Harry john robinson 640253 logbook by Robinsonh

Constructing Environments Logbook 640253

Harry John Robinson

Index Week Three Activities Terms Map Week Four Activities One Two Terms Map Week Five Activities Terms Map Week Six Activities Map Terms Week Seven Week Eight Activities Terms Maps Week Nine Activities Terms Map Week Ten Activities Map Workshop References

3-‐14 3-‐12 14 13 15-‐25

15 23-‐24 24 25 26-‐30 26-‐28 29 30 31-‐33 31 32 33 34 35-‐38 35-‐36 37 38 39-‐42 39-‐41 42 43 44-‐46 43-‐45 46 47-‐48 48

Week Three: Activity-‐ Site visits around campus. Site One: Lot 6 Monolithic columns Decorative beam

Lot 6 is a relatively recent construction and has employed quite common building techniques. It is a frame structure with visible monolithic columns made from concrete that would have been precast. This would be due to the fact that it is the more common practice but also the close proximity to the heritage building seen to the left. This location would limit the ability for concrete to be delivered. Other visible factors were those of the enclosure system, the openings of glass, services, lights, speakers and air conditioning. Finally there was a steel beam that was put in place purely for aesthetic purposes as it provided structural support.

Site Two: Frank Tate.

Drainage Pipes

Visible Crack

The second site visited the Frank Tate building and is again a frame structure made from bricks and is hence a monolithic structure. The brickwork had the visible expansion joints to allow for expansion and contraction as a result of both moisture and temperature variation. Due to the age of the building there were visible defects, seen in a crack in the brick wall, which was speculated to be the result of movement of the foundation, which could happen for any number of reasons including water leakage, tree roots and reactive soils (Ching,2008). The only visible services at this site were the drainage pipes, openings and the weep holes in the brickwork. Perhaps a solution to the problem of cracking would be the use of a sealant.

Site Three: Underground Car park Individual pad footing Visible formwork

The third site was the underground car park and is one of many heritage sites around the university. The car park itself is, like previous sites is a monolithic structure. Unlike lot 6 the concrete elements of this site are poured on site. This would be due to the fact that it was constructed in 1972 and perhaps financial and geological constraints. The individual columns footings were visible and not connected to the ground slab of the concrete itself. This hinted to the way in which the structures design allowed for the possibility of one or more of the columns to fail yet still avoid a complete failure of the entire structure. Evidence of the columns beginning to fail was observed in the presents of concrete cancer. This could be due the cases in which the reinforcing bar were exposed to corrosion as well as the incorrect use of a liquid membrane which then allows moisture into the structure and causes rust (Murray,1989)

Site Four: Arts West

Stainless steel roof Timber beam

Steel Truss

The fourth site visited was yet another framed structure, yet in this case the structural system was largely exposed. The majority of the structure was made from coated steel. The truss holding supporting the roof system as well as the beam supporting the truss were made of steel. This material would have been chosen because of its ability to perform well under compression, it load bearing capacity as well as the fact that it is relatively inexpensive. Other materials used have been chosen for aesthetic reasons, namely the highly polished stainless steel roof, the timber beams and the treated concrete. These choices are beginning to appear indicative to the most modern constructions on campus. This could be due to either previous financial constrains of the university or simple changes in architectural fashion. Site Five: Stairs at union house.

Steel supporting beams

Spurious cable ties

Fixed joints

Site five provided the first major contrast of the tour around university as well as debate as to the significances of certain elements of the structure. The structure itself is a frame construct using predominantly steel with stainless steel fixtures such as the banisters and pin joints used to attach the cable ties. The tie themselves also made of steels are attached with pin joints to the steel beams which themselves are connected with fixed joints to columns within union house. The necessity of the cables was questioned under suspicion that they would never be in tension due to the rigidity of the structure, it was conceded that there being there was legitimized by the prevention of lateral movement. Yet overall the steel beams supporting the landing of the stairs were agreed to be the primary means of structural support.

Site Six : North Court

Large number of cable ties to prevent upward movement.

Glass fiber membrane

The focus of the sixth site was the membrane canopy at North Court. Much like the stairs at union house the canopy uses the steel cables to create tension. The cables are used to transmit external loads to masts or fixed points by means of tensile forces. In this case the majority of external force comes from the wind and is a factor which membranes are primarily designed around to deal with the issue of being forced up by the airflow. This structure addresses these issues by heavily anchoring the membrane to the ground using cable ties as well as a hole in the centre to let some of the air escape as well as provide water drainage. Unlike the other structures visited the materials used here namely steel cable ties, glass fiber fabric (Ching, 2008), and steel pin joints are largely inexpensive when compared to large steel beams, concrete, and finished timber columns.

Site Seven: Beaurepaire centre

Mullioned Windows

Floor and Roof slab

Fig.1 Picture of the pool at the centre. (Source: on my doorstep, unknown) This site focused pronominally on the problems associated with the size of the glass in the openings and the prevention of lateral movement. The centre itself is a framed structure with monolithic reinforced concrete columns with mullioned windows in-‐between. Furthermore both the floor and the roof are slabs this is to prevent lateral movement. The issue of the size of the windows is addressed by the fact that they have been mullioned in order to spread the weight of the glass and prevent forces such as the wind to shatter the glass, which itself sits in a portal frame. The materials used in this building are very much a result of fashions of the time given this building was constructed in the 1960’s seen here in the choice of yellow brick walls and concrete columns. Site Eight : The pavilion

Footing System

Visible System

During this visit the longstanding part of the pavilion was observed. The structure is yet again a framed structure made presumably of a timber stud frame with timber cladding. The foundation of the old building was visible and it was partly supported on stumps and was presumed to be standing on either pad or strip footings. There were few visible services on the old building just drainage and the vents, lights and plumbing on the extension. The materials used in the construction of the old pavilion are very much a reflection of the constraints of the time.

Site Nine: Frank Tate Pavilion

Fixed joints connecting steel beams

The Frank Tate pavilion is a recently constructed building and is a frame structure. It is made from a combination of coated steel and treated timber this is both an aesthetic and structural choice. The structure was analyzed to be quite heavy due to the large steel and timber roof. This in combination unorthodox design and hence transference of weight, meant that the building required extremely deep foundations in order to ensure the immense loads are transferred to suitable hard soil. This problem was exaggerated further by the fact that the pavilion sits above a lecture hall and hence the foundations had to be engineered around the hall and then into the ground. Site Ten: Old Geology

Steel overhang providing better drainage

Red bricks of Old Geology reflected in the extension

The final site that we visited was the southern lecture hall entrance at Old Geology. The entrance is a framed structure yet provided a good example of a majority of the techniques and materials observed throughout the tour. There was a monolithic brick wall reflective of the Frank Tate building and the Beaurepaire centre, in this case used to compliment the aesthetic of the rest of old geology itself. There was also a steel roof with overhang similar to both the entrance to Arts West as well as the Frank West pavilion. The materials used in this cast are focused mostly on appearance, as the structural requirements of the design are not very taxing.

Week Three Knowledge Map:

Week Three Terms: 1. Equilibrium: When a system is at rest, meaning that the sum of the applied and the reaction forces equal zero. 2. Movement of Forces: The way in which force is the instrument in causing the rotation of a point or object. 3 Retaining Wall: A structure used to restrain soil such that it creates a change in elevation, the walls of a basement would be said to be retaining walls. 4. Pad Footing: a generally square or rectangular shaped material that is used to support a stump or column. The bearing pressure of the soil below determines the area of the footing. 5. Strip Footing: Similar to pad footing except the base forms a connected row between columns or stumps. 6. Slab on Ground: Slab on ground footings are as suggested in the name a shallow for of footing in which a concrete slab is poured either onto or slightly below the surface of the ground. This form of foundation is often found in residential buildings in which the dead load does not require sizable reaction forces.

Week Four: Activity -‐Scale, Annotation and Working Drawing Conventions Write up of group discussions on scale Given that I was absent from the tutorial this week the discussion will lack a group dynamic. Part One Why and how 'scale' is used for documenting building projects? When attempting to translate a design to another personal scale is perhaps the most crucial factor in determining whether or not a plan will be accurately carried out. Scale in a broad sense provides a means of minimizing a large model into something that is both comprehendible and feasibly transferable. It is this fact that makes scale the perfect tool for the documentation of a building project. Scale is used in the building industry to provide both general and highly specific measurements such that a builder can look at both plans and elevations to get a general idea of the layout and appearance of the building with distances in terms of meters. Following which they can refer to the actual process, techniques and measurements in millimeters required constructing individual component found in the detailed drawings. Part Two Determine the preferred working units for building projects and the range of scales that would be appropriate to use for construction documentation. The preferred scale and measurement used in construction documentation changes depending on what the specific drawing is intended to be used for. Some drawings namely floor plans, elevations and sections are simply intended for the purpose of giving the reader a sense the dimensions and layout of the structure. As a result of this a large scale such as 1:100 or 1:50 can be used in order to provide drawings that encompass significant sections of the building. Measurements in these situations can also be suitably accommodating, describing ceiling heights and floor space in terms of meters. Similarly the detailed drawings as their name suggests focus on displaying an exact illustration of very specific elements of the building. For this reason the scale for these drawings generally does not exceed 1:20 and can go as small as 1:5 for things like joints and light boxes. Accordingly measurements must accurate, hence the use of millimeters.

As a result of my absence this week I did not receive the worksheet. This is an image of a group member’s sheet, from which I will answer the questions myself.

1. List the type of information found in the title block on the floor plan page. Consultants, Client, Architecture firm, Project, Description, Date, Drawing title, Control status, Project co-‐coordinator, Project architect, Project director, Date, Scale, Revision, Drawing number, Legend and Orientation. 2. Why might this information be important? This information is important in that it provides clear picture of the buildings purpose, who is building and designing the structure, who commissioned the building and instruction on the construction process. 3. What type of information is shown in this floor plan? Information regarding the purpose of the space, the area the floor space, the height of the walls, the purpose of the space, the location of openings and services 4. Provide and example of the dimensions as they appear on the floor plan? What units are used? The social room has a floor space of 86.6 m^2(meters squared) and a wall height of 2.01 meters. 5. Is there a grid? What system is used to identify grid lines? Yes there is a grid, and the system used in a combination of numbers and letters. With numbers on the x axis and letters on the y. 6. What is the purpose of the ledged? To provide meaning to the symbology used in the floor plan and an explanation of the short hand as well.

7. Why are some of the parts drawing annotated? Illustrate how the annotations are associated with a relevant part of the drawing. Parts of the drawing are annotated in order to communicate details that are not visible in the plans themselves these may be emergent problems that need to be addressed as seen in the illustration. 8. Illustrate how references to other drawings are made. What do the symbols mean? They show section of drawing they can be found in, the exact page number and the relative perspective of the drawing 9. How are windows and door identified? Provide and example of each. What do the annotations mean? Can you find out what they mean? The annotations refer to the door/window number and there tag number. This information can be found in the legend.

10. Illustrate how floor levels are noted on the plan? FFL, standing for finished floor level and then a number 46.600 which is the height in meters above the datum. 11. Why are some of the drawings clouded? This is to identify details of the drawing that have been altered from the previous drawing. 12. What type of information is shown in these elevations? How is it different? This elevation shows greater aesthetic detail, clearly visible differences in height and rough illustrations of the surrounding buildings. 13. What details are shown? How do they differ from the plan? Details relating to the FFL a RL and FCL are shown and they are annotated differently. 14. What types of levels are shown? Illustrate them.

15. Is there a grid? Explain. There is no longer a grid but instead the numbers used on the x axis of the grid from the plans is depicted to give reference to the elevation

16. Some things are annotated with words, what are they? Draw an example. They are small bits of information used to inform the reader of changes to the plans the clouded versions are new to this drawing.

17. Illustrate how doors and windows are shown on the elevation.

18. What type of information is shown in these drawings? How does it differ from the previous plans and elevations? This information shows greater detail of the intricacies of the construction process, materials used, change in height and aesthetic appearance. 19. Illustrates the way in which the drawing differentials between cross-‐sections and details in elevation.

20. Show how different textures are illustrated.

21. What sort of things are detailed? Joints, material types, services, drainage and thermal insulation. 22. Why are details compressed using break lines? This is in order to save time as well as paper as drawing the entire feature to scale would take up a lot of space. 23. Provide an example of how different materials are detailed.

Activity Two: Construction Documentation Tour My groups drawing set encompassed from 3-‐5 and A-‐B of the floor plan, which is the north side of the building. Group Area of Study Fig 2. Ground Floor Plan of the Pavilion (Cox Architecture, 2012) In comparing the information found in the drawing to the observations made on site in the previous week, it became clear the significant elements of design were overlooked, or were not visible due to a lack of interior access. Although little seen on site we were able to observe the lighting system as well as identify materials including the brick wall and steel cradles that could be seen at changes in elevation. Steel C radle Lighting System

The scale of the drawings when compared to the scale of the building whilst never seeming inaccurate made the building feel smaller than expected. This I think is due to inexperience with drawings. The difference in detail and scale between architectural and structural drawings was one of the clear distinctions to be made from studying these drawings. Architectural drawings focused on the layout and design of an area on dealt largely in a scale of 1:50 or 1:100 and almost always gave measurements in meters. Conversely Structural drawing were heavily annotated and detailed all materials, worked in scales as small as 1:5 and gave measurements in millimeters. Week Four Terms: 1. Joist: A Joist is the name given to a supporting member, which runs horizontally across either foundations, walls or beams in order to support a roof or floor 2. Steel Decking: Is a piece of perforated steel that is used to provide rigidity and support for a concrete slab that is poured on top of it in order to create a floor. 3. Span: A span is defined as the distance a member has to travel between two supports. 4. Girder: A Steel horizontal support traditionally with an I or Z cross-‐ section that traditionally used when a large amount of support is required. 5. Concrete Plank: A concrete plank or hollow core slab is a precast horizontal beam of concrete with holes through it that are used to increase tensile strength through the addition of steel cables. 6. Spacing: Spacing refers to a distance that repeats between a group of similar elements, and is usually used when discussing supporting elements such as columns or stumps.

Knowledge Map Week Four:

Week Five Activity: Structural Concepts. Our groups construction began with the footing system that was found to be a poured in situ slab on ground, which was, discuss in week three. This particular ground slab was identified as a thickened edge slab in which the footing is thickened in order to better support the external walls (Ching, 2008).

Thickened Edge

This is a relatively inexpensive and time efficient footing system, but can have issues with water penetration in not properly managed, gravel and an agricultural pipe would be required. Here you can see the first floor slab, which would have been again poured on site and is supported by a monolithic load-‐bearing wall made from concrete block, discussed in both weeks three and four (Newton, 2014) First Floor Slab

Concrete Columns Stud wall The final model as seen above shows the two reinforced concrete columns as well as the interior stud wall on the first floor, which should not be there as it is not part of the structural system. Instead the columns should extend to the roof. The roof structure was not modeled by our group but it was sketched at the time. The annotations show the various structural elements of the roof system B6 and B4 are girders C2 and C4 are columns D2 is a structural join

The other groups models were of the roof structure at the front of the pavilion and were intricate framed structure. These structures made from steel beams, are connected with pin joints in order to allow movement. Which becomes more a necessity due to the large and presumably heavy cantilevers. As well as pin joints is a large amount of cross bracing along central beams, to prevent lateral movement (Australian Institute of Architects, 2014).

Cantilevers

Cross bracing

Week Five Terms: 1. Stud: A vertical member in a wall, traditionally made of timber to which plasterboard or other kinds of finishes are nailed or connected to. 2. Nogging: Horizontal braces put in-‐between studs or joists in efforts to increase rigidity. 3. Lintel: A structural horizontal block that spans an opening commonly used over doors and windows 4. Axial Load: A force that acts down the axis of a structure and can either be expressed in compression or tension. 5. Buckling: A sudden failure of a member, such as a column, that occurs under large compressive forces and is characterized by bending motion perpendicular to the column. 6. Seasoned timber: Seasoned timber is essentially timber that has been dried in order to increase its strength. Technically a timber is only considered seasoned once the moisture content in less than 15%.

Week Five Knowledge Map

Week Six Group one knowledge map. Only information from one of the groups could be sourced

Week Six : Knowledge map

Week Six Terms 1. Rafter: One of a series of sloped supporting members or beams in a Hip or Gable roof system. 2. Purlin: A Horizontal beam in a roof system that is use to support the rafters. 3. Cantilever: A structural element that is only supported at one end or is significantly overhanging. The purpose of which is to transfer loads along itself to the supports. 4. Portal Frame: A frame structure the is most commonly constructed out of steel or concrete in which the connection between the columns and the rafters is fixed and therefore ridged. 5. Eave: The part of a roof that extends beyond the wall, this can be for either drainage or decretive purposes. 6. Alloy: A combination or solid solution of a metal and another element and example of which would be the combination of iron and carbon to form steel 7. Soffit: used to describe the underside of any constructed object for like an arch but is commonly used in referring to what is also called an eave. 8. Top Chord: This refers to the top beam in a truss and it is usually in compression.

Week Seven Terms 1. Drip: A slight overhang on a sill in place to protect the wall below. 2. Vapour barrier: A water resistant sheet used to protect a structures permeable surfaces. Typically made from plastic or soil. 3. Gutter: A trough system used to drain water that falls on the roof of a structure. 4. Parapet: A parapet refers to a barrier that extends beyond the same height of a roof, balcony or footpath, in many senses a glorified handrail. 5. Down pipe: A downpipe is a pipe connected to a gutter that drains transports water down. 6. Flashing: refers to a thin water resistant sheet or vapour barrier install to prevent water infiltration. 7. Insulation: Material put around an object that is used to prevent thermal transference. 8. Sealant: typically a viscous liquid used to close small openings or gaps.

Week Eight Activity: In Detail

Join

Tapered edge

The steel frame can in two pre fabricated parts, one larger bottom piece and a top frame. This is presumably so that the bottom part of the frame can be installed with the top open allowing the glass to be lowered into place with ease. The frame is designed with edges tapered to a single edge this is to act as drainage.

Week Eight Terms: 1. Window Sash: A sash window refers to a window that is a collection of moveable panes of glass. Each individual frame of glass is referred to as a window sash. 2. Deflection: Deflection is the degree to which a structural element is moved and may be measured in either distance or angles. 3. Moment of inertia: Determines the response to a particular amount of torque and hence can predict angular movement 4. Door Furniture: Refers elements of a door people interact with, handles, locks , knockers ect. 5. Stress: A state an object is in when under either the forces of tension or compression. 6. Shear Force: Refers to a force in which two parts of an object are attempting to go in different directions.

Week Eight Map:

Week Nine: Off campus

Slab poured allowing for penetrations The underground car park was constructed with concrete poured in situ. The columns were connected to the ground slab via a fixed joint, it was understood that the roof slab was poured allowing space for all penetration the majority of which were to accommodate services. Reinforced concrete fixed joint

The project manager talked about moisture penetration issues they were having with reinforced concrete block retaining wall that he hoped would resolve themselves once the entrance to the car park had been completely sealed.

Evidence of water penetration.

The units on the floors above, were in the final stages of construction yet still not weather tight. The project manager said that they were still waiting on the delivery of the windows that was preventing the plasterers, electricians and other finishing trades from working. He furthered that the issue of waiting for materials had been the greatest cause of delay and amongst other things had cause the site to fall a year and a half behind. Window opening

Steel Framing Expansion joint

The separating walls were constructed from pre fabricated steel framing that is then bolted to both the ground and the roof. The manager said prefabricated steel framing was chosen because it is cheap, easy to install and is constructed under control conditions and is therefore very accurate. Expansion joints were visible on both interior and exterior load bearing walls and were a simple solution to the thermal movement that is to be expected in construction.

Week Nine Terms: 1. Sandwich Panel: Is a sheet of two bonded pieces of aluminum that is used as cladding. 2. Bending: Refers to the action of a slender structural element moving perpendicular to its longitudinal axis as a result of external load forces. 3. Skirting: A strip of material placed at the point at which the wall joins the floor for both protective and decretive purposes. 4. Composite beam: A steel beam that has concrete decking attached to it and acts as both formwork and as a means of improving structural performance. 5. Cornice: Much like skirting a cornice is a strip of material place where a roof joins the wall and provides a decorative façade

Week Nine Map:

Week Ten Activity: In Detail

Problems and Defects:

Corrosion

On site it was found that the steel window frame was already suffering from corrosion as a result of both water pooling on the underside of the sill. It was also suspected that water had penetrated interior of the frame due to the absences of a vapour barrier as seen in the section. The solution to this problem would be to replace the window frame. The frame in this case is a large custom steel frame and would have large economic costs involved in replacing it. There were further problems noted with the installation of the window frame, as inaccuracies with the brickwork had meant that the frame was too wide. In order to accommodate the frame the adjacent bricks were cut and in the process part of a steel frame was accidentally cut. This will again cause problems with water penetration and corrosion as both a more porous part of the bricks and unprotected steel is exposed. This again will have economic consequences, as the only solution will be replacement.

Cut brick

Cut in the lighting frame

Finally there was a steel cradle that was visible at the base of the northern wall during a change in elevation. The cradle itself had no defect, but was suspected to have some in the future due to its proximity to the ground and therefore moisture.

Week Ten Terms: 1. Shear Wall: A wall structure which use panel to brace the wall and prevent lateral movement. 2. Soft Story: A soft story refers to a floor of a building that is only 70% as stiff as the floor above it, this is usually as a result of may openings. 3. Braced frame: A braced frame is a grid like structure that uses cross bracing to improve structural performance in both compression and tension. 4. Defect: Refers to a problem that arises as a result of a failure in the design or construction process. A common defect is cracking or water penetration. 5. Fascia: refers to the horizontal band or material that runs along under an eave and is use to hide guttering and improve aesthetic appeal. 6. Corrosion: The gradual decay of what is usually a metal as a result of a chemical reaction. The most common example of which would be rust as a result of the oxidization of iron. 7. IEQ: Indoor environmental quality is a measurement of the air quality, thermal comfort, lighting and views of an indoor environment

Workshop report:

Our Groups Construction The materials provided included three pieces of pine 45*45mm and one thin pieces of ply board. Centre Knot Split along the grain

Our construction failed when the load reached 460kg. At this point the structure had deflected 48cm. This was the largest load applied of the workshop and about the average amount of deflection. The fact that amount of deflection was fairly consistent across the whole workshop could be due to the fact that all groups used at least one piece of pine as the primary support across the whole span, an material that was consistently the last to fail.

Our Structure failed when one of the pine beams split along the grain through a centre knot, the weakest point of the beam. Due to restriction of materials available we had to lay the pine with the grain perpendicular the direction of force thus making the structure weaker. The tools we used were the handsaw, nails and a hammer. When compared to building on a smaller scale I felt that the larger, sturdier materials combined with the more forgiving tools allowed more a much easier and accurate construction. References 1. Australian Institute of Architecture, Lateral Movement and Dynamic Load, website accessed 17/5/2014, http://www.architecture.com.au/i-‐cms?page=6822 2. Ching, F. D. (2008). Building Construction Illustrated -‐ Fourth Edition. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. 3. Fig1. BEAUREPAIRE CENTRE SOHE 2008, n.d, photograph, viewed 12.4.2014, http://www.onmydoorstep.com.au/heritage-‐listing/3805/beaurepaire-‐centre 4. Fig 2. Cox Architecture, 2014, photograph, Oval Pavilion Construction Drawings 5. Murray A.R. (1989), Precast Concrete, Concrete Cancer, Melbourne : R.A.I.A. Practice Division, 6. Newton C. (2014). In-‐situ concrete. Constructing environments weekly guide – Week