Jorunal Week 6 Catherine Demetriou To make this process easier for the group we decided to disect the ceiling plan.
The first and most important strictural element in which we recognised were the purlins that acted as beams on the wall (1) We decided that in order to ensure that our model was stable, re-modelling of these purlins was necessary. Using the elevation plans, we began to measure the height of the walls and the length of the purlins at a 1:50 scale.
For this weeks task we were asked to model the structural features of our building. Having done the MSLE building we decided that our main focus when building the model would be the mezzanine and the area surround it and the stairwell that leads to the second floor.
(1)Ching,Frank, 1943, Building Construction Illustrated, Fourth Edition
The stairwell was also an important structural element as it lead to the 2nd floor.
Jorunal Week 6 Catherine Demetriou
In order for our walls to stabilise we used the L-Bar method. This mean that we but three peice of L-shaped cardboard on the edge of each wall and glued one end to the wall and the other to the floor. This meant that the wall was able to lean on the L and stand rather than fall back.
In the real structure, the purlins are held on using bolts. In our case, pins acted as bolts that held each purlin onto the edge of the wall. The pins not only hold the carboard but also compress it from each side, making it stable and a winner over gravity.
The stairwell was done in a manner very similar to the walls. Each section was held together using a small L-Bar. For the areas that were slightly more angled the 90 degree L was distorted into an approximated 140 degree angle.