Building Construction II, Arch 222-MA11
Matthias Altwicker – maltwick@nyit.edu - http://iris.nyit.edu/~maltwick/
02:00PM- 05:05PM, MC61- Rm 623
Office hours Monday 9-12, by appointment.
The present crisis of the profession is due to an incompetence which hides the architect in a golden, pseudo-artistic world. This mystification leads the architect to take a marginal role, abrogating the role of the builder. This is of great cultural importance.
Unfortunately, in our society, there is always one who thinks and the one who performs, the one who plans and the one who constructs, but it is impossible to separate the two if we want to assure creative continuity in the profession. – Renzo Piano
This course will introduce you to building construction and materials, and their interrelationship with the environment. While initial architectural concepts may involve understanding construction and material in spatial or formal terms, the making of architecture is defined by parameters from the climate, the site, and the efficiency and logic of the systems used. Construction and material can reciprocally inform a design concept and enrich its ultimate potential. The technology sequence at NYIT is to be understood as parallel and integrated with the studio experience. Just as it is expected that issues of sustainability and construction manifest themselves within your studio projects, it is also expected that issues of form and space manifest themselves in the building construction course. Structure and material are not to be applied, either conceptually or literally, to architecture: they are inherent in every line you draw, just as they should be inherent in every work of architecture you create.
While Building Construction I looked at wood and masonry construction systems, Building Construction II will focus on more complex systems of construction, steel and concrete. This class will introduce materials and systems of construction. It will quickly become apparent to you that there are many more constructive possibilities than can be taught in a five-year curriculum, let alone a two-course sequence.
What is more interesting and helpful for you is to learn a methodology for dealing with the variety of constructive situations you will face.
Mario Cucinella Behnisch+Behnisch
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Course Methodology
The methodology for the course places an emphasis on how parameters of climate, construction, and material define the making of a piece of architecture, both in form and in detail. By making we are interested in how these parameters control and define both the broad decisions and the specific details behind implementation and expression of a construction system in your building.
The development of the details of the building will always manifest themselves in constructive layers that are inherent in all constructive systems - Bearing, Insulation, Protective, Finish . Furthermore, each of these layers must always relate to a specific condition between the environment and the building -
Foundation, Wall, Roof . The complexity of these interactions makes the resolution of even a simple building a challenging task of coordination and synchronization between varying demands.
Class Structure
Each class period will typically contain the following:
1) Lectures, approximately 1-1.5 hrs. in length, will focus on one of the aspects of construction or construction systems, introducing the general ideas behind that system and showing a number of specific case studies that articulate an intelligent development of this system. Class time will also be used to discuss the required readings and their relationship to the projects shown. Students are strongly encouraged to ask questions during the lectures.
2) Work and review sessions will fill the remaining class time, and primarily be used to develop and discuss the assignment in a studio-like setting. Every class will have required assignments that make a discussion possible, and it is expected that these requirements are completed at the beginning of class.
The content of specific weekly reading assignments in relationship to the case studies will also be discussed.
Texts
The required texts for this course are Fundamentals of Building Construction ( FBC ) and Architectural
Detailing ( AD ), both by Edward Allen.
Additional sources of information which you should become familiar with and accustomed to using are:
Constructing Architecture: Materials, Processes, Structures
Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Delivery
Andrea Deplazes
Charles J. Kibert
Sun, Wind and Light
Structure Systems
Details of Modern Architecture Vol.1&2
Architectural Graphic Standards
Construction Manuals (Steel, Masonry, Concrete, Wood)
G.Z. Brown + Mark DeKay
Heino Engel
Edward Ford
Ramsey / Sleeper
DETAIL publications
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NAAB Criteria
A4 Technical Documentation
Ability to make technically clear drawings, write outline specifications, and prepare models illustrating and identifying the assembly of materials, systems, and components appropriate for a building design.
B10 Building Envelope Systems
Understanding of the basic principles involved in the appropriate application of building envelope systems and associated assemblies relative to fundamental performance, aesthetics, moisture transfer, durability, and energy and material resources.
B12 Materials and Assemblies
Understanding of the basic principles utilized in the appropriate selection of construction materials, products, components, and assemblies, based on their inherent characteristics and performance, including their environmental impact and reuse.
Assignment Methodology
Form, Structure, Skin
The initial 3 weeks of the class will introduce basic climate-driven responses based in building form.
Indigenous forms of architecture that clearly articulate the relationship between climate response and building form will be shown. Students will be asked to develop strategies for relating building form, structure, and skin driven by climate-related parameters.
Building Project: Steel and Concrete Construction
For both construction systems, you will be asked to design a simple building in a temperate climate. The building form and site location will be driven by strategies that you create during the first part of the semester; these will be further articulated by the use of construction systems and building details to augment and improve the building performance.
For each assignment you will be asked to develop the building on three levels: structural system, enclosure system, and building detail. Each assignment will build upon what was learned in the previous one, to the point where you will have a detailed, developed final project.
Assignment Value
30% Bi-weekly assignments 6 total throughout the semester (5 points each)
35% Final Projects
30% Exams
3 total (relationships 7, steel 14, concrete 14)
2 total, related to lecture content and readings
Exams and Quizzes are open notebook, but not open book. It is suggested that you keep detailed, graphic notes from class lectures and the readings. This will be something you can refer to during the class discussion and during exams.
5% Attendance / Effort
The overall evaluation is subject to an adjustment factor based on your intensity of effort and commitment to the course. It can be assumed that a minimum effort on these assignments will result in a poor evaluation.
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Policies
Evaluation
Grades will consider the appropriateness of the idea, the project's completeness, the quality of presentation, and the effort put into the submission. Both content and presentation are crucial to the evaluation of assignments. Evaluation for content is based on the general quality, clarity, and development of the solution. Evaluation of presentation will consider the quality, precision, and craft of the presentation. As in studio, neither merely completing all the presentation requirements, nor merely having a good idea, will be enough to achieve a good grade.
All work is expected to be completed by the assigned due date at the beginning of class.
I
C
D
The grading scale put forth in the university catalog will be used in this course:
A Superior A - Excellent
B+ Very Good
B - Competent
B
C+
Good
Fair
Satisfactory, Average
Unsatisfactory
C - Marginal
F Failure
Incomplete; this will only be assigned when a student misses class with an Institute-approved absence and is unable to make up the work by the end of the term.
Attendance
Attendance at every class is expected. No work-related issues or medical appointments are to be scheduled for class time regardless of convenience . The School of Architecture has a very specific policy regarding attendance: two unexcused absences will result in a substantial lowering of your grade; three unexcused absences requires a withdrawal from the course.
Arriving to class more than 15 minutes late will be considered an absence. All of you are well aware of traffic and public transportation problems, so give yourself ample time to arrive in the classroom. Also:
- Cell/Smart phones are to be turned off during class time and will be confiscated if they disrupt the class.
- No eating during class time.
Portfolio
It is required that you submit a portfolio – hardcopy and digital - at the end of the semester in order to receive a final grade. It will include reproductions of all final drawings.
A Note on Drawing Assignments and Computer Use
As important to this class as understanding constructive principles is how to represent them. Climate diagrams, construction drawings, and details require careful attention to scale, precision, and line weight that is radically different than what is expected of you in design studio.
It is important to remember that the computer is a tool for production and not an excuse for late or unfinished work. If you are new to using the computer, do not use this class as a means to learn how to use it. If you intend to use REVIT for the production of documents for this class, be aware that the stock items in the program will not match your design.
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Note: only chapter titles have been given for the reading assignments as there are a variety of editions available for purchase from the bookstore or online, or for reading in the library. If you have a question about what should be read, please ask your instructor.
Class 1: January 23 Topic:
Readings:
Relationships: Form, Structure, Skin none
Assignment: none
Class 2: January 30 Topic:
Readings:
Structure / Skin Classifications
“Techniques are the Very Basis of Poetry” (excerpt)
Assignment: climate configuration diagrams
Class 3: February 6 Topic:
Readings:
Form, Structure, Skin: Presentations
FBC Cladding with Metal and Glass
Assignment: diagrams: final presentation
Class 4: February 13 Topic:
Readings:
Steel: Basic Properties and Components
FBC, Steel Frame Construction
Assignment: Steel 1
: February 20 Topic: NO CLASS - PRESIDENT'S DAY
Readings: “Double-Skin Facades” (excerpt)
Assignment:
Class 5: February 27 Topic:
Readings:
Steel: Curtain Wall Types
AD Controlling Heat Flow and Water Vapor
Assignment: Steel 2
Class 6: March 5 Topic:
Readings:
Steel: Complex Structure
FBC Roofing
Assignment: none
Class 7: March 12 Topic:
Readings:
Steel: Complex Form
FBC Glass and Glazing
Assignment: Steel 3
: March 19 Topic:
Readings:
NO CLASS - SPRING BREAK
Assignment:
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Class 8: March 26 Topic:
Readings:
Steel: Final Project and Exam none
Assignment: Steel Final
Class 9: April 2
Class 10: April 9
Topic:
Readings:
Concrete: Basic Properties and Components
FBC Concrete Construction; Sitecast and Precast Framing Systems
Assignment: Concrete 1
Topic:
Readings:
Field Trip: Manhattan Curtain Walls none
Assignment: none
Class 11: April 16
Class 12: April 23
Class 13: April 30
Topic:
Readings:
Assignment: Concrete 2
Topic:
Concrete: Curtain Wall Types
FBC Cladding with Masonry and Concrete
Concrete: Complex Structure
Readings: AD Accommodating Movement, Controlling leakage
Assignment: Bring in Design 2 project for discussion
Topic: Concrete: Complex Form
Readings: AD Constructability; Ease of Assembly
Assignment: Concrete 3
Class 14: May 7
Class 15: May 14
Topic: Review Week
Readings: none
Assignment: take home Concrete Exam
Topic: Concrete: Final Project
Readings: none
Assignment: Concrete Final and Portfolio due
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