Required Course
Credits: 2-3-3 (3 semester hours)
Type of Course Supervised Lecture - TechnologyInstructors: T. Russell Gentry
Prerequisites: ARCH 3241
Course Overview:
Gravity loads on building structures. Introduction to structural planning. Design of wood and steel structures. Properties of wood and architectural metals. Computer-based analysis of structures.
In this lecture course, an introduction to the structural analysis and design process is presented. Students investigate normative structural form through the generation of structural plans and details given a schematic building program. Gravity loads - that is, dead loads and live loads - are investigated and students learn to distribute gravity loads to floor plates, facades, beams, girders and columns. Complex structural behavior is introduced using slides of notable structures and through computer-based structural modeling. Structural design focuses on materials that can be considered as discreet, pin-connected elements within the structural form - wood and steel are the primary materials considered. Students learn about the behavior of structural materials through a series of demonstrations where wood, engineered wood composites, and metals are tested in the laboratory. This is followed by a design-build-destruct exercise where students envision and construct a hybrid wood-steel structure that spans 6 feet and weights less than 20 pounds. These structures are tested to failure in the structures lab.
Learning Objectives:
In the structural design sequence, students are expected to discover the structural ramifications of architectural decisions. Issues of form, span, structural density, and material choice are discussed in the context of architectural design. Students learn to communicate with structural consultants when designing complex structures and to assume the responsibility for structural design for simple structures. The structural design courses therefore seek a balance between two key goals: to equip students to operate with "structural clarity" in the studio, that is, to enable form and tectonic decisions that are appropriately informed; and to equip students with key skills so that they can complete structural selection of members in simple structures and to understand, communicate with, and oversee the structural consultants that they encounter in their practice. In ARCH 4251, the focus is on wood and steel structures. For these materials, the primary structural elements are available in a limited number of "off the shelf" sizes. It is expected that students will be able to select wood studs, columns, joists and wood composite members in simple frames. Likewise, students should be able to analyze, design, and select steel joists, girders, and columns. Students should understand how dead and live loads generate forces within structural elements and how these forces flow through building frames and are equilibrated at the building foundations. Students should understand the relationship between building occupancy, contents, and code-prescribed live loads.
Course Requirements: The primary text for the structures design sequence (ARCH 4251 and ARCH 4252) is Building Structures by James Ambrose. In ARCH 4251, this text is supplemented with readings from the following texts: Structures, by Schodek; ASCE 7-98 "Minimum Design Loads on Buildings and Other Structures" Microlam, Parallam, and I-Joist Literature from Truss-Joist McMillan / Weyerhaeuser
Students complete approximately 7 homework assignments during the semester. One of the homeworks is typically a research assignment on wood-based composite materials that is collected and shared with the class. Two hourly exams are given during the term along with a final exam. The design / build / destruct exercise is completed as a group project and is documented with calculations, design drawings, construction photographs, and a post-mortem show-and-tell session.