(pdf)week 8 journal

Week 8 In this week’s studio, we were made to do a 1:1 scale drawing of a particular section of the site visit. My section proved to be one of the more difficult ones as it was a skylight between an existing brick wall and a steel roof.

It was most difficult due to the fact that neither myself, nor Daniel could located the section on the architectural drawings so i had no idea where this particular structure was located in real life, which made it difficult to visualize fully.

This task involved careful use of scale to be able to create a detailed final product.

My section of the theology building also proved to be difficult as it did not fit on the page so i had to make break lines which kind of ruined the realism of the sketch.

It was also difficult to get a photo of the element as it was situated as part of a roof which demanded you to be on the roof to take a photo which was too unsafe.

Skylight situated on roof

Report - Theology building skylight Details: The details of the drawing were pretty straight forward after looking over it a few times.

The drawing was a skylight situated between and existing brick wall, and a steel roof deck.

Timber board used internally for fixing of walls. This is capture by an aluminium angle attached to a box section which carries the glass roof. Timber is used as it has high connectivity and cohesion with other elements of the structure such as doors, more windows or plasterboard for the walls. A silicone seal is fitted under the brick wall flashing to prevent and water that does seep in from getting further into the structure.

Composition: The structure was composed of steel, both structural and colorbond, standard brick, glass, aluminium, plywood and silicon.

Building process The building process cannot be divulged by simply looking at the structural drawings but if i had to assume, I’d say the steel roof deck was installed next to the existing brick wall, then the glass was implemented afterwards.

Pros & Cons The skylight provides natural lighting to the particular area below it. It also acts as a slight temperature control as well as just serving an aesthetic purpose.

One con of the skylight is that during summer on hot days, it may make the room below warmer by letting in sunlight and heat. This creates the need for air conditioning which wastes energy and money.

Sustainability The element employs a heavy use of steel which has a very high embodied energy (20.10 MJ/kg), and aluminium which is extremely recyclable as it can be reused in any product which contains aluminium, but has a ridiculous amount of embodied energy and CO2. It produces around 15.6 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of aluminium produced as well as having 155 MJ/kg of embodied energy.

Economic Implications Steel can be used for rapid construction which saves both time and cost as less labour is needed. The element is reasonably cost effective given it’s numerous uses, although, when sustainability is taken into account, reconsideration may be needed as it’s production isn’ very good for the environment Areas for failure Things that could go wrong are: - The flashing: the flashing, if not installed properly will cause massive amount of rainwater to seep under the roof structure and cause all kinds of problems such as dampness of drywall which affect integrity of ceilings primarily, leaks and rusting.

- The glass could crack and allow various unwanted organisms such as insects into the premises as well as letting water in and affecting internal climate control.

- There’s always the issue of connection, so if connection of beams, bolts or frames is not done properly, it may greatly hinder the integrity of the structure as a whole.