University of Sydney
DESA1101 DESIGN STUDIES 1A
STRUCTURES
ASSIGNMENT
Due Date – Monday June2 2008
READING STRUCTURES
Introduction
The purpose of this assignment is for you to become aware of the various decisions made in regards to
the structural properties of different buildings. The structure of a building is not an isolated entity. It
exists as part of an integrated whole, the building. You need to ask yourself why it is what it is and
why is it the way it is.
For presentation, you should provide images (drawings or photographs) where suitable to illustrate the
structure and your answers to the following questions.
Some questions have a series of possible answers but usually there is one best one. You get some
marks for the ‘partially’ correct but full marks for the ‘complete’ answer. Circle one answer only.
Q1.
Have a look at the Shepherd St. carpark.
a) What is the main function/s? (2)
i)
storage and a car park
ii) retail area
iii) car park
b) What sort of requirements does that pose? (2)
i)
easy access, exit and manoeuver of cars
ii) achieve open spaces with minimum number of walls mainly for an aesthetic
reason
iii) provide a minimum clear head height of 2.7m
iv) achieve maximum car spaces
v)
(i) and (ii)
vi) (iii) and (iv)
vii) (i) and (iv)
viii) All of the above
c)
What are the loads that are most influencing the design of this building? (2)
i)
self weight of structure only
ii) live load which includes moving cars and people
iii) wind load
iv) earthquake load
ix) (i) and (ii)
x)
(i) and (iii)
xi) (i) and (iv)
v)
All of the above
d) What is its structure? (2)
i)
floor slabs on beams and columns
ii) floor slabs on load bearing walls
e)
What is it made of? (2)
i)
steel
ii) reinforced concrete
iii) masonry
iv) steel and concrete
v)
cement
f)
What is the best description of the spacings between the columns? (2)
i)
columns are arranged in grid with similar spacing in both directions
ii) spacings are to match car spaces
iii) spacings are set between lanes to suit car manoeuvers.
iv) spacings are purely determined by the strength of the slab to span between
columns.
v)
(ii) and (iii)
vi) (i) and (iv)
g)
What is the best description of the beams? (3)
i)
beams are shallow and wide
ii) beams are deep and narrow
iii) shallow and wide beams, as shallow and wide beams are more efficient (i.e. carry
more loads for the same material used) than narrow and deep beams
iv) wide beams in order to support a larger part of the slab
v)
shallow to achieve more head height between floor
vi) i) and (iii)
vii) (i) and (v)
viii) (i) and (vi)
h)
What would happen if the beams were deeper? (5)
i)
people would bang their heads?
ii) the height under the beams would be reduced?
iii) the floor to floor height would be increased?
iv) the ramps would be longer?
v)
there would be less space for cars?
vi) ii) and iv)
vii) ii), iv) and v)
viii) iii), iv) and v)
Q2.
Visit the swimming pool at the University Sports Centre. Concentrate on the swimming pool
space (its roof and supports) – not the adjoining facilities.
a) What is best description of the function of the building? (2)
i) Provides an enclosed area for a 50m swimming pool and other facilities
ii) Provides for spectators.
iii) (i) and (ii)
b) What is the main requirement which that poses with respect to the structure? (2)
i) Good ventilation and heating
ii) The building should have a high ceiling over the pool
iii) Requires water to fill the pool
iv) The structure should span a large distance with no internal supports.
c)
What types of loads have to be considered with respect to the enclosure? (2)
i) Similar to the loads at the car park, mainly dead and live loads
ii) The weight of the people and the weight of the water
iii) Dead load is negligible as the structure is light
iv) The live load does not include people and water loads as these loads go directly to
the ground and are not supported by the main building structure
v) Wind load as it is a major type of load for this building.
vi) (i) and (ii)
vii) (iii) and (iv)
viii) (iii), (iv)and (v)
ix) All of the above
d) What is its main structure? (2)
i) Series of steel trusses supported by brick and concrete wall.
ii) Steel trusses carried by glass windows and steel columns
iii) Series of steel frame-trusses spanning over the pool
iv) A combination of load bearing walls and steel roof
e)
What is the main structure made of? (2)
i) Steel, reinforced concrete, glass and masonry
ii) Mainly steel
iii) Steel and brick
f)
Why is the material used for this structure different from that for the carpark in Q1? (3)
i) The car park is heavier than the pool building.
ii) Concrete slabs and beams are better to carry heavy loads in relatively shorter spans.
iii) Concrete is the best material under compression, as is the case for the car park
columns.
iv) Steel is the best material for light long structure as it is the case for the pool roof.
v) Truss is the best type of structure for long span and it is easily made in steel.
vi) (i) and (iii)
vii) (vi) and (iv)
viii) All of the above
g)
Q3.
Why is the main structure on the outside? (2)
i) Steel is better under tension as the truss from outside is under tension but inside is
under compression
ii) For aesthetic reasons
iii) The pool chlorine reacts with the steel if the structure is inside.
iv) All the above.
v) (ii ) and (iii)
Support an A4 paper on two blocks (e.g. books) 230mm apart.
a) what happens? (1)
i) The paper has enough stiffness to stay in place
ii) The paper does not have enough stiffness, it bends and falls.
Fold the piece of paper so that it forms a cylinder (pipe) approximately 4cms diameter. Use
sticky tape to hold it together.
b) What happens now when you support it on the two blocks? (2)
i) The paper has enough stiffness to stay in place
ii) The paper does not have enough stiffness, it bends and falls.
c)
Can you place something on top (in the middle between the two supports) as well without
changing its shape or collapsing? (2)
a) 20 cent coin
b) 4 x 20 cent coins
c) none of the above
d) explain the difference in behaviour, given that in both cases the same A4 paper is used. (2)
i) more layers of the paper help in carrying the load when it is cylinder
ii) the cylinder structure is deeper and consequently stiffer
iii) the structure is less efficient when it is wider as it is the case for the folded paper.
Fold another A4 paper as shown below
e) What happens now when you support it on the two blocks? (2)
i) The paper has enough stiffness to stay in place.
ii) The paper does not have enough stiffness, it bends and falls.
f)
can you place something on top (in the middle between the two supports) as well? What?
(2)
i) 20 cent coin
ii) 4 x 20 cent coins
iii) 6 x 20 cent coins but distributed on a ruler that is positioned over the paper,
perpendicular to the fold direction
g)
Which of the two forms is better for carrying loads? (2)
i) The cylinder shape paper
ii) The folded paper
iii) Both are similar
h) where and how do the two forms fail under load? (2)
i) both shapes quash under load from the model and lose their shapes and then collapse
in bending.
ii) the cylinder is squashed under the load and loses its shape and then undergoes
extreme bending, while the folded shape collapses at some individual folds as they are
not laterally restrained.
iii) the cylinder undergoes excessive buckling , while the folded shape collapses due to
excessive deflection.