Particracy Forum

I need help coming up with a structural explanation for a structurally impossible-looking building.

I am neither. But could you add a picture (a sketch maybe) or a description of the building you have in mind?

Well see that's kinda why I need help because I don't wanna post the picture in-game if it's architecturally impossible and anti-realism. Basically, it's two buildings in one, the second building is a carbon copy of the first, but it is suspended on top of the first building like a mirror. Both buildings have wide foundations but narrow summits, but since they are mirrored, the tip of the first building is nearly touched by the upside down tip of the second building, and the second building broadens widely as it ascends into the air. There are no visible pillars, so it's not clear to me how the second building's weight is supported and distributed. I don't know if concealed or invisible pillars could explain a building like this and if so, I don't understand where they would be hidden. I've considered explaining it as an optical illusion achieved using projection cameras, but I couldn't decide where exactly the projectors would be stored. Maybe projectors+mirrors would be easier to explain.

Something like this?



This could be supported by a solid internal column, complete with under girders, assuming the building materials are sufficiently lighter above than below.

Think like a bookshelf: It can hold a tremendous amount of weight, a decent way from the wall, if the brackets are solid enough.

You can hide the shelving for the main structure within the structure, and in theory built a significant distance off the base of the supporting column, and if there's symmetry in the building, it seems that all the force would be downward.

It might end up something like this:



In this picture, you see two pyramids, basically forming an hourglass shape. With strong enough building materials, you could shrink the center column so it appears to recede entirely into the building, but for the most part, this is just a conceptual drawing.

The dark Blue are the columns, inside the top building, green is supporting floors, red is support braces and brackets, light would be basically dead space, or areas which would be super structure: Places that would not bear a large weight load. The main structure, which people can use is between the columns.

The brackets on the bottom of the floors would need to be very sturdy to bear the weight of the construction above them, while the braces above the floors could be like girders on a suspension bridge, which people could pass through and the space could be utilized. If everything is balanced and stable, the vast weight would be transferred straight down the central pillar into the ground, while each of the floors individually would only have to support the weight of the segments above. The floor will want to sheer away from the central tower, but that's what the bracers and girders are for, and you can easily hide them.

The more floors you have above, the more weight which would need to be supported, but it could architecturally be done. It is done all the time, actually.

It air traffic control towers:


Space Needles


Casinos


Museums


And in City Halls


You can do it, man.

Here's some more ideas

https://io9.gizmodo.com/these-upside-do ... 1570254716

It certainly seems possible, but it'll get more difficult the higher you go. I'd say it's a question of limits.
How high can you go? Those Space Needles are high, but they don't have to support much weight.
How thin can the building be at its tightest point?
How high can the ratio of usable space to statical elements be?
To prevent too much movement adding tuned mass dampers might be necessary. And maybe don't build it in an earthquake zone.

Is seems that in a lot of those buildings, the flat lines of the slopes are actually formed by exterior supports. These could also be used to transfer weight into the center structure. The windows are set back into the structure, and are actually behind the structure.

If those structures are load bearing and the floors act as kind of tie downs, which counteract the tendency of the outer structure to fall straight down, they could provide a lot of structural stability to the upper part of the building.

Doc wrote:Is seems that in a lot of those buildings, the flat lines of the slopes are actually formed by exterior supports. These could also be used to transfer weight into the center structure. The windows are set back into the structure, and are actually behind the structure.

Ooooooh so the building itself serves as the pillars (or what appears to be the building itself).

You are a God send! I will PM you the picture.