Case Study:

Milwaukee Art Museum

ARCH 631: Structural Systems

Prof. Anne Nichols
Aaron M. Vorwerk
Contents

The Milwaukee Art Museum

The Architect

The Quadracci Pavilion

Design Concept

Building Layout

Structural Features

Summary
The Milwaukee Art Museum
• Began with Layton Art Gallery (1888) and Milwaukee Art Institute (1918)
• Joined to form Milwaukee Art Center in 1957 and moved into new Eero
Saarinen-designed building on Milwaukee waterfront
The Milwaukee Art Museum
• Museum collection continued to expand throughout the 1980s and ’90s
• Attendance increased dramatically, approaching 200,000 annual visitors
• Both factors prompted consideration of an expansion
• Looking for a strong architectural statement, museum officials turned to
architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava in 1994
• Calatrava’s design was unveiled in March 1996, receiving an
enthusiastic response from the community
• The Quadracci Pavilion was completed in October 2001, becoming the
first building constructed by Calatrava in the United States
The Milwaukee Art Museum
The Architect

• Santiago Calatrava was born in Valencia, Spain in 1951

• He earned a degree in architecture from Escuela Tecnica Superior de
Arquitectura in Valencia
• He then pursued studies in the field of civil engineering, completing a
Ph.D. from the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland in
1979
The Architect
• Calatrava began entering design competitions to gain recognition
• His first winning design was the Stadelhofen Railway Station (Zurich,
1983)
• As he gained commissions, he opened a second office (Paris) in 1989,
and then a third (Valencia) in 1991
• The Milwaukee Art Museum expansion became his first major project
built in the United States in 2001
• Calatrava earned Time Magazine’s “Best of 2001” award and the
International Illumination Design Award of Merit for his work on the MAM
expansion
• He is currently working on three major projects in the United States, as
well as many commissions overseas
The Quadracci Pavilion
Design Concept
• The City of Milwaukee was looking for a “strong architectural statement
in an exciting yet functional building” that would “set an architectural
standard for the next millennium”
• Architect Santiago Calatrava’s response was to design a “glowing
‘lantern’ on the downtown lakefront, radiating light in all directions”
• The design features a large pavilion containing a glass-enclosed
reception hall with a transparent, boat-like prow facing the lake, as well as
a huge, operable wing-like Brise-Soleil sunscreen
Building Layout
Building Layout
Building Layout
Building Layout
Building Layout
Main Level Floor Plan
Structural Features: Finite Element Model
• The complexity of the Quadracci Pavilion required that the mat
foundation slab, pavilion, A-frames, ring beams, and Burke Brise-Soleil be
designed through a detailed finite element model analysis
Structural Features: Building Section
• A quick study of a partial building section reveals the clever arrangement
of pinned concrete arch elements which transfers structural loads to the
foundation wall and center beam
Structural Features: Pavilion
• The mildly-reinforced concrete pavilion supports the back stay beam and
east pier of the pedestrian bridge, as well as the A-frames and building
spine that in turn support the moveable Burke Brise-Soleil
Structural Features: Pavilion
• The cable-stayed bridge pylon and the Quadracci Pavilion’s building
spine are aligned on the same axis and are inclined 48.36 degrees toward
the Pavilion
Structural Features: Burke Brise-Soleil
• The signature element of the Calatrava addition is composed of two
large operable wings, each made up of 36 interconnected fins, spanning
almost 220 feet
Structural Features: Burke Brise-Soleil
• 11 pairs of actuators operate simultaneously to open or close the wings
in unison by turning two rotating spines up to 90 degrees
Structural Features: Pedestrian Bridge
• A cable-stayed pedestrian
bridge featuring a steeply-raked
pylon and ‘boomerang’
abutment spans 230 feet
across a major thoroughfare,
connecting Milwaukee’s
downtown with the waterfront
• The 192-foot-long pylon
supports the 10 major spans of
the bridge through 9 locked-coil
cables and 18 back stay cables
Structural Features: Multiframe 2D® Analysis
• To study the cross-section of the MAM expansion more closely, a
simplified finite element model was constructed using Multiframe 2D;
arches and non-uniform elements were approximated by multiple straight
segments
Structural Features: Multiframe 2D® Analysis
• In addition to the self-weight of the members, dead and live loads on the
roof and floors were approximated by uniform distributed loads; member
sizes were then optimized using the finite element analysis software
Structural Features: Multiframe 2D® Analysis
• Member reactions indicate that the majority of building loads are
transferred through the C1 element to its double-pinned connection with
the center foundation beam
Structural Features: Multiframe 2D® Analysis
• In the simplified model, significant shearing forces are experienced by
the C1 element between the gallery columns and foundation arches, while
loads remain mostly axial through other elements
Structural Features: Multiframe 2D® Analysis
• As might be expected, the largest moments are obtained within the C1
elements in the simplified model; in the actual design, moments are
minimized through the use of arches, and tension forces are controlled
where necessary by post-tensioned steel reinforcement
Structural Features: Multiframe 2D® Analysis
• Through the reduction of internal moments, deflections of the structural
elements are also minimized
Summary
• The recently-completed Quadracci Pavilion, an expansion of the
Milwaukee Art Museum, has achieved praise both as an architectural icon
and a structural marvel
• Floor plans, elevations, and isometric drawings of the pavilion and
attached galleries were provided for reference
• Simplified diagrams explaining the load transfer through a typical gallery
section were discussed; the building was shown to have achieved an
elegant design solution in its balancing of structural forces
• Results from a two-dimensional computer-based structural analysis of
the building’s cross-section were presented for comparison
• Calatrava’s vision of “a glowing ‘lantern’ on the downtown lakefront,
radiating light in all directions” has been fulfilled with a magnificent
structural expression of concrete, steel, and glass