Design for Fire Safety
For buildings with structural lumber or timber framing, fire protection of the occupants and of the property itself can be enhanced […]
Building Design and Construction
Sociological changes, new technology in industry and commerce, new building codes, other new laws and regulations, inflationary economies of nations, and advances in building technology place an ever-increasing burden on building designers
and constructors. They need more and more knowledge and skill to cope with the demands placed on them.
The public continually demands more complex buildings than in the past. They must serve more purposes, last longer, and require less maintenance and repair. As in the past, they must look attractive. Yet, both building construction and operating
costs must be kept within acceptable limits or new construction will cease.
To meet this challenge successfully, continual improvements in building design and construction must be made. Building designers and constructors should be alert to these advances and learn how to apply them skillfully.
One advance of note to building design is the adaptation of operations research, or systems design, developed around the middle of the twentieth century and originally
applied with noteworthy results to design of machines and electronic equipment.
In the past, design of a new building was mainly an imitation of the design of an existing building. Innovations were often developed fortuitously and by intuition and were rare occurrences. In contrast, systems design encourages innovation.
It is a precise procedure that guides creativity toward the best decisions. As a result, it can play a significant role in meeting the challenges posed by increasing building complexity and costs. The basic principles of systems design are presented
in this section.
Design Management
Architects manage all aspects of project design simultaneously, their own internal resources, relations with the specialty consultants, the processes that deliver
Design Methods for Precast Members
Design of precast-concrete members under the ACI 318 Building Code follows the same rules as for cast-in-place concrete. In some cases,
Design Loads
Loads are the external forces acting on a structure. Stresses are the internal forces that resist them. Depending on that manner
Design Aids and References
Design procedures using either the ASD or the LRFD specifications require the use of many numerical values which represent the section
Definition of Project Phases
The definition of the various phases of development for a particular project from initial studies through postconstruction should be understood by
Definitions of Flexural Members
The following definitions apply for purposes of this section: Slab. A flexural member of uniform depth supporting area loads over
Definitions of Terms of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
Adiabatic Process. A thermodynamic process that takes place without any heat being added or subtracted and at constant total heat. Air,
Definitions of Terms of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Read Post »
Deflection of Reinforced-Concrete Beams and Slabs
Reinforced-concrete flexural members must have adequate stiffness to limit deflection to an amount that will not adversely affect the serviceability of
Deflection of Reinforced-Concrete Beams and Slabs Read Post »