight to penetrate deep into the structure, providing the passerby a sense of curiosity in exploring the space of the ice spires. The students included, Tingjun Bai, Bradley Bowman, Max Hentosh, Qian Kang, Yang Lei, Lu Liu, Keely Mager, Blake William Minster, Mike Roe, Alex Sanchez, Brandon Sanchez, Aaron Schordock, Yi Yang and Ruihang Zhu.
The extreme cold did not stop them. The team took top honors in the first round, earning them international distinction among other prominent universities. In addition, three students - Max Hentosh, Aaron Schordock, and Ruihang Zhu - participated in Harbin Institute of Technology’s Snow House Competition and took Second Place among elite Chinese Architecture programs.