Constructing Environment Week 9 studio journal Jianpeng Deng, 657598 This week, the videos on E-‐learning are giving the concepts of “heat and moisture” and “plastics, rubber & paint”. The first video tells the strategies of preventing houses from heat and moisture; in terms of moisture, the three strategies are ‘to remove openings’, ‘to keep water away from openings’ and ‘to neutralize forces that move water through openings’. Here, openings do not refer to doors and windows, but those like gaps, window or wall edges, holes and cracks through the buildings etc. Sealants are an example of ‘removing openings’, as it is made of silicone normally used to fill the unnecessary gaps, therefore, openings are then removed. Drips are an example of ‘keeping water away from openings’, it works as the water goes to the tip and drop down instead of getting into the inner space of the building. Pressure equalization chamber is an example of the last strategy, as it fill up the inside gap of capillary breaks so that the pressure inside the capillary breaks is same as the pressure outside the house, therefore, water will never get into the break as well as the house itself. On the other hand, in order to control heat, heat conduction, heat radiation and thermal heat are important to know. Thermal break, it is low conductive and is placed between two conductive materials to limit heat flow, therefore, the temperature outside the house does not affect much the temperature inside. Shade is needed to block the sunlight, so that the temperature inside houses would not get high as the radiation brings heat along. Ventilation is a good example of thermal mass, openings are needed for the air to flow in and out, if not, air would contain in the house and could not bring the heat to the outside, the inside temperature then increases. Moreover, the other video briefly talks about the three common materials – plastics, rubber and paint. Rubber is excellent in elasticity that it is easy to bend rather than stiff or brittle, also, rubber is a soft material that is used in flooring does reduce friction. Plastic has two types that are thermoplastics and thermosetting plastic; the former one could be moulded and soften anytime when heated, whereas the latter one could only be moulded at the first time when heated, and after that, it would only be soften but not moulded when
reheated. We are also introduced the two types of paints, one is oil-‐based and the other is water-‐based, the oil-‐based paint is used prior to plastic paint and has good high gloss, whereas the water-‐based one is said to be durable and flexible and better than the oil-‐based paint. Here it shows the summary of this week’s topic.
Picture 1
The first activity for this week is to visit the work which is a wooden structure, is produced by the workshop student. The photos of it are shown below.
Image 1
Image 2
Image 3
There are several different types of timbers used in the structure; the columns which are the main support of the structure, are of hard wood timbers; the ridge roof are of laminated timbers and the wooden frame form openings are of measured pines. We are also told that bolts, screws and nails are used to joint the timbers together, for example, bolts are clearly seen in Image 2 that jointing the columns to the ridge roof. Moreover, the four thin boards at the floor of the structure are said to be just for aesthetic purpose; and there are double span rafters seen on the roof. The other activity for this week is to sketch the assigned drawing on a tracing paper, and make it like a 3D drawing with site visit experience and imagination. The following sketch is to the scale of 1:5 with 20-‐degree slope to become 3D-‐like. In Sketch 1, “1” represents the spandrel
and
it
is
not
2 3
transparent but white color, therefore, everything behind it is not seen from the outside.
4
1
“2” represents the aluminum window frame, that it does not only hold the spandrel but
5 2
6
transparent glasses. “3” represents the vinyl floor finish, to my observation, it is
7
rubber and it is white color. “4” represents the concrete
Sketch 1
floor slab, it is a very important structure that support the storey. “5” consists of strings and clips that are commonly seen in many buildings, the purpose is of the connection of a floor and a ceiling. “6” represents the plastic board ceiling, the picture of which will be shown in the following pages. “7” is the shadow line that is placed between the ceiling and the window frame.
Sketch 2 is the sketching shown in the MSLE building plan.
Sketch 2
The picture on the right shows the location of my assigned section, it clearly shows the white spandrel in the blue line area, indicates that the inner structure is blocked to be seen through, to achieve aesthetic purpose. The picture below shows the plastic board ceiling as well as the aluminum window frame.
Picture 2
Picture 3