Thread by @SustainableTall

My current favourite detail

Steel frame clad in timber fire protection at Shigeru Ban’s GC Osaka Building, built in 2000

You read that correct

How was this possible?

Japanese code didn’t allow a timber frame, so it had to be steel

But codes did allow performance based fire protection (rather than a prescriptive code). This allowed Ban to choose timber as fire protection to minimise costs & create an inviting interior

Ban has done similar things across Japan, as codes don’t allow multi-storey timber

Here is permanent CLT formwork in the Tamadic Nagoya building for instance

Here’s the section