Located in front of the 54 story Mori Tower, The Museum Cone is the entrance to the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan. The structure consists of three main elements. First, a GFRC-clad 30m high steel structure called “funnel” contains passenger elevators and provides the primary vertical support for the building. Second, a 20m high steel and glass facade operates on the principle of the “cable net shell” a single layer of diagonal net consists of galvanized cables acts in tension, stabilizing twelve horizontal steel rings in compression which hold the elliptical conical form of the facade. And third is an exterior “glass façade” of 10+10mm laminated tempered safety glass point-supported by the stainless steel fittings at the four corners, in a ceramic fritted dot-pattern, overlapping each other to provide a rain screen. The goal was to express the lightness and strength of the steel with the transparency of the glass to create a unique space providing a powerful presence at the bottom of the tower as well as a symbol for the museum. LARSA 4D was used heavily in the modeling of this extraordinary structure.

• Client:Nito Structural Design + DMP
• Location: Tokyo, Japan
• Date: 2003
• Design Type: Building Design