Sami Ford- Week 3
This week in Building Systems were learned about Structural Systems. Regarding building structures, we as interior designers do not deal with them. We cannot create or modify them without the help of an engineer or architect, meaning that it is important to realize when we are dealing with structural elements so that we know when to bring an engineer or architect onto a project.
Bearing walls, stud walls, and structural frames are the three primary ways to transfer carry loads to the foundation. As you can see from the picture, bearing walls are solid, stud walls are made of studs, and a structural frame is simply the frame, no studs or thick walls required. While these structural systems look drastically different, they all serve the same purpose.
The structural basics of building systems are stability, strength and stiffness, and economy. There are different loads that a structural has to support, such as tension, compression, and deflection. Within that there are live loads and dead loads. Live loads are things that are moveable, such as people, while dead loads are stable elements such as flooring and ceiling elements.
There are many different elements to a building system such as the foundation, walls, doors and windows, the roof, stairs, and any all-other structural supports (which may include columns and beams). In order to make a building system work, you must connect everything together and distribute the load evenly, this helps the building to stay balanced and strong.
Historically, heavy timber or mortise and tenon were used in building systems. Today it is more common not just for wood but also steel and masonry and concrete with bearing wall systems.
One alternative system is an earth sheltered structural system. Earth sheltered structural systems are built into the ground. This kind of system acts as a roof system, protecting the home from extreme weather. Additionally, it helps with temperature changes because the ground also acts as insulation. However, this can cause more challenges such as moisture problems. Within earth-sheltered houses, there are two basic types; underground and bermed (which is banked in the earth). The difference is the degree to which the house is buried or surrounded by the earth, Bermed houses are only partially surrounded by the earth, which are more common than fully underground houses.
Sammy- Thank you for a comprehensive Blog entry on Structural Systems. I appreciated all of the details you included and the diagrams that supported your information. What I found very interesting was your summary and analysis of the earth sheltered structural system. The image you included looks as if it is located in Switzerland. I also, found the article you included interesting. 50/50 total points
ReplyDelete