PPT 1 - Exam 1 Flashcards
Architecture
Latin - Architectura
Greek- architecton = master builder = project manager
Archi = chief or leader Tekton = builder or carpenter
Dictionary definition
The art and science of designing and building structures
Engineering
Latin ingeniator = the ingenious one
Vitruvius (ca 80-25 BC)
Active around ca. 40 BC
is considered the first Roman engineer/architect to have written surviving records of his field
Author of the celebrated treatise “De Architectura”, a handbook for Roman architects, dedicated to emperor Augustus (his main patron)
According to Vitruvius
Architecture is an imitation of nature and a structure must exhibit 3 qualities
Firmitas = strength/durability Utilitas = utility Venutas = beauty
Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959)
The greatest American architect of all time (1991 by the American institute of architects)
Developed the prairie house style as a regional Midwest American expression
Designed houses that seemed to be tired organically to the surrounding landscape, with an open interior space organized around a central fireplace
Imperial hotel (1916-1922) Tokyo, Japan
Fallingwater (1935-1959) Pittsburg, Penn
Guggenheim museum (1943-1959), NYC
What is Engineering
The art of the practical application of scientific and empirical knowledge to the design and production of constructive projects, machines, and materials of use or value to man
R.S. Kirby et. al. -Engineering in history
Peter Rice (1935-1992)
Probably the greatest British (Irish) engineer of the 20th century
Favorite engineer of many famous architects
Great innovator
Pier Luigi Nervi (1891-1979)
Italian engineer and architect
Developed new idea of using reinforced concrete
Developed new materials: ferrocemento
Believed that:
Engineering and architecture were two connected parts of a whole
A designer needs three ingredients to develop ingenious solutions:
-a thorough understanding of the laws of physics and materials
-a good interpretation of the essential factors of each problem
-an open mind - overcoming the limitations of the solutions of the past
Tension
Fibers of the material are pulled apart
Compression
Fibers of material are pressed together
Types of loads
Vertical - gravitational
Live loads, dead loads
Side loads - lateral forces
Wind, seismic
5 basic structure systems
- post and lintel (column and beam)
- corbel and cantilever
- arch and vault
- truss and space frame
- tensile
Post and lintel (column and beam)
Post - vertical structural member (column)
Lintel - a horizontal structure that spans on opening (beam)
Trabeated system - based on horizontal beams supported by vertical columns
Most commonly used in : Neolithic, Ancient Greek, ancient Egyptian, Persian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and South American architecture
Disadvantage- limited weight can be held up, small distances required between the posts
Note: under stress, lintel bends and the upper half is in compression, lower half is in tension
Therefore, materials for lintel should be strong in both tension and compression
Corbel and cantilever
Corbel - masonry that projects slightly from a wall and acts as a support
Corbeled arch - construction, without true arching action, made by shifting opposing courses slightly and regularly inward until they meet
Corbelled dome - made up of rigs of stones or wood, with each successive ring smaller and slightly projecting beyond the one below it
Cantilever - a beam or beams firmly anchored at one end and unsupported at the other end
Below a roof = eave
Overhanging second floor = jetty
Arch and vault
Voussoir - wedge-shaped stones
Centering - temporary framework
Most important types of arches
- semicircular (roman)
- pointed
- horseshoe
- segmental
- corbeled
- Tudor
Note: the steeper the arch or the dome the less the lateral thrust
Truss and space frame
Truss- a structural frame composed of relatively short elements, typically configured in triangles, used to form a bridge or span a roof
Romans - first used the system for wooden bridges
Medieval period - used to support church roofs
19th century - bridge builders reinvent trusses and use them in various triangulated configurations - used wood, iron, steel
Warren truss - probably most common today
Note: a truss bridge is economical to construct because of its efficient use of materials
Space frame - a truss repeated in 3 dimensions
It is useful for long clear-span roofs
Tensile
Tensile structures- is a construction of elements carrying only tension and no compression or bending (fabric tents w/upright posts, suspension bridges)
Ex. Sidney Myer music bowl in Melbourne Australia - 1958
Note: most often used as roofs because they can economically and attractively span large distances
Conclusion
The selection of any of the systems for a building depends on:
Economics
Client and architect esthetic preference
Spatial requirements
Material availability
Architectural styles
The dome of the US capitol
Orthographic projection
Is a way of representing a 3D object in 2D
Plan
Represents the view of a building as seen from above once a horizontal cutting plan has been passed through it, usually above the height of the window sills, with the top part removed
Elevation
The view obtained by projecting the imagine of a building on a vertical cutting plane passing through the ground a few feet away in front of one exterior face of a building
Section
The view obtained by projecting the imagine of a building on a vertical cutting plane passing through the ground, inside of a building
Perspective drawing
Shows all 3 dimensions through foreshortening, as photography does
Distorts the size of the elements that are further away, they are smaller in size
It resembles a photograph
Easy to understand
Communicates appearances of the designed structures to the big public
Axonometric drawing
It also shows all 3 dimensions but without distorting these dimensions
It distorts some of the angles
Timeline
Prehistoric architecture - origins of human life traced to central Africa (or perhaps Central Europe based on new archeological findings) approximately 5 million years ago
Terra Amata, near Nice, France - 400,000-300,000 BC : one of the sites of earliest surviving evidence of prehistoric House. Believed to be temporary shelters for a hunting/ gathering season
Cages at Lascaux, France - 15,000-13,000 BC : prehistoric ritual site. Multicolored paintings on walls of animals, humans, tools, and hunting rituals. Evidence of the importance of ritual in prehistoric times - the Hall of the Bull
Catal Huyuk, Anatolia (Turkey) , 6500 BC : permanent housing settlement. One of the first urban settlements. Evidence of religious or ritual figures and statutes
Timeline continued
Carnac, France - 4,500 BC : organizes arrangement of megaliths. Possible ritual site.
Newgrange passive grave, county Meath, Ireland, ca. 3100 BCE : ancient stone burial site
Stonehenge, Salisbury plain, England- 2950-1700 BC : intricate composition of megaliths arranged in various combinations and orientations. Believed to be a astronomical and or ritual site
Skara Brae, Scotland - 2500-1500 BC : stone housing settlement
Biskupin, Poland -1000-1500 BC
wood housing settlement/village on an island. Discovered in 20th century, had been submerged under water which allowed it to be preserved
