Department:

Technical Sciences

Course Leader:

lect. Basarab Cheșcă

Teaching Staff:

asist. Alexandra Vișan

Learning outcomes:

Developing skills in understanding how structures work.
Understanding the relationship between structural concepts and architectural detail.
The development of architectural detail oriented thinking.
Preliminary design calculation - computing sectional forces diagrams under axial and bending loads
Learning to use appropriate language while mastering the minimum techniques adapted to architecture students

Content:

Introductory course. General notions of construction. Usual technical terms. The building as a system. Structural elements. Non-structural elements. Examples. Essential requirements associated with a construction
The evolution of structures - from megalithic constructions to the Greek temple
Construction loads
The properties of building materials and how they can limit or support a particular architectural solution. Materials classification criteria.
Principles of structure design, safety factors and equilibrium conditions
The evolution of the concept of force
Ferrous metals. Non-Ferrous Metals. Properties Areas of Use. Standardized products.
Solid wood. Laminated wood. Wood derivatives. Properties. Areas of use.
The equilibrium of the material point and exemplification through trusses
Rigid solid equilibrium, parallel force systems, center of gravity
Different types of forces (tension, compression, bending); The relationship between applied loads and architectural detail (how to support a load or how to avoid it)
Natural stone. Artificial stone. Brief history in the cultural context. Intrinsic properties - extrinsic properties. Use. Notions of stereotomy. Detailed analyzes on established projects. Studies of textures, colors and ways of treating materials.
Artificial stone. Categories of artificial stones. Properties. Areas of use. Studies of textures, colors and ways of treating materials. Standardized products.
Sectional forces; Example on an architrave from Stonehenge
Glass. Plastic products. Composite materials.
Summary course, exemplified with interconnected information from previous courses

Teaching Method:

Lectures with digital image support.

Assessment:

Multiple choice tests with automatically distributed questions.

Bibliography:

Manfred H, Volker A, Matthias F, Thorsten R, Construction Materials Manual, Birkhäuser, Basel 2006
Deplazes A, Constructing Architecture, Birkhäuser
Angus J. Macdonnald, Structure and Architecture, Elsevier 2001
M. Crisan – Statica Formelor Construite, Ed. UAUIM (in Romanian language)
Mario Salvadori - Why Buildings Stand Up: The Strength of Architecture