Monocoque structure
Why is the tower earthquake and disaster resistant?
  Consisting of three floors underground and nine above ground, the slender Kyoto Tower has a discus-shaped observation deck near the top. The load on the foundations of the building is about 800 tons, but the tower has safely survived wind gusts of speeds up to 50m/sec due to typhoons, as well as the Great Awaji-Hanshin Earthquake that caused such great damage to the Kansai area in 1995. In fact, this is a rather mysterious structure as it does not use any conventional steelā€frame construction methods at all.
Kyoto Tower was designed by the architect Mamoru Yamada, but the concept for the structure of the tower came from Prof. Ryo Tanahashi of the Graduate School of Engineering in the Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering at Kyoto University. As a result of setting a safety factor of more than twice the norm for such structures, the tower structure that supports the observation deck is composed of a monocoque structure made from special steel sheets 12 to 22 mm thick. This monocoque structure is similar to that employed for airplanes and ships, and it was the first time this type of structure was used for a large tower building.
The care employed in the construction of the tower extends beyond the structure, to the interior decoration as well. When the tower was remodeled in 2007, Prof. Masafumi Komatsu of Seika University produced the background music to unify the blue theme of the observation deck, to make it even more pleasant and relaxing. In addition, in order to ensure the sound quality, the floor of the observation deck was fitted with special carpeting. Going up the tower, you will be able to enjoy it more as you pay attention to these details of construction.
   
   
 
Monocoque structure details
Monocoque structure details
The exterior of the tower
The exterior of the tower
The exterior of the observation deck
The exterior of the observation deck
The carpet mat of the observation deck
The carpet mat of the observation deck
 
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