Geumjeong Gymnasium

Awarded by the metropolitan government of Pusan, South Korea through a national competition, this project, the Keum Jung Sports Park and Stadium, was designed by Kyu Sung Woo Architects Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, with Dr. Zalewski as structural consultant for the main roof. The building was constructed as one of three major sport venues built for the 2002 Asian Games. The site continues to serve as an athletic facility, community center, and park for the surrounding Keum Jung area. In particular, this 4000-seat gymnasium functions as both a sports venue and as a hall for gatherings and performances. The structural solution for the roof is a three-dimensional truss that is similar in profile to a lenticular truss of funicular profile, tapering towards brackets that connect to masonry supports at the edge of the roof. What appears to be a main girder truss on the long axis of the building does not continue to any vertical supports, but rather is a device for connecting the shorter trusses that carry the load to the walls. This shaping of the structure, combined with the central and perimeter skylights, allows natural light to filter through the center and at the edge of the roof, creating a dramatic illusion of levitation.

[This project is included in the 2006 exhibit "Waclaw Zalewski: Shaping Structures" which opens at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in April 2006. The entire exhibit, reviewed by Prof. Zalewski, has been created by: Edward Allen, Visiting Professor of Architecture, David M. Foxe and Jeff Anderson.]