The Construction of Two Prototype Multi-Storey Air-Supported Buildings

Jens G. Pohl, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
James Montero, California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo

Abstract

To treat a multi-storey building as a large, inflatable container forces the architect to consider design and construction criteria foreign to the building industry at large. While satisfactory progress has been made in the development of theoretical solutions for problems dealing with the structural and planning implications of a hyperbaric building environment, the time has come to consider practical issues.

This paper discusses the design, construction and operation of two prototype, multi-storey, air-supported buildings. The first building was completed in November, 1972 at the School of Building, University of New South Wales, Australia, and the second building was completed in April, 1973 at the School of Architecture and Environmental Design, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California, United States. In both cases the buildings were treated as student projects and aimed at the development of planning, organizational and constructional skills in the participating undergraduate student.