Week #4 Blog (Building Systems)

eekly Summary: 




In this week's learning through reading, we covered a lot of ground in the topics of different kinds of building systems, their various types of functions, and how their presence in structures and spaces interact with occupants subjected to their installation. 


As we dove into our initial steps of exposure to the vast variety of building systems, we were brought back to see how they have developed over time to where they are today. From the beginning instances of board and batten construction using pegs to tie cross sections together, to now much more complex and innovative techniques using a wider variety of sturdy materials. 


Understanding building systems is an important aspect to everyone's occupation in  the design field from the contract manager to even the interior designer. It is through this understanding that design concepts and implementations can be done in a way that best interacts with the structure and the inhabitants in a safe, aesthetic, and functional manner. 


Building systems have to do with the transfer of weight through load bearing materials designed to stabilize and keep the building standing. These systems can be separated into three separate basic categories: 

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    Bearing Wall

 

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    Structural Frame

 

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    Stud Wall 


These building systems are highly durable and capable of withstanding numerous amounts of pressure while still staying intact. Bearing walls are responsible for carrying loads of elements above it in order to keep the structure from falling in on itself. The structural frame of a building consists of crossbeams, balusters, pillars, and columns in order to provide a stable dimensionality as well as transferring loads down to the base of the structure. Stud walls are the most basic of the three and are comprised of wood 2x4’s spanning from the floor to the ceiling acting as load bearing walls and non load bearing walls. 


The types of loads that these buildings include: 

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    Live Loads

 

  • People / Furniture / Appliances 

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    Dead Loads

 

  • Building weight / Installed Add-ons 

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    Static Loads

 

  • Building Shifts / Snow & Ice 

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    Dynamic Loads 

  • Earthquakes / Tornadoes / Tsunamis 


These forms of loads that put stress on a structure's components are a part of three types of forces that every building must withstand. The first and most basic is compression, where a material is squished under the force of overbearing weight. The second is tension, where a material is stretched causing it to undergo breakage. And the third is sheering where the material is forced in two opposite directions causing a divide. 


Alternative Building System Research: Precast Foundation Walls 

Precast foundation walls are an innovative technique as to the traditional method of casting the foundation on site. Essentially the process is started by mixing a cement aggregate with variants to create an effective concrete to utilize for construction. After the mixture is completed, predetermined walls are cast at an alternative location in sections that later harden. These sectioned walls are made transferable and are transpired to the construction site to be installed. Once they arrive for installation, giant cranes elevate the material and drop each section into place like puzzle pieces to a jigsaw. With each piece sitting comfortably in its predetermined slot, they are bolted together to create one whole piece that is sturdy and ready to support a building. 

The advantages to building this way allows manufacturers to install the necessary installation into each section before it is even sent to the construction site to be set in place. This increases the R-Value of the foundation and helps mitigate any manual installation errors. It also takes away from long work hours due to the fact that it only takes about 6 to 8 hours to complete. Its only drawback is the fact that it does not sit on a traditionally poured footer or even a precast footer. It must sit on a particular and expensive clear stone that can give it its load bearing strength to transfer pressure into the earth below it. 

Precast foundation walls were invented by John Alexander Brodie, who formed its creation just prior to world war I and has been improved upon by different corporations till our present time. 

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