建筑师：LARGE建筑
位置：华盛顿，塔科马
承办单位：JTM建设
工程师：Western Wood Structures
年份：2012
摄影：Courtesy of LARGE Architecture

当进入到华盛顿州塔科马的新LeMay博物馆的展览大厅的时候，游客可能会发现他们自己正在凝视着天花板，以及一排闪闪发光的老爷车。剧增的屋顶系统是由弯曲的胶合木梁制造而成的，提供了一种惊人的庄严感，同时，在广阔的空间里，散发出一种温暖，稳定的美感。

它的绰号是“美国汽车博物馆”，为了庆祝美国人对汽车的喜爱，人们在这里创建了165000平方英尺的设施。其楼高4层，占地9英亩，博物馆内将容纳350辆小汽车，卡车及摩托车，它们都是来自于私人业主，企业及健谈的哈罗德•勒梅的收集，从1906年的凯迪拉克M型，到1965年的莲花赛车，再到1983年的德罗宁DMC 12。转动的展品，如玻璃罩饰品的集合，也将要被展出。

随着一些世界上最威风车辆的展出，博物馆也将成为一个汽车爱好者聚集的地方，这里有会议场所，会员俱乐部，秀场和计划中的教育中心。博物馆的主厅在本质上来说是一个长期的展厅，几乎像仓库一样，但是从美学上增强了它的木制结构及周到的展览细节。工程是由西木建筑建造的，弯曲的屋顶系统是由19个5-18英寸胶合层檀条组成的胶合层积材框架建造的，处在与中心距离4英尺的地方，成为了二级取景点。

胶合木梁是由American Laminators精雕细琢而成，测量为8-¾英寸到52-½英寸，在展厅下面的圆弧为104英尺。由于屋顶的弧度在两个方向上，每一个757屋顶檀条都是独一无二的，随着不同的复合斜切面和不同的长度，每个檀条吊架都有不同的倾斜度及坡度。来自于斯万森集团制造有限责任公司的一个十八英寸的充分打磨的夹板护套覆盖着屋顶，周围角落使用的½英寸和5/8英寸的片材，以满足1-1/8英寸的厚度要求，同时弯曲了周围17英尺的曲率半径。

人们用防水刚性绝缘材料和金属屋顶完成了这个结构的建造。拱形设计——世界上最大的木框架之一——有一小时的耐火等级，并遵循“结构胶合木材拱形元件的抗震设计以及他们在三铰拱体系中的连接这样特殊的要求”，这是2009年全国地震减灾方案的规定。该规定的目的是在拱形体系中产生延展性，使其在地震期间，钢连接产生塑料性，在脆弱的时尚中，防止胶合积层免受于失败的危险。

在建筑的南端，屋顶系统由悬臂支撑在最后一个胶合拱形之上，支持着弯曲的筋膜，创造出了一个有棚顶的户外聚会空间。使用胶合木梁的决定不纯粹是为了审美，它还有着这样一个功能，允许一些必要的成本节约，来满足紧张的预算，洛杉矶Grant Price建筑的联席总监阿伦•格兰特说。格兰特说，LeMay博物馆的建筑成本大约在每平方英尺104美元，而典型的博物馆为每平方英尺400到800美元。从外面看，弯曲的效果，金属顶的屋顶闪闪发光，并且是流线形的——非常像汽车的空气动力学表面。

建筑师花费了很多心血，以确保现代化的形式及规模仍然尊重塔科马的大型历史建筑，它从周围的建筑物中突显出来，包括邻近的塔科马圆顶建筑在内，都能压倒它。在内部，格兰特仍然保持着建筑最初功能的意识，当考虑到材料的时候，
展示了闪亮的汽车。例如，地板是暗色混凝土的，就像为了达到最佳视觉效果而设计汽车外壳时，道路汽车制造者所考虑的那样。

格兰特也密切关注灯光的挑选，指出在自动展示中的点和条状装置如何经常留下照片中的光点和炫光。解决方案竟然是简单且廉价的：吊夹具分散了百分之四十上面的光线及百分之六十下面的光线，一个发光的保险丝环绕着前面，创建了一个强大，明亮的光线，在空间中产生了一种发红的光。6月2日，它的创建者，赞助商及施工团队，经过了近十年的努力，结束了它的建造，LeMay博物馆隆重开幕。由此带来的空间不是唯一一个在美学及建筑上受人钦佩的，但是却成功的成为一个汽车爱好者见证历史，分享激情，保留美国传统的空间。

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特别鸣谢翻译一组4号 李鹤 提供的翻译，译稿版权归译者所有，转载请注明出处。

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Architects: LARGE Architecture
Location: Tacoma, Wash
Contractor: JTM Construction
Engineer: Western Wood Structures
Year: 2012
Photographs: Courtesy of LARGE Architecture

When entering the exhibit hall at the new LeMay Museum in Tacoma, Wash., visitors may find themselves gazing up at the ceiling as well as taking in the lines of gleaming classic cars. A soaring roof system made with curved glulam beams offers a striking sense of grandeur while simultaneously lending a warm, grounded aesthetic to the vast space.   

Nicknamed “America’s Car Museum,” the 165,000-square-foot facility was created to celebrate America’s love affair with the automobile. Across its 4-story, 9-acre campus, the museum will house up to 350 cars, trucks, and motorcycles from private owners, corporations, and the expansive Harold LeMay collection, from a 1906 Cadillac Model M to a 1965 Lotus racecar to a 1983 DeLorean DMC 12. Rotating exhibits, such as a collection of glass hood ornaments, also will be showcased.

Along with displaying some of the world’s most awe-inspiring vehicles, the museum will also serve as a gathering place for car enthusiasts, with meeting spaces, a membership club, a show field and a planned educational center.   The museum’s main hall is essentially a long exhibit floor, almost warehouse-like, but aesthetically enhanced with its wood structure and thoughtful display details. Engineered by Western Wood Structures, the curved roof system was created with 19 glulam frames with 5-1/8-inch glulam purlins spaced 4 feet on center as secondary framing.

The glulam beams, crafted by American Laminators, measure 8-¾ inches by 52-½ inches and arc 104 feet over the displays below. Because the roof curves in two directions, each of the 757 roof purlins is unique, with varying compound miter cuts and varying lengths; each purlin hanger has a different skew and slope.   One-and-one-eighth-inch fully sanded plywood sheathing from Swanson Group Mfg. LLC covers the roof, with ½-inch and 5/8-inch sheets used around corners to meet the 1-1/8-inch thickness requirement while bending around the 17-foot radius of curvature.

Waterproof rigid insulation and a metal roof complete the structure.   The arch design—one of the largest wood moment frames in the world—has a 1-hour fire-resistive rating and follows the “Special Requirements for Seismic Design of Structural Glued Laminated Timber Arch Members and Their Connections in Three-Hinged Arch Systems” from the 2009 National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program provisions.

The provisions are intended to produce ductility in the arch systems by allowing the steel connections to yield plastically during a seismic event and prevent glulam members from failing in a brittle fashion.   At the south end of the structure, the roof system cantilevers over the last glulam arch, supporting the curved fascia and creating a covered outdoor gathering space.   The decision to use glulam beams wasn’t purely aesthetic, as it also was one of several features that allowed some of the cost savings necessary to meet a tight budget, says Alan Grant, co-director of Grant Price Architects in Los Angeles.

Grant says that construction of the LeMay museum cost about $104 psf whereas typical museums can range from $400 to $800 psf.   From the outside, the effect of the curved, metal-topped roof is gleaming and streamlined—much like the aerodynamic surfaces of an automobile. The architects took great care to ensure the modern form and size still respected Tacoma’s largely historic architecture, standing out from the surrounding buildings, including the adjacent Tacoma Dome, without overpowering them.   Inside, Grant remained conscious of the structure’s primary function—showcasing shiny automobiles—when considering materials. Flooring, for example, is dark stained concrete, much like the roadways automakers consider when designing a car’s shell for optimal visual effect.

Grant also paid close attention to lighting selection, noting how spot or strip fixtures at auto shows often leave bright spots and glare in photographs. The solution turned out to be simple and inexpensive: hanging fixtures that disperse 40 percent of the light up and 60 percent down, with a glowing fuse across the front, creating a strong, bright light that sets the space aglow.    The grand opening of the LeMay Museum June 2 capped off nearly a decade of effort by its founders, benefactors and construction teams. The resulting space is not only one to be aesthetically and structurally admired, but one that succeeds in providing a place for car lovers to witness history, share passions and preserve an American legacy.