Tute Week 8 Journal - MSLE First Floor Window Section – Lachlan Hine Interrogation of the detailing decisions: The decision to have a suspended ceiling was likely made for both aesthetic and practical reasons; in the sense that it not only looks good but also allows there to be room for various electrical cords and the like to be tucked away out of sight between the ceiling and the concrete slab. Although the opaque glass used as the spandrel panel was probably more expensive than other options, it increased the appeal of the building and was therefore likely justified because of this. Composition: In this detail a few different materials are evident. Perhaps the most obvious material is concrete, used in the concrete slab between floors, and in the suspended ceiling. Glass is also quite obvious; it is used as the spandrel panel between floors (opaque glass is use according to the annotations), and for the windows above and below the section. The window framing is likely made out of aluminium, as it is a lightweight, relatively cheap form of metal which has goo tensile strength (aluminiumdesign.net, 2013). Vinyl has also been used as a finish on the first floor, and it is likely that the rope-like material holding the suspended ceiling from the concrete slab is steel. Building processes: In this section I assume that they would have built the concrete slab first, which would have likely been poured in situ. This would have been built first as without it the suspended ceiling and the vinyl floor finishing could not have been completed. After the concrete slab was set in place the suspended ceiling would most likely have been built, as it is a large part of the section and would have had to have been done whilst the sides of the building were relatively open. Next to be built is likely to have been the window framing, windows themselves and the spandrel panel, so that the weather would be stopped from getting inside of the building, which would have allowed the inside detailing to be completed. Once the spandrel panel and windows were in place I believe that the next and final step would have been to lay the vinyl floor and complete the P50 Shadowline in the ground floor, as the section would have by now been protected from the elements. Pros and Cons: A positive about this section is the choice in materials. By deciding to make the spandrel panel out of opaque glass they improved the overall exterior aesthetics of the building, whilst the decision to place a suspended ceiling in the ground floor will also pay off, making the inside of the building look very nice indeed. However, as will be mentioned in the next section the choices of materials are not as environmentally friendly as they could possibly be, namely the concrete and glass. This is an overall negative of the detail.