White Rhino

General information

• Location address

  Chiba

• Location country

  Japan

• Year of construction

  2001

• Short description of the replacement or dismantling

  White Rhino, a building covered with membrane roofs supported by two tensegrity skeletons, has been constructed at Chiba in Japan in June, 2001. The building is constructed in the University of Tokyo’s experimental centre and houses different laboratories of the university. The name, White Rhino, comes from the exterior appearance of the roofs, the white colour and two “horns”, where the membrane roofs are pushed up from
  inside by two isolated posts supported by
  tensegrity skeletons. These isolated struts absorb large deformation of membrane roof and transmits the force from membrane roof to the tensegrity frame. One of the two tensegrity frames is about ten meters high while the other is seven meters high.

• Function of building

  Laboratories & research centres

• Degree of enclosure

  Fully enclosed structure

• Climatic zone

  Temperate - cold winters and mild summers

• Number of layers

  mono-layer

• Type of application of the membrane

  covering

• Primary function of the tensile structure
  • Daylight gains
  • Rain protection
  • Space defining elements
  • Sun protection
  • Wind protection