US3331168A

US3331168A - Suspended module buildings

Info

Publication number: US3331168A
Application number: US523234A
Authority: US
Inventors: Frey Christian
Original assignee: SUSPENDED STRUCTURES Inc
Current assignee: SUSPENDED STRUCTURES Inc
Priority date: 1962-10-09
Filing date: 1965-09-15
Publication date: 1967-07-18
Anticipated expiration: 1984-07-18

Description

July 18, 1967 c. FREY 3,331,168

SUSPENDED MODULE BUILD INGS Original Filed Oct. 9, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

CHRIST/AN FREY BY ATTORNE Y5 FIE--1 July 18, 1967 c. FREY 3,331,168

SUSPENDED MODULE BUILDINGS Original Filed Oct. 9, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIE-Er- 3..

INVENTOR. \W CHRIST/AN FREY BYWI'LhZ A TTORN E Y5 United States Patent 3,331,168 SUSPENDED MODULE BUILDINGS Christian Frey, San Francisco, Calif., assignor to Suspended Structures Incorporated, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of California Original application Oct. 9, '1962, Ser. No. 229,421, now Patent No. 3,226,727, dated Dec. 28, 1965. Divided and this application Sept. 15, 1965, Ser. No. 523,234

2 Claims. (Cl. 5273) This application is a division of my parent application Ser. No. 229,421, filed Oct. 9, 1962 for Suspended Module Buildings, now US. Patent No. 3,226,727.

This invention relates to architectural structures and more particularly to multiple unit buildings formed of a plurality of suspended modules and to a method of constructing the same.

In accordance with this invention, multiple unit buildings such as apartment houses, motels and the like are constructed by suspending a plurality of prefabricated or substantially prefabricated modules from a service tower. Each module forms a separate business or dwelling unit or a component of such a unit which is joined to other suspended components on the tower. Preferably each module is independent of the other modules and is suspended from the tower independently of the other modules with the modules distributed circumferentially around the tower and superposed one above another along the height of the tower.

The tower and modules are constructed independently with the tower design influencing module design only to the extent that it dictates a pattern of suspension cables or rods which the module must receive; in this way, the module manufacturer has substantially complete freedom in designing modules for the building, and the potential building tenant has very wide freedom in selecting the housing or business unit which he will install in the volume of space he might lease along the height of the tower.

A number of very substantial advantages are obtained by constructing buildings in this manner. Each of the separate modules which is to be suspended in the building may be constructed under ideal conditions in a factory where all required tools and power machinery are readily accessible and where plumbing and electrical wiring supplies and the like may be available in abundance. The modules may be completely prefabricated and furnished at the factory before they are shipped to their ultimate site and raised into position. When the modules are substantially completed in a factory in this manner, the building construction can progress uniformly throughout the year regardless of weather conditions, leaving only the service tower for construction during the normal construction season. In this regard, the modules when complete with roof and exterior walls may be delivered and raised into place at any time regardless of weather conditions.

In some situations,.as where shipping of the module to the site may present problems, the module may be prefabricated in small sections at the factory and assembled at the site before it is raised into place or while it is being raised into place. Additionally, some advantages may be obtained under certain circumstances by raising the module into place in the form of a space frame and finishing and furnishing the module after it is in place.

The provision of suspended module buildings of this type permits the use of a wide variety of structural designs for the individual modules. For instance, each module may be constructed from conventional structural members loaded in compression with the entire module suspended on rods or cables which are attached to the module at its floor level. On the other hand, the structural strength of the module may be provided by a stressed skin with each module suspended on cables or the like attached to its roof. The use of light weight building construction expedients is thus not only possible but desirable, and the use of such techniques afford substantial savings in materials. Additionally, the material used in the cables or rods which support the modules is used most efliciently since the weight of the modules is thereby carried by tension instead of compression.

The cables or rods employed can be designed efliciently to carry the weight distribution of the module while employing a minimum quantity of materials in each cable or rod, and these advantages can be obtained by supporting the entire module on a single cable or rod while using lateral bracing connecting the module to the tower or other modules if desired. Where it is desirable to minimize the quantity of material in the cables and the like, the plural modules on a single tower may be supported from a plurality of cantilever support portions which are attached to the tower at different elevations.

The construction of suspended module buildings in accordance with this invention offers new opportunities for all those associated with the buildings and to many concerns which have been unable to compete in the building construction industry heretofore. Thus, suspended module buildings may introduce a sufiiciently different concept in home architecture that homeowners may accept homes made completely from materials such as aluminum and synthetic resins, which the ordinary homeowner has heretofore rejected as being to unconventional; this may open vast new markets for suppliers and fabricators of these heretofore unconventional materials. The opportunity for the architect and builder to use radically new three dimensional shapes for homes may also give them complete freedom of choice to use new materials in the new shapes. The provision of service towers which will accept modules for suspension may permit old established concerns such as automobile, trailer and air frame manufacture-rs to diversify their operations and thereby even out their cyclic economic problems. Since the service tower itself imposes very few restrictions on the designs for the module it supports, the module owner who leases space on the tower has very wide freedom of choice in selecting the interior and exterior design for his module; additionally, the module owner may be free to trade in and replace his module, since the suspended module may be removed from its tower without causing any damage to itself or to the tower.

The service tower forming the core of the building of this invention may be constructed very efficiently with known concrete slip-form techniques. The tower is provided with a cantilever portion at a position substantially above the ground, and the material hoist assembly normally used on the slip-form equipment may be used to lift the cantilever portions into place. The modular building units may be lifted into place on the service tower and permanently suspended from the cantilever portion by rods or cables with the slip-form hoist or a permanent hoist installation in the tower being used to lift the modules. Each module is preferably prefabricated as a completed self sustaining unit with its own service elements such as plumbing, electrical wiring, heating, and the like which may be connected to service facilities in the service tower; this connection may be made by flexible means which may accommodate the structure to thermal expansion and contraction of the cables which suspend the modules. Additionally, the connection may be made by a standardized multiple conduit fitting which is detachably connected to the service tower thereby facilitating removal and replacement of any given module.

Where earthquake and wind conditions, for instance, may subject the buildings to large lateral forces, the bending movements of the tower may be modified by the installation of resilient bumpers between the modules and the tower.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of one embodiment of the invention, reference being had to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation partially in section of a suspended module building constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal sectional view, somewhat schematic, taken along the plane indicated at 2--2 in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary view in side elevation illustrating typical suspension components in the building of FIG. 1.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, the building illustrated therein includes a double walled service column having inner and outer walls and 12 respectively with a plurality of floor elements 14 mounted therebetween at various levels in the tower. An elevator shaft 16 (FIG. 2) is provided within the wall 10 and has access doors 18 at the levels of the various floor elements 14. A stair well 20 is also provided in the service tower inside the wall 10 as is a vertical chute 22 in which service facilities (not shown) are mounted for providing water, electricity, gas, and sewage outlets at each fioor level of the tower.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the outer wall 12 of the service tower is hexagonal and provided with an exterior opening 24 in each of its six faces at the level of each floor element 14. A plurality of

housing units

26, 27, 28, 29 and 30 are susepnded adjacent to the service tower and provided with doorways communicating with the access openings 24 in the outer wall 12 of the service tower. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, each of the modular housing unit is suspended independently by cables 32 which are attached to the floor 34 (FIG. 3) of each module except module 29 which is suspended solely by a single central cable 32 attached to the roof of the module by conventional cable anchors as shown in FIG. 3, the cables extending upwardly through passages in the modules thereabove and hence over sheaves 36 on a cantilever support portion 38 on top of the service tower. The ends of the cables 32 are connected to power hoists 40 in the top of the service tower, the hoists being used to lift the various modules into place adjacent to the service tower with the cables being detached from the hoist and permanently secured to the tower after the modules are in place. The cantilever support portion 38 and sheaves 36 may be covered by a roofing hood 39. As indicated in FIG. 2, the majority of the housing units 2630 are supported with four cables 32 suspending each module, but the modules in one vertical stack of modules (containing the housing units 28 and 29) carry five cables 32. Bumpers and/ or support cables 41 may be provided between the modules, the cables 41 serving as the sole support for the module 27 in FIG. 2.

As indicated above, tubular means are provided extending through the modules 26-30 permitting passage from the cantilever support portion 38 of the cables 32 which suspend lower modules on the building. As indicated in FIG. 2, these tubular passages may be provided in dividing walls 42 in each module or in other housings such as in the core of the circular staircase in module 28. Additionally, where it may be desirable to facilitate lateral removal of a module from the building, the cables may be provided in slots in the module where the slot extends continuously from the cable through the wall of the module which is closest to the service tower.

As indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, a wide variety of designs may be employed in the design of individual modules of the building, the modules 26 being formed as hexagonal 4 units each having a balcony 44 on its outer edge and having a plurality of rooms separated by the walls 42 with each of the modules comprising a complete living unit with living room, dining room, kitchen, bedrooms and bath as indicated by the letters on one of the units 26 in FIG. 2. Each of the units 26 is raised into place adjacent to the service tower after it has been completely prefabricated and moved to a position on the ground adjacent to the tower. On the other hand, the housing module 30 is made from a floor slab 46 and inflatable canopy 48 whereby the module 30 may be lifted into place prior to inflation of the canopy; where it is desirable, the canopy may be supported as by a geodesic dome or expandable space frame. As indicated in FIG. 1, the module 29 is built from a geodesic octagonal space frame in which the surface of the frame and the frames structural strength are provided by a lattice of interlocking braces. This module is suspended by a single cable attached to its roof and is provided with auxiliary lateral stability by bracing members connecting the module to the tower at two floor levels.

The service tower is adapted to support a wide variety of shapes and sizes of modular units depending upon the desires of the individual occupants of the modules. As indicated in the drawings, one or more of the modular units on the tower may be omitted for the sake of privacy of a particular occupant, and multiple story modules such as the module 28 may be provided where an individual occupant desires to lease a volume of space adjacent to the tower which is adjacent to more than one floor level 14 of the tower or more than one of the hexagonal faces of the tower. The module 28 is provided with two

floor levels

48 and 50, an attic 52 and basement 54. Some idea of the versatility of design permitted by the suspended module arrangement is indicated in the housing unit 28 where the lower level 48 is bounded by a downwardly facing window 56 in one of the octagonal walls of the building, and the second story 50 is provided with an upwardly facing window 58.

While certain general principles of the suspended module buildings of this invention and one specific embodiment thereof have been illustrated and described above, it will be obvious that many modifications thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the structure and method of the invention.

I claim:

1. A suspended module building comprising a generally vertical service column mounted on the ground and having service facilities therein, a cantilever support portion mounted on said column substantially above the ground, a plurality of independent enclosed housing units adjacent to said column and underneath said cantilever support portion with each of said housing units having first and second substantially horizontal frame portions forming a floor and a ceiling respectively of said housing units and a plurality of substantially vertical walls on said frame portions for laterally enclosing an occupiable volume of said unit, and tension members connected to said cantilever support portion and to sa1d housing units for suspending said housing units from said support portion with each of said housing units vertically spaced apart from other housing units above and below it with a substantial volume of empty space between the first and second frame portions of each of said housing units and the second and first frame portions respectively of the closest housing unit with said tension members including a first tension member connected to said cantilever support portion and a first one of said housing units and at least a second tension member connected to said cantilever support portion and a second one of said housing units with said second tension member free of connection to said first housing unit, and service facilities in each of said housing units connected to service facilities in said column.

2. A suspended module building comprising a generally vertical service column mounted on the ground and having service facilities therein, a cantilever support portion mounted on said column substantially above the ground, a first plurality of independent enclosed housing units arranged in superposed position adjacent to said column underneath said cantilever support portion, a second plurality of independent enclosed housing units arranged in superposed relation adjacent to said column underneath said cantilever support portion with said second plurality of housing units laterally spaced from said first plurality, a continuous vertical open space in said building between said first and second pluralities of housing units with said housing units bounding said open space, tension members connected to said cantilever support portion and to said housing units for suspending said housing units from said support portion with said tension members including a first tension member connected to said cantilever support portion and a first one of said housing units and at least a second tension member connected to said cantilever support portion and a second one of said housing units with said second tension member free of connection to said first housing unit, each of said housing units in each of said pluralities having a substantially horizontal frame portion connected to said tension members and a plurality of substantially vertical walls on said frame portion for laterally enclosing an occupiable volume of said unit with said frame and walls having sufiicient strength to support themselves and each other but insuificient strength to support the remaining housing uni-ts in that plurality, and service facilities in each of said housing units connected to said service facilities in said column.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,988,075 1/1935 Fiorini 5273 2,499,498 3/ 1950 Hammond 52236 X 2,914,074 11/1959 Fuller 52-81 X 2,934,075 4/1960 Richardson et al. 52-81 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,163,774 4/1958 France.

74,311 11/ 1960 France.

937,372 9/ 1963 Great Britain.

OTHER REFERENCES German printed application 1,119,499, December 1961.

JOHN MURTAGH, Primary Examiner. M. O. WARNECKE, Assistant Examiner.

Claims

1. A SUSPENDED MODULE BUILDING COMPRISING A GENERALLY VERTICAL SERVICE COLUMN MOUNTED ON THE GROUND AND HAVING SERVICE FACILITIES THEREIN, A CANTILEVER SUPPORT PORTION MOUNTED ON SAID COLUMN SUBSTANTIALLY ABOVE THE GROUND, A PLURALITY OF INDEPENDENT ENCLOSED HOUSING UNITS ADJACENT TO SAID COLUMN AND UNDERNEATH SAID CANTILEVER SUPPORT PORTION WITH EACH OF SAID HOUSING UNITS HAVING FIRST AND SECOND SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL FRAME PORTIONS FORMING A FLOOR AND A CEILING RESPECTIVELY OF SAID HOUSING UNITS AND A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL WALLS ON SAID FRAME PORTIONS FOR LATERALLY ENCLOSING AN OCCUPIABLE VOLUME OF SAID UNIT, AND TENSION MEMBERS CONNECTED TO SAID CANTILEVER SUPPORT PORTON AND TO SAID HOUSING UNITS FOR SUSPENDING SAID HOUSING UNITS FROM SAID SUPPORT PORTION WITH EACH OF SAID HOUSING UNITS VERTICALLY SPACED APART FROM OTHER HOUSING UNITS ABOVE AND BELOW IT WITH A SUBSTANTIAL VOLUME OF EMPTY SPACE BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND FRAME PORTIONS OF EACH OF SAID HOUSING UNITS AND THE SECOND AND FIRST FRAME PORTIONS RESPECTIVELY OF THE CLOSEST HOUSING UNIT WITH SAID TENSION MEMBERS INCLUDING A FIRST TENSION MEMBER CONNECTED TO SAID CANTILEVER SUPPORT PORTION AND A FIRST ONE OF SAID HOUSING UNITS AND AT LEAST A SECOND TENSION MEMBER CONNECTED TO SAID CANTILEVER SUPPORT PORTION AND A SECOND ONE OF SAID HOUSING UNITS WITH SAID SECOND TENSION MEMBER FREE OF CONNECTION TO SAID FIRST HOUSING UNIT, AND SERVICE FACILITIES IN EACH OF SAID HOUSING UNITS CONNECTED TO SERVICE FACILITIES IN SAID COLUMN.