W01 - STUDIO REPORT COMPRESSION BUILDING EXCERCISE
This was my first studio for designing environments. Unfortunately I had to leave early, before the building exercise, thus my studio report will be slightly shorter for this week and may not cover all aspects of the class.
This week in the tutorial the group was tasked with creating a tower as high as possible using the smallest amount of materials.
THE QUIZ In this week’s quiz the first question was based around the occurrence of compression in construction. The correct answer was that compression occurs in mass construction, a term that was unfamiliar to our class. We then proceeded to look at mass construction further. Mass construction is construction based on the use of high mass materials such as concrete or brick.
The second question looked at how forces are defined. Forces are defined by line of action and magnitude only. The third question examined the use of scales. Scales are used to represent small objects at a larger scale and large ones at a smaller scale. Image courtesy of Runil Ganoo, 2014
The materials provided were small wooden blocks. To achieve the most efficient model for construction several different methods of block laying were used. The final result was quite impressive. In the centre blocks were able to be stood up with their thinnest face downwards. This allowed the structure to achieve greater height whilst using fewer materials. As it reached the top the tower had to be tapered inwards to prevent collapse.
Creating height along with stability was allowed by the laying of the blocks.
Another challenge that was given was that there had to be an opening down the bottom of the structure, presumably for something to enter it through. This complicated the design significantly.
W01 - LEARNING LOOP LOADS – (Ching, 2014) Loads come in two main forms, static loads and dynamic loads. Static loads include dead loads, live loads, settlement loads and impact loads. Live loads include the following: Occupancy loads result from the weight of people and furniture. Snow loads occur with the accumulation of snow on the roof. Rain loads occur with the accumulation of rain water on the roof. Dynamic loads in construction usually refer to wind loads and earthquake loads. Dynamic loads generally require precautions to prevent damage caused by their actions.For example because wind can either push or create suction structures should be made to resist forces in both directions. The structure, components and cladding of a building must be made to resist uplift, sliding or overturning.
COMPONENTS OF MATERIALS
MELBOURNE’S BLUESTONE
- (Newton, 2014)
- (Grose, 2014)
Strength: Compression/tension – steel is strong Stiffness: Carpets, rubbers, nylon ropes. Floppy or rigid Shape: mono-dimensional (linear), bidimensional (planar) – e.g. sheet metals, tri-dimensional (volumetric) – e.g. brick & concrete Material behaviours: Behaviours relate to tension (pulling apart), compression (pushing together). Isotropic (show similar behaviours regardless of the direction in which the force is applied. Anisotropic. Economy & sustainability: How much does it cost, what cost does the manufacture have on the environment, how far must it be transported, of efficiently is it used in the country and its building industry.
Walking in a constructed city is a means of reading said city. Part of critical practice experiencing a space. Cities are characterised by their surrounding landscape. What is under Melbourne? Bluestone, a type of basalt (igneous rock, from volcanoes surrounding Melbourne). The dark colour characterises Melbourne. The bluestone has a lot of damage from water, impact and general wear from walkers. Modern bluestone shows lava flow in the bubbles in its surface.
REFERENCES
Ching, F. (2014). Building construction illustrated (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Newton, C. (05/03/2014). W01 s1 Load Path Diagrams [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y__V15j3IX4&feature=youtu.be Newton, C. (05/03/2014). W01 m1 Introduction to Materials [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4CJ8o_lJbg&feature=youtu.be Grose, M. (06/03/2014). Walking the Constructed City [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGMA71_3H6o&feature=youtu.be The University of Melbourne. (2014). Basic structural forces. Retrieved from https://app.lms.unimelb.edu.au/bbcswebdav/courses/ENVS10003_2014_SM2/WEEK%2001/Basic%20Structural%20Forces%201.pdf