OGUNI DOME, WOODEN STRUCTURE GYMNASIUM

Development of wooden space trusses enables free and bold expressions with
large frames comparable to the steel frames for the first time. Woods have
superior dimensional precisions than steel, and are light and hard to
condensate. They do not waste energy in production as in the case of steel
manufacture. The significance of woods as the alternative to steel may be
more spiritual rather than social or economical. The biggest issue is whether or
not the townsfolk learn to love and take pride in the structure. As children
grow up and leave behind their home town, the building is bounded to
continue its life as a part of their image of home.

Shoei Yoh designed the Oguni Dome in Kyushu in 1988. It is an early example
of modern curved timber trusses in a space grid.

The cedar wood spans 67 meters, clad in stainless steel. The system is spaced
from the floor, fitted with fire sprinklers, and oversized in case of fire. Yoh took
the traditional wood structure on a grand scale and celebrated the structure
on the interior and exterior.

A Small but Lively Town-Oguni-cho, Kumamoto Pref.

Japan is well-known as one of the most extensively forested countries in the world. Forests account for 67
percent of Japan's land area, and have always provided water resources and wildlife habitat, as well as wood for
house construction, firewood, food and compost. Forests have also been worshiped as holy places where many
gods live.

Planting seedlings in logged areas to prevent forest denudation and floods is said to have been encouraged
since the Muromachi Period, around 1550. In the Edo Period (1603-1867), cedar, cypress and pine trees were
planted for timber at many locations throughout Japan. Currently, artificial plantations account for 40 percent of
Japan's forests, but inexpensive log imports are making it financially difficult to justify forest maintenance costs.
Rural depopulation, the aging of forest workers and lack of successors also contribute to poor management, and
some forests are going to ruin.

Meantime, under the Kyoto Protocol that took effect in February 2005, the Japanese government is required to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent from the 1990 levels Of this 6 percent, the government plans to
allot 3.9 percent to the ability of forests to absorb carbon dioxide. However, this will depend on appropriate forest
management, as well-managed forests absorb more CO2.

This article introduces the innovative initiatives of Oguni-cho in Kumamoto Prefecture, southern Japan, which has
been creating modern structures using local wood for the last 20 years, hoping to revive Japan's wood-working
culture.
New-style Wooden Buildings

Oguni-cho is a rural town located on the gentle slopes of the Aso caldera, said to be one of the world's largest,
located in the center of Kyushu and facing Oita Prefecture. Its population is about 9,000 and its land area is 137
square kilometers, of which 74 percent is mountainous.

The area around Oguni-cho, where the Chikugo River starts, is called the roof of the Kyushu Mountain Range. It
is a cool upland region with an annual average temperature of 13 degrees Celsius. Its rainy and humid climate is
suitable for growing high-quality cedar. Oguni cedar has solid and clearly grained wood characteristic of a severe
climate, and has been traded as a brand for 250 years.

In 1983, Nobutoshi Miyazaki had just assumed the office of Mayor of Oguni-cho, and felt it was unreasonable not
to use local high-quality cedar for a public building that had been designed to use concrete blocks. He had its
design changed to a wooden building using local cedar. After that, many other public buildings were built with
Oguni cedar as part of the town's policy to effect a forestry revival by encouraging active wood distribution,
processing and building businesses in this wood-producing district.

Oguni Dome, a wooden gymnasium, was built with the same method. It has two indoor basketball courts, and its
roof is made of 5,602 small-diameter logs joined by the wooden truss method. The names of the elementary and
junior high students at the time of construction are inscribed on the logs. The Dome is affectionately called Big
Turtle, because the roof looks like a giant turtle shell. Other wooden structures with innovative designs include
public facilities such as a school, a preschool and a commercial museum, as well as private facilities such as
restaurants, banks and retailers. These buildings create a new atmosphere, while blending into the existing
scenery.
Oguni Dome (Japanese page)

Oguni Dome, Oguni-machi, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan

Timber space grid structures are rare in comparison with their steel or aluminium
counterparts. However, in Japan, there is a tradition of building large-scale
structures, such as temples, castles and pagodas, from timber, and the Oguni Dome
in the Kumamoto Prefecture of Kyushu follows this tradition. Located in the south
island of Japan, this large gymnasium, built in 1988, is a fine example of the use of
timber in a modern double-curved, doublelayer space truss roof (Figure 5.26).
Preservative-treated cedar, sugi in Japanese, is used throughout the roof which
covers approximately 2835 m2 with an organic domed form, clad in stainless steel.
Plan dimensions are

5.26

Interior view of the

Oguni Dome,
Kumamoto Prefecture,
Kyushu, Japan - a
timber double-layer grid
(Photograph courtesy
Yoh Architects)
76 Space Grid Structures

5.27(a)

North
elevation,
Oguni
Dome
(Courtesy
Yoh
Architects
)

5.27(b)

Cross-
section,
Oguni
Dome
(Courtesy
Yoh
Architects
)

5.28

Three-dimensional computer model of domed space grid, Oguni Dome (Courtesy Yoh Architects)
63 m by 47 m with a grid depth of only 2 m (a span to depth ratio of 23.5). Additional
structural rigidity is derived from the three-dimensional curved form of the roof, seen
in the elevations and sections Figures 5.27(a) and 5.27(b) and the three-dimensional
view of Figure 5.28. This form allows a more slender space grid to be used.

5.30

Oguni Dome, steel connector inserts for timber members for connection to standard TM truss ball
nodes (Courtesy Yoh Architects)
The details of the space grid system used for the domed roof of the gymnasium were
refined through a series of buildings by the same architect, Shoei Yoh. 10,11 A
standard steel space grid system, TM truss, was adapted for use with timber
members. As seen in Figure 5.29, solid cedar members, up to 110 by 150 mm, are
used for the top chords and up to 110 by 170 mm for the bottom chords, with web
bracing of 90 by 125 mm. At each end of the timber members there is a steel
connector composed of a 42.7 mm diameter sleeve and bolt which is welded to an
end cap and plate insert. These are fixed to the timber using two 16 mm bolts and
pressure grouting with epoxy resin. The members are then ready for connection to
the standard TM truss nodes, see Figures 5.29 and 5.30. A secondary system of
purlins and rafters supports the stainless steel covered, insulated plywood roof deck
and precast ceiling panels.

An important consideration in the use of timber for the space truss is its performance
in case of fire. Timber burns or chars at a predictable rate and usually members can
be oversized so that structural integrity is maintained for a prescribed period. In the
Oguni Dome the space grid was raised, as can be seen in the detailed section
Figure 5.31, to a minimum height of 6.2 m above the gymnasium floor, to provide
adequate distance between the structure and any possible fire at floor level. Some
automatic sprinklers were also installed.

Considering the simplicity, elegance and aesthetic appeal of this space grid dome
made from a warm natural, renewable structural material, it is perhaps surprising that
more roofs of a similar nature are not constructed. Maybe this has something to do
with a certain resistance, in many countries, to using timber for long-span structures
as designers feel uncomfortable with its less predictable material properties.

5.31

Detailed section of perimeter wall and space grid, Oguni Dome (Courtesy Yoh Architects)