Iona Orams
Week 6 Studio Journal
ENVS10003
This week we continued studying the Eastern
approximated the widths of roof beams (RB) off the
Precinct extension of the Eastern Resource Centre.
drawings as shown in the plan in Figure 1.
Our task involved creating a model of the structural elements of the Precinct using our choice of materials. Method We created our model at the same scale as the floor plan in the architectural drawings; a scale of 1:100. Due to the small components required to build the steel-framed roof system, we decided to Fabricated Iinto small strips and used to depict beams. We also section beam use sheets of balsa wood that could be easily cut
Window headers
GB1
Fabricated Tsection beam Figure 1
decided to use thick and sturdy cardboard to represent the existing concrete wall and concrete
We first created the outer rectangular section of the
slab base. The use of two different materials
primary roof structure, shown in Figure 2. This
enabled us (and viewers) to distinguish between
consisted of the thick fabricated I and T-section
steel and concrete elements of the actual structure.
beams that support the glass support beams (GB1).
The first stage of model-making involved viewing the architectural drawings and determining the thicknesses, lengths and numbers of various structural components. We first created the main loadbearing components. We made 6m existing concrete wall out of cardboard and secured it with superglue. We
Figure 2
then used thick strips of balsa wood to make the
For practical purposes, we also constructed the
universal columns (UC), which are the loadbearing
secondary structure window headers so we would
components of the northern side of the building.
have a rigid rectangular frame to build the
The columns transfer lateral loads and gravity down
secondary structural beams upon. We then built the
to the foundations, meaning that the exterior
veranda separately and attached the two
northern wall is nonloadbearing (Ching, 2008).
components, as shown in Figure 3.
The roof structure was created separately due to its complexity and the fragile nature of the balsa wood. In order to create it we measured the lengths and
Iona Orams
Week 6 Studio Journal
b. Eastern elevation Figure 3 Issues Reading the architectural drawings correctly was challenging when creating the intricate roof structure. In some cases, we were unable to follow the plans exactly. For example, we did not use separate pieces of balsa wood to create the window headers as shown on the plan. This was due to time limits and practicality. We also realised that there should have been a larger disparity between the thicknesses of the primary structure RBs and
c. Northern elevation
secondary structure GBs. However, given the time limits the outcome was successful. Photographs (not to scale)
d. Bird’s eye a. Western elevation
ENVS10003
Iona Orams
Week 6 Studio Journal
References Ching, D.K 2008, Building Construction Illustrated, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
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