In this extended outline and supplement to the cover story of Volume 1, 2018, we reveal the National Museum of Natural History building’s past and present with:
Original drawings of Department of Agriculture and Commerce building for the Bureau of Public Works;
Archival photos of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce building;
The final elevations for the National Museum of Natural History;
Unrealized design ideas: wayfinder motifs;
Structural analysis and development of the Tree of Life by Nippon Steel;
More photos of the National Museum of Natural History as built.
1. Original drawings of Department of Agriculture and Commerce building by the Bureau of Public Works
Excerpts of the original drawings of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce Building by the Bureau of Public Works with Antonio Toledo as consulting architect. These drawings were reproduced to aid Dominic Galicia Architects and Periquet Galicia, Inc. in taking cues from Toledo’s intended expression of the architecture and informing the adaptive reuse design for today.
First floor plan. Clockwise from top left: entrance and lobby (top left), records section room (top), property section room (right), vault for plans (bottom), vault for computation (left). Landscaping for central courtyard visible. Reproduction courtesy of Department of Public Works and Highways.Second floor plan. Clockwise from top left: Bureau of Forestry (top left and top), district land office (top right), file room/computation books (right), portico/lobby (bottom), fiber inspection service room (left). Reproduction courtesy of Department of Public Works and Highways.Section through main entrance and marble hall. Reproduction courtesy of Department of Public Works and Highways.Developed internal elevation drawing of marble hall. Original Toledo grillwork reemployed in the adaptive reuse design today, with marble finishes also reinstated. Reproduction courtesy of Department of Public Works and Highways.
First floor hexagonal stairwell detail drawing. Reproduction courtesy of Department of Public Works and Highways.
Detail section through hexagonal stairwell. Reproduction courtesy of Department of Public Works and Highways.
2. Archival photos of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce building
Here are a series of old historical photographs of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce building before and after World War II, and its post-war reconstruction as the Department of Tourism building.
A photo of the Department of Agriculture taken shortly after completion before World War II. Image from Felice Sta. Maria.
Escolta Street, Pasig River, Intramuros, Manila City Hall, Government buildings on the Luneta (Department of Finance and Department of Agriculture and Commerce buildings), Rizal Monument. (Vertical aerial reconnaissance photograph, Allied Geographical Section Southwest Pacific Area WWII Terrain Studies). Image courtesy of John Tewell.
War wreckage scars government section of Manila, Philippines, Feb. 1, 1946. Written on this photograph is: “Manila one year after Yanks re-entered. War wreckage scars government section of Manila, Philippines, Feb. 1, 1946. Building in center with the large grounds is the Commerce Building; behind and left of it is the Finance Building, and just above the Finance Building is Legislature Building and City Hall is above the Legislature Building.” (AP Wirephoto) Image courtesy of John Tewell.
War-torn Agriculture and Commerce Building (1945). Image courtesy of John Tewell.
War-torn Bureau of Commerce Building, east and southeast-facing in ruin (1945). Image courtesy of John Tewell.
War-torn Bureau of Commerce Building, east and southeast-facing elevations collapsed (1945). Image courtesy of John Tewell.
The images below, courtesy of interior designers Periquet Galicia, Inc., show the unrealized ideas for wayfinders across the entire museum with indigenous depictions of the flora and fauna of the Philippines.
Left to right: Pattern tree (1200mm x 1200mm); pattern lizard accent tile at second floor passage; pattern turtle accent tile at second floor passageIndigenous motif wayfinder tiles for the fourth floorLeft to right: fourth floor stair hall, fifth floor ramp landing, fifth floor stair hallLeft to right: sixth floor stair hall or ramp landing, Maranao pattern (1200mm x 2400mm), Maranao pattern (2400mm x 1200mm)
Ground floor passage with unrealized tree pattern motifs
Group entrance porch with unrealized floor tile pattern
Group entrance hall with unrealized indigenous floor pattern
Unrealized submarine coral exhibit with oceanic dioramas. The cavity for the submarine exhibit still remains for potential future realization.
5. Structural analysis and development of the Tree of Life by Nippon Steel
An exclusive outline of the development of the Tree of Life structure from Japanese engineers, Nippon Steel. Text is written by structural engineer, Tatsuhiko Natsuhara.
A. Structural concept
A hybrid system of a single layer shell and trusses is applied to the Tree of Life dome, in order to replicate the appearance of a tree branch and also make the structure as efficient as possible in order to minimize construction cost. The challenge was to locate the diagonals and lower chords to equally support the dome structure. The trusses, therefore, are arranged in both a radial direction and in a circumferential direction. To support the dome with high flexibility, the Nippon Steel truss system (Nippon Steel Technology) is adopted for the diagonals and lower chords.
Detail of Tree of Life structure: trunk, lower chords and diagonals (image from Nippon Steel)
Detail of Tree of Life structure: trunk, lower chords, diagonals and upper chords (image from Nippon Steel)
Detail of Tree of Life structure: radial arrangement of trusses (image from Nippon Steel)
Detail of Tree of Life structure: circumferential arrangement of trusses (image from Nippon Steel)
Looking up at the completed Tree of Life dome structure.
B. Structural node connectors: 3D-modeling, 3D printed modeling, and fabrication of components
To create a spherical dome with diagrid system, the nodes of Tree of Life dome need to be connected by several elements, which all have different angles respectively. For this project, the upper chords and diagonals make connections to the nodes. There are many different types of connections. In order to ensure that the quality of the components are consistent, the fabrication process should be the same for all components. The challenge is in defining the detail concept for all the different types of connections.
It is also important to share this process with project team—including the architect, structural engineer, general contractor, and sub-contractors—at the early stages of the project. Nippon Steel adopts several methods to visualize the components, which include 3D-CAD modeling, 3D-printer modeling and a full-sized mock-up.
3D CAD model of one of the Tree of Life structural node connections (image from Nippon Steel)
3D-printed model of one of the structural node connections (image from Nippon Steel)
Fabricating a section of the steel ‘trunk’ of the Tree of Life (image from Nippon Steel)
Fabricating the steel node connectors for the Tree of Life (image from Nippon Steel)
Fabricating the ends of the chord members for the Tree of Life (image from Nippon Steel)
Assembling a node connector for the Tree of Life structure (image from Nippon Steel)
Assembling a node connector for the Tree of Life structure (image from Nippon Steel)
Detail of the Tree of Life dome structure. Note the node connectors in between the chord members.
Looking up at the completed lower chord members for the Tree of Life and the upper chords of dome structure.
Detail of one type of Tree of Life node connectors.
C. Fifth floor curved bridge
The main structural challenge of the fifth floor curved footbridge is to prevent an uplift reaction force. To solve this issue, an additional outrigger support is applied, which helps locate the centroid of the curved bridge within the supports. The supports of the bridge are not horizontally fixed to the ramp structure, so the bridge needs a roller support solution. However, the fact that the roller supports are applied at the truss end of the bridge makes this a difficult structural solution. The difficulty is caused by the centroid of the curved bridge not located within the line between truss ends, and as a result, an uplift reaction force could occur. A roller support device preventing an uplift reaction force was considered an expensive solution for this project.
Tree of Life fifth floor curved bridge: structural concept (image from Nippon Steel)
6. More photos of the National Museum of Natural History as built (photos by Ed Simon)
Tree of Life structure and dome and the central courtyard
Detail of the Tree of Life structure and dome
Looking up the panoramic elevator shaft
The super moon as seen from the Tree of Life dome during BluPrint’s night at the museum
Original Antonio Toledo grillwork motifs
Original Antonio Toledo grillwork on the southeast elevation
Light and shadow through the double-height windows and original grillwork in the Ayala Hall
Ayala Hall
The group entrance lobby where school and tour groups will be security checked and registered prior to entering the museum proper
Detail of the restored neo-classical Toledo-designed façades
Dominic Galicia, principal of Dominic Galicia Architects, sits in the central courtyard by the Tree of Life
Tina Periquet, principal of Periquet Galicia, Inc., sits in the central courtyard by the Tree of Life
The full National Museum of Natural History cover story is featured in BluPrint Vol 1, 2018.
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