Case study 2.

Ronak bhanushali - 7

Yokohama international cruise terminal, japan

Introduction:
The reason why I have chosen this case study is
1. To understand the relation of the cruise terminal with its surrounding context
2. To understand the planning of a terminal.
3. To study the articulation of a passenger cruise terminal and a mix of civic
facilities for the use of citizens in one building
4. The function offered is very similar to the type of terminal that I am trying to
design, hence design features can be picked from this particular case study.

Yokohama international cruise terminal is designed by architects Mr. Alejandro

Zaera-Polo and Ms. Farshid Moussavi.

Floor area: 44,000 m2

BACKGROUND: The brief of the Yokohama International Port Terminal asked for
the articulation of a passenger cruise terminal and a mix of civic facilities for the
use of citizens in one building. The site had a pivotal role along the city's water front
that, if declared a public space, would present Yokohama City with a continuous
structure of open public spaces along the waterfront.
So the terminal was designed in such a way that roof of the terminal acted as an
open plaza for public and continued with the surface of yamashita park as well as
akaranega park.

THE ARCHITECTS PERSPECTIVE:

The project starts with what the architects have named as the "no-return pier", with
the ambition to structure the precinct of the pier as a fluid, uninterrupted and multidirectional space, rather than a gateway to flows of fixed orientation. A series of
programmatically specific interlocking circulation loops allow the architects to
subvert the traditional linear and branching structure characteristic of the building.
Rather than developing the building as an object or figure on the pier, the project is
produced as an extension of the urban ground, constructed as a systematic
transformation of the lines of the circulation diagram into a folded and bifurcated
surface. These folds produce covered surfaces where the different parts of the
program can be hosted.

The relation between the skin and the areas established by the structural folds of
the surface is one of the most important arguments of the project in that the folded
ground distributes the loads through the surfaces themselves, moving them
diagonally to the ground. This structure is also especially adequate in coping with
the lateral forces generated by seismic movements that affect the Japanese
topography

Location

1-1-4 Kaigandori, Naka-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa 231-0002, Japan

Month/Year
Completed

December 2002
Two-stories above ground and one-story below ground
Steel-frame construction

Structure
& Dimensions

Total Floor Space

Length

approx. 430m

Maximum
height

approx. 15m

Width

approx. 70m

approx. 44,000m2
Basement
Level

Machine Room

1st Floor

Parking
Entrance & Exit / Buses / Taxis

Terminal Facilities
2nd Floor

Passenger
Terminal

Lobby

Information Counter,
Ticket Counter, Lounge,
Cafe and Shops

CIQ
Facilities

Customs, Immigration and

Quarantine

Osanbashi Hall
Restaurant

Berthing Capacity

Roof Level

Rooftop Plaza, Visitors Decks, Outdoor Event Plaza

Berths A & B

Length: 450m, Depth: 12m, Apron Width: 20m

Berths C & D

Length: 450m, Depth: 10 to 11m, Apron Width: 20m

Four boarding bridges

Architects

Alejandro Zaera-Polo & Farshid Moussavi

GENERAL INFORMATION:

Location plan:

First floor plan:

Second floor plan:

Roof plan:

Section :

COMPONENTS OF TERMINAL :

Rooftop Plaza:
The rooftop level is an open-air plaza furnished with wooden decks and natural
grass lawns.
The building's height was kept at the lowest possible level (15m max.) to enhance
the spectacular appearance of ships. Cruise ships calling at the Terminal can be
seen from the mainland, and passengers on-board can enjoy the unobstructed
views of the Port and the city.
The Rooftop Plaza is one of the best locations to enjoy the scenery of
theYokohama waterfront district.

Outdoor Event Plaza:

The space near the entrance to the Osanbashi Hall can be used as a stage for
events like mini-concerts and dance performances, with the surrounding steps
functioning as audience seats.

Visitors Decks:
On the rooftop, Visitors Decks are provided on both sides for visitors to welcome
arriving cruise ships or see the passengers off.
The Terminal can concurrently accommodate two 70,000-ton cruise vessels, or four
30,000-ton class vessels.

Sunshades & Buffer Stops:

Wooden board sunshades are provided on the rooftop to help keep you cool on
summer days.
Small cylindrical buffer stops are provided on the deck floor to mark the areas with
the highest strength which will allow direct access for emergency vehicles.
The lighting provided on the rooftop is designed to be intentionally out of alignment
with the building, representing the architects intention to create asymmetrical
forms.

Construction Materials:
The non-decorative appearance of the structural frame is one of the special features
of this building. A special metal spray technology is applied to the steel to achieve
fire resistance without the need to apply an additional fireproofing coating.
Other construction materials include wood for the flooring (ipe) and glass curtain
walls. Steel, wood and glass are what constitute this building.

About Ipe:
The floors on the rooftop and the 2nd Floor are made of a Brazilian wood called Ipe
grown in the Amazons. Ipe has excellent strength, durability and insect-resistance,
as well as a specific gravity greater than that of water.
(Wooden panel thickness: 20mm for the interior; 30mm for the general exterior
areas; 45mm for the vehicle passages)

Second floor
Lobby:
The information desk and check-in counters are located in the 4,400 lobby along
with a caf and seven shops. The 35m long check-in counters on either side of the
Lobby handle the boarding procedures and luggage delivery services.
There are conveyor belts behind the counters to send passengers baggage down to
the delivery trucks on the first floor.
The slightly tilted rectangular steel tubes on the two sides are called girders. They
are the main supporting structures of this building. Inside these tubes are the slopes
connecting to other floors. Triangular pyramids made of folded steel plates are
placed over the girders. The plates act as the support for the ceiling and the floor.
Light within the Lobby comes from the indirect light of the mercury lamps on the
girders reflected from the ceiling.
Most of the air conditioning in the terminal comes from the floor, not the ceiling.

Cruise Decks
The fences are folded inwards all along the deck to provide room for the connecting
boarding bridges. These boarding bridges are required to allow the passengers to
safely board and disembark from the docked ships.

CIQ Facilities (CIQ Plaza)

CIQ (Customs, Immigration and Quarantine) facilities are for those passengers
arriving on foreign cruise ships who are required to go through the customs,
immigration and quarantine procedures. The total area is approximately 3,000.
The conveyor belts provided on both sides of the Plaza can send the passengers
baggage, which has been unloaded from ships onto the apron on the 1st floor, up to
the CIQ facilities for inspection.
The inspection desks, stations, partitions and all other inspection equipment in the
CIQ Plaza are designed to install wheels so that they can be easily rolled into
another area. This allows the Plaza to be turned into a large event hall when not in
use as an inspection area.

Osanbashi Hall:
The multi-purpose Osanbashi Hall is located at the end of the second floor. Through
the huge glass wall, you can see vessels coming to and leaving the Port and enjoy
the scenery of the bay. With a ceiling height of 6 to 8m and an area of 2,000, the
Osanbashi Hall can be the venue for a variety of events, such as lecture meetings,
exhibitions, parties and weddings.

Glass Curtain Walls:

The interior space is separated from the cruise decks with glass curtain walls made
of 19mm-thick tempered glass.
The glass curtain walls are firmly fixed at the bottom but not at the top to avoid
impacts against the steel frame during an earthquake. They tilt slightly outward at 9
degree on the Yamashita Side and 1 degree on the Shinko Side.

Lounge:
Visitors to the Terminal largely include locals, who might choose to relax in the
Lobby after enjoying the spectacular view over the Port, or watch cruise ships
coming and going through the glass walls.

Shops and Restaurants

There are seven shops offering a variety of souvenirs and goods featuring Yokohama
and Japan, a relaxing caf/restaurant with an ocean view, and a full-fledged
restaurant with a panoramic night view of the port at the end of the Terminal.

FIRST FLOOR
Ramps:
There are no stairs inside the building (except for audience seat steps at the
Outdoor Event Plaza). In this barrier-free environment you may use the ramps to
move between all levels, or the elevators to travel between the 1st and 2nd floors.
Ramps built along the girders serve both as the structural frame and passageways.

Elevators:
There are three elevators inside the Lobby and two in the Osanbashi Hall. The
elevators in the Lobby are glass boxes with no elevator shafts. With the hydraulic
system, they are operated through expansion and contraction of a supporting shaft
at the bottom. (This mechanical operation can be viewed in the Parking on the 1st
floor.)
The special film applied on the glass from the middle down gives the frost glass
effect when viewed from a particular angle.

Parking:
The first floor is dedicated for parking approximately 400 standard-sized passenger
cars, including 28 spaces that can accommodate coaches.
Situated at the heart of Yokohama, the Terminal is open 24 hours to welcome nonpassenger visitors.

ANALYSIS:
1. The Terminal can accommodate up to four LOA 200-meter class
vessels or two 300-meter class vessels at the same time.
2. The height of the building is designed to allow passengers to
comfortably get on and off vessels, but at the same time it
hovers on the horizon so as not to interrupt the view of the Port.

The rooftop is gently curved as if it was symbolizing rolling

waves.
3. The floors of the second floor and rooftop are finished with wood
to give a feeling of a ships deck. The wood used here is a
Brazilian wood called Ipe, which has excellent strength and
durability as well as a specific gravity greater than that of water.
The rooftop also has natural grass lawns. This way, the Terminal
is designed to serve as a working pier as well as an enjoyable
and relaxing park-like public facility for Yokohama residents.
4. The building is steel framed, consisting of main beams (girders)
on the two sides and a triangular pyramid (folded plates) system
to support the roof and floors. This results in a massive columnless interior space, with external walls all made with tempered
glass. In short, wood, steel and glass are what constitute the
Terminal.
5. The building has no stairs to create a barrier-free environment.
This means that visitors can move comfortably between the two
levels using ramps and elevators. The glass-walled elevators are
operated hydraulically, a technology hardly employed in or
outside Japan. This eliminated the need for an elevator machine
room on the rooftop which therefore avoided disfeaturing the
wave-like rooftop curves and impairing the green park
atmosphere.
6. As the pier projects into the sea, visitors coming from the land
would usually have to walk to the end of the pier and return all
the way back again towards the land to leave the pier. Given
this, the Terminal has diverse passages for better navigability
based on the concept of serving as a citizens park.

CONCLUSION :
There are several aspects that I would like to incorporate from this case
study into my own design, and they are the following:
1. Creating a barrier free environment
2. Articulation of a passenger cruise terminal and a mix of civic facilities in one
building.

3. Massive column-less interior space.

4. Rooftop with natural grass lawns.