Weiyu Kong(Katherine) 683958 week1

Week 1: learning summary Basic Structure Forces:

Load Path:

Forces: any influence that produces a change in the shape or movement of a body.

Represent a force: an arrow whose length is proportional to the magnitude and whose orientation in space represents the direction.

Forces are defined by line of action, sense and magnitude.

Tension Forces: when an external load pulls on a structural member, the particles composing the material move and undergo tension

Stretch and elongate the material. Cable deals with tension forces.

Compression forces: when an external load pushes a structural member the particles of the material compact together .

Result in shortening of materials. Brick, steel, stone etc deal with compression forces.

Construction Materials: -strength: strong/ week -stiffness: stiff, flexible, stretchy, floppy -shape: linear/planar/volumetric -material behaviours: isotropic (display a similar character when is applied different forces.)/anisotropic -economy -sustainability Construction Overview: -the study of how does designing ideas get translated into the built form.

-the choice of materials and structure of building may vary from city to city, climate to climate, culture to culture.

-construction language is a global language.

Week 1: studio activity Material: MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard) It's isotropic and flexible, more uniform than natural woods in service.

The diagram roughly illustrates dead load (in this case the selfweight of MDF bricks) is evenly distributed and passing down from upper layer to the next. Reaction force comes from the ground, it is equal and opposite to the dead load so that the structure remains stable. shown in above image, bricks are stacked differently in the upper and lower section of the structure. The way load is distributed changes as the way of stacking changes which result in the instability of the structure.

Our group explored a few ways to stack the bricks, the images and diagrams above show that by using two bricks as one, the structure's stability decreases.

Images: MDF brick structures and diagrams. Katherine Kong, 2014.

Week 1: Glossary

Two structures in above images can be considered as successful examples of the activity. When certain part of the structure is removed, the remaining part can support itself rather than collapse. Dead load is evenly distributed in the structures.

Images: MDF brick structures. Katherine Kong, 2014.

Reference: Ching, F. (2008). Building Construction Illustrated (4th Ed). USA. John Wiley & Sons, lnc.