Terri Meyer Boake BES BArch MArch LEED AP
Associate Professor :: Associate Director :: School of Architecture :: University of Waterloo

Cockrell Butterfly Center

Hoover Architects

Houston, Texas

 

Project Information:

The Cockrell Butterfly Center is part of the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Houston, Texas. The truncated cone structure is constructed of predominantly round steel tube sections.

more info: visit the website of the Steel Tube Institute of America link or download a pdf with additional information on the building.


Project Images:

Exterior view of the building.
Building at entrance courtyard.

View of towards the parapet at the exterior with maintenance track.
View of maintenance track connection.

The sloped round roof required the construction of specialized cleaning equipment.
View of the track on the roof to control the circular path of the cleaning platform.
View of the interior looking towards the roof.
Detail of the connection of the tube truss to the base of the building. X bracing with rods was employed around the entire circumference of the building for stability.
Detail of the wall truss.
Detail of brace. Detail showing how a flat plate is used to join the diagonal truss members to the bottom chord of the truss.
View towards roof structure.
The roof trusses terminate in a curved hss steel compression ring.
View towards roof showing the connection of the wall truss to the roof truss system.
Base connection detail of wall truss. Plates are used to resolve the connection of round tubes to each other.

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These images are for educational use only and may not be reproduced commercially without written permission. tboake@sympatico.ca

Updated September 25, 2005