Constructing Environments: Logbook - Week 1 ENVS10003 Annette Andiani Budihardjo 716087 Tutorial 12

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LEARNING LOOP LOADS*

Static (dead):

• Live

• Occupancy

• Snow

• Rain

• Impact

• Etc

Dynamic:

• Wind

• Earthquake

FORCE

“Influence that produces a change in the shape or movement of a body” (Ching, F. (1943). Building construction illustrated (4th ed.). Hobokan, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)

COMPRESSION

Forces pushing each other

TENSION

Forces pulling each other

MASS CONSTRUCTION

Requires a large amount of materials

FRAME CONSTRUCTION

Requires less amount of materials

*Ching, F. (1943). Building construction illustrated (4th ed.). Hobokan, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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STUDIO: COMPRESSION

Task: Build a tower as high as possible using the least amount of material in groups of 3-4. Material(s): Wooden blocks as shown on the sketch.

Process: The base of the tower was constructed with wooden blocks arranged in circular shape with the bed side (the side with the largest area) against the ground. We believe this would increase the tower’s stability as less stress points developed on a circular structure. The first layer of blocks were laid with an approximate distance of two centimetres between each blqwock. The second layer sat on top of the gap between the first layer’s blocks. The third layer also sat on the gap of the second layer, directly above the first layer and so on.

This arrangement allowed the most stable and material efficient structure as large surface area resulted in greater friction and compression forces between the units. Adding the gaps also decreased the amount of wasted materials.

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Maintaining similar orientation, we changed the arrangement by doubling the building units to reach greater height in shorter time length. More frictional forces were expected to result on the surfaces of stacking blocks.

In order to maximise the usage of material we then varied our arrangement by alternating layers of the stretcher and bed side respectively facing the ground. This, however created a much more unstable tower due to the reduced friction areas as well as higher centre of gravity position.

The purpose of alternating the stretcher side with the bed side was to minimise this instability. We concluded the tower with the original arrangement of A-B-A-B type of layering, provided i t was the most stable orientation.

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Result: The tower reached an approximate height of 2,3 metres. T h e s t r u c t u re w a s slightly tilted to one side, however this uneven distribution of mass (greater downwards force on the tilted side) c o n t r i b u t e d t o i t s a d h e r e n c e d u r i n g deconstruction.

Deconstruction: Deconstruction process began from the base of the tower, where the compressive forces were the greatest, upwards. An opening was made on the opposite side of the tilt where less force were present. The loads distribution of removed units shifted to the surrounding units around the opening. The structure collapsed after the tower could not withstand the downward force any longer (see picture aside).

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Comparison: Group A This group built the most stable-looking structure with neat brick arrangements. The usage of materials and time was quite efficient and the tower was the second highest (see picture aside). It held on for an amount of time during deconstruction process. The loads were distributed evenly to the remaining units and the structure collapsed after two large openings on the opposite sides were made.

Group B This group's tower was the shortest, thus time management was lacking. The diameter of the structure was quite large (the largest amongst three groups), however it decreased upwards. The tower was the most unstable one as it collapsed the easiest and least units were taken off the structure. No picture of the tower is unfortunately available.

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GLOSSARY APPENDIX COMPRESSION application of balanced inward forces to different points on a material or structure1 TENSION pulling force exerted by each end of a string, cable, chain, or similar one-dimensional continuous object, or by each end of a rod, truss member, or similar three dimensional object2 LOAD forces, deformations, or accelerations applied to a structure or its components3

MASS CONSTRUCTION a building construction approach using masonry, adobe, or other building materials that can lessen the extremes of diurnal flux, especially in arid climates4

MASONRY construction composed of shaped or molded units5

ADOBE earthen, sun-cured brick6 DIURNAL FLUX temperature fluctuation between the day and night hours7

References 1 Compression (physics). 15 July 2014. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compression_(physics).

2 Tension (physics). 28 July 2014. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tension_(physics) 3 Structural load. 16 July 2014. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_load

4 High-mass construction. Retrieved from http://www.dictionaryofconstruction.com/definition/high-mass-construction.html5 Masonry. Retrieved from http://www.dictionaryofconstruction.com/definition/masonry.html

6 Adobe. Retrieved from http://www.dictionaryofconstruction.com/definition/adobe.html7 Diurnal flux. Retrieved from http://www.dictionaryofconstruction.com/definition/diurnal-flux.html

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