CONSTRUCTING ENVIRONMENTS ENVS10003 JOURNAL EMMA BUNN
Week 1 2nd August 2013 COMPRESSION: A force that tends to shorten or squeeze something, decreasing its volume OR the degree to which a substance has decreased in size (in volume, length, or some other dimension) after being or while being subject to stress.
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Week 2 9th August 2013 FRAME: a stable construction of vertical structural members of which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof made of horizontal ceiling joists and sloping rafters (or pre-fabricated roof trusses).
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ANALYSIS- Due to the shape of the small wooden block this limited the flexibility we had in a design process. We decided to follow a simple but effective design process by creating a 3 walled structure with a roof. After completing this we tested out the strength of the structure by placing a water bottle on top of the roof. The structure withheld the weight of the water bottle but was starting to cave in from the centre of the roof outwards, creating the walls to angle in order to support the roofing. To allow for more weight to be added we decided to strengthen the structure by adding another layer so that the compression level in the structure would increase compacting the materials therefore resulting in the shortening of the wood allowing for the weight load being held to also increase. LOAD PATHS- Until the second layer of the structure was added the structure started to collapse in the centre of the roof due to the both the left and right wall angling in to support the weight on the roof. With the addition of the second layer of walls the weight load was able to increase due to the increase in compression evident in the structure, therefore spreading out the total weight load of water bottle more effectively.
load path spread evenly over the 3 walls and roof. EFFICIENCY OF THE MATERIAL-WOODEN BLOCKS: Although wood is a common building material due to its extensive availability and ease of fabrication for this activity the efficiency of flexibility in the small wooden blocks we were given to use meant that the and shape of structural designs were limited without the use of other materials such as glue or rubber bands, which also effects the maximum level of compression able to be reached.
1: development of the frame
2: additions to the frame
3: structure completed
ANALYSIS: After cutting our 40x10cm piece of balsa wood into 40 without much thought into how we were going to outplay the structural design, we found that in order to get the height we needed our stripes of Balsa wood were required to be of greater length. We made the decision to split each piece of balsa wood width way and glue them together length way in order to have 40 longer pieces of Balsa wood. This then altered the load path making it weaker than if it were to be one complete piece of balsa wood. We chose to use a triangular frame as it was best suited to evenly spread the load and was subject only to axial tension or compression. After creating the base frame we built upwards following the same framing adding in pieces of balsa wood to create tension and act as a Support for the load to increase and follow the frame up another level before reaching a peak. LOAD PATHS: The load in which this structure is best described by, is that of a Static Load. Due to the structure increasing the number of balsa wood pieces (the load) slowly until it reached the peak value of static force which in the case of this structure was after all 40 pieces of Balsa wood had been added to the structure and the pieces were starting to fold due to weight loads being unsupported which is a result of creating a frame that was not able to hold the compete weight of the structure as not enough compression or tension was evident. EFFICENCY OF BULSA WOOD: Making the decision to split our 40 pieces of balsa wood in order to make them have a greater length meant that they were a thin and weak structure that could not hold much weight. Balsa wood is a material that when included as part of a structural design can be strong as long as the initial framing can withhold the overall structure through being strong and compressed.
Examples of construction concepts by fellow class members:
Examples of construction concepts by fellow class members:
(Tutorial group 1 2013, week 1) (Tutorial group 1 2013, week 2)
Week 3 16th August 2013
Case study site visit:
Week 3 16th August 2013
Case study site visit: 1:
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Ormond Theology Centre Reception: Links: Ormond College Construction type: Framework, compression of the roof, cantilevering, mass construction type. Structural Systems: Steel beams, spacing, steel frame/wall frame
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Materials: Steel, bricks, glass, composite building board/chip board
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Queens College Extension: Links: Queens College Construction type: Mass construction
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Structural Systems: Structural load bearing panels, foundations, framing
(University of Melbourne LMS 2013)
Site plan for the Oval Pavilion at Melbourne University. After learning about how to read site plans this week in e-learning it has been helpful to test our understanding by marking out three different view points through out the site and documenting what we saw and the stage of development in that area whilst noting the angle in which we were standing.
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Materials: Prefabricated concrete, asphalt
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• Foundations for the pavilion placed down. • Retaining walls • Strip footing 500 wide 500 deep • Steel reinforcements • Yellow caps protecting the steel beams and acting as a safety measure for the workers on site.
• Foundations for the pavilion placed down. • Retaining wall • Scaffolding • In ground foundations • Supporting beams- Lateral Bracing • Excavations • Electrical tubing in the white due to 95% of services in the concrete slab
• Screed on top of concrete slab • Basement level • Joists • Safety framing • Wooden beams • Spacing • Trench will back filled. Currently protected by waterproofing fabric preventing moisture and damage • Natural clay surrounding the site.
Site Manager: Henry talked about some of the key building materials and dimensions used on site to help better understand the process in which has occurred to get to this stage of development. Walls are load bearing 100mm thick (bottom) 230mm (on top) difference in thickest is due to the span difference experienced on site. The smaller the total span the less thickness in the slab required. 20mm steel bar in the middle acting as reinforcement due to a span of 6m.
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MSLE building: Construction type: Mass construction,building ground up. Structural Systems: Spanning-column from wall to wall, cantilevered flooring for mezzanine,beam being load bearing due to span being relatively small. Materials: Brick, glass, plaster board, vinyl floor, in floor slab, prefabricated steel bracing for mezzanine. Other: Pipes for exhaust due to chemistry lab next door
Eastern Precinct Student Centre: Construction type: Mass construction Structural Systems: I Columns, custom made beam, prefabricated framing, cantilevered, spanning Materials: Glass, steel beam, concrete, concrete slab flooring
Week 4 23rd August 2013
Week 5 30th August 2013
Week 6 6th September 2013 CONSTRUCTION WORKSHOP: MATERIALS: 3x Pine 1200 x 90 1x Ply 1200 x 35 Pine: is a Hardwood is usually used for paneling and furniture. (Building Construction Illustrated, 2008) Ply: is a Softwood that is ususally used for general construction We drilled 8 screws into the ply to hold the two pieces of pine together acting as fixings which meant the ply was acting as a bracing material and made the overall structure stronger
With our third piece of Pine we chose to cut it into sections that would act as another bracing element of the alternative side to the ply.
Side view Above view
After the smaller pine piece split we decided to use the remaining piece stacked on top of the other two.
Structure placed in the force applying structure
Weak spot in the wood. Knot in the wood. We chose to have the structure stand horizontally rather than lie flat to have the ply working as a bracing material and allow for the pine to be strong vertically with 3 pieces stacked on one another opposed to having three horizontally which would distribute the load equally. Drilling in to the Pine resulted in spilting of the material. This is due to the grain direction and the knots.
Deflection is evident where the load as been applied. Centre of the structure
Where load was applied was were the first crumbled. Max load reached was 380kg with a deflection of 45mm Bracing was one of the first things to snap when load was applied. Due to the angle in which the load was being applied. Due to ply usually acting a tension structure so applied force to the centre whilist being on its side exposed it to being at a weak position.
Objectives: Build a conceptual structural model based on previous analysis of Ormond College building.
Week 7 13th September 2013
Victoria Street Apartments: 8 Levels, 500 Apartments Developer- Solta Properties.
Icon Construction: Managing the construction process, safety on site, sub contractors on site. 400 staff- 370 Trades people, 20 Managers, 10 Labourers. Using the plans we established the floor plan of the area in which we were required to build on.
Followed a 1:100 scale for the model
Currently at phase 1 or 3 in the development process: stage is to do with the pre sales of the apartment. Banks dictate these projects and the finance staging the projects. All the concreting is now complete. Choice of materials: Concrete- because it is time efficient and everybody knows how to use it therefore cutting labour costs down and the main cost coming for the percentage of material usage around 70/30. Compared with steel that is more of a 50/50. Generally material of a lightweight is cheaper but the labour involved makes it cost more to use.
SECTION C From looking at the floor plan it is evident that some of the structues employed are I beams, concrete wall, glass, and bricking
SECTION D- Had to upgrade the footings, putting more reinforcement in which was work done out of hours because previously the centrelink building. No noise transfer allowed. Framing consisted of timber and the columns in the transfer level were steel
A example of a I beam
Due to running out of the time complete replicated of Ormond College structure was not complete. The next step taken would have been to ensure the beams were spread to the plan, walls were placed in and the structure connection and provided a identifiable replica.
Materials used: Cardboard, bulsa wood, foam board, Plastic sheets
SECTION AQuest brought a section of these apartments
Example of services placed in the basement carpark. Transferring all the services to the building
SECTION B- Crane dedicated to each of the sections of Post tension in a building slab of steel creat-
850 Pre fabricated concrete panels. Speeding up the construction process. All other concrete slabs done on site in situ with the columns.
ing tension and strengthen the slab
Level 1 transfer level. 180-200mm slab with a 1m transfer
Services on the roof to hide them. That is a developer’s preference and can be a more expensive option especially in apartment blocks opposed to having them on the balconies. Due to cooper wiring also being required to run through each level and when maintenance is required can be a more costly exercise to locate the source of the issue.
Week 8 20 th September 2013 This drawing shows the section details between the Staff Common space and the Student Common space.
Composite slab above the pool
Entry way into Green Square from apartments
Framing for the pool in the Green Square. Steel has been galvanised. General rule where ever steel is exposed to air, water etc. galvanise it preventing rust and structural integrity
Ormond College Section Detail Scale 1:10 Pool
Ormond College Section Detail Scale 1:1
The building is constructed over two floors with this section detail being specifically for the dividing section between the first and second floor of Ormond College. It acts as both a external and internal structure which is why it is evident that within the section detail Sarking, Wheephole and Folded metal flashing have all been included to prevent water damages from occurring. With out these materials this building could go wrong and be susceptible to leaks etc. From the section detail you can see work from the outsidein, glass block work within fire rated steel framing has created the facade of the structure where necessary details to prevent water damage to the internal structure such as Folded Metal Flashing the inclusion of a weephold, sarking and the use of acrylic trowel on render have also occurred. On the internal side of the structure after the sarking sheeting thermal insulation has been added followed by Plasterboard. Because this detail in the connection between two floors details such as the suspended plasterboard ceiling has also been included.
Balconies require membranes/waterproofing. In this particular site double membrane has occurred. Which consist of concrete then screed, then membrane then tiling. Is as preference to construction managers and what has worked well for them in the past Acoustic tiling placing on top of concrete slab to minimise noise levels. A requirement above any habitual areas.
Composition: Thermal Insulation, Plasterboard, Steel Framing, Glass blockwall, Block work wall, Bondbeam Lintel, Sarking, Weephole, Folded metal flashing, Acrylic Render Trowel
Glass block work is good for non loadbearing interior and exterior walls (ching)
GLASS: Has a reasonably low embodied energy and even though is can be reused it is not very easy to be reprocessed into something else STEEL: Is a very Labour intensive material with a high embodied energy but is recyclable and can easily be reprocessed
Each apartment is roughly 50-65sqm and mainly 1-2bedroom apartments.
(Your Home 2013)
GLOSSARY:
Developer: Carbon Footprint:
Steel Angle: Spacing:
Prop:
Stifferner:
Sarking:
Window Head:
REFERENCE LIST: Building Construction Illustrated, 2008, Francis D.k. Ching, John Wiley & Sons, United States of America Tutorial group 1, 2013, Week 1 Compression activity, The University of Melbourne, Parkville Tutorial group 1, 2013, Week 2 Frame activity, The University of Melbourne, Parkville University of Melbourne LMS 2013, University of Melbourne, Parkville viewed 16 August 2013, <http://app. lms.unimelb.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher %3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_262371&tab_tab_group_id=_5_1#global-nav-flyout> Your Home 2013, Thenical Manual 5.2 Embodied Energy, <http://www.yourhome.gov.au/technical/fs52.html> Accessed 21 September 2013