Building Construction – Page 8 – Civil Engineering Projects

Lighting Design for Interiors | Primary Lighting Techniques

June 29, 2011 by Designer

Types of Lighting Techniques | Primary and Secondary Lighting Techniques

Lighting is an art of illuminating the space in a way to create illusion. Lighting Techniques have been broadly classified into two categories:

Primary Lighting
Secondary Lighting

Primary Lighting and Secondary Lighting are used depending on the requirement of the kind of illumination required at a certain place. At some places, provision of only Primary Lighting would serve the purpose whereas where a meek ambiance is required, secondary lighting would serve the purpose.

Sometimes, for efficient and ambient lighting is the requirement and the cost of the lighting design is not an issue then Primary and Secondary lighting are both used in layers to create a dramatic effect.

Apart from the techniques of primary lighting and secondary lighting, the material used in the interiors also plays a vital role in creating a perfect ambiance.

Check this out: New materials, Aesthetics and Lighting Techniques

In this article, we will discuss in detail about the “Primary Lighting Design”…

Read more

Lighting Design for the Interiors and Exteriors of a Structure

May 26, 2011 by Designer

Guide to Lighting Design for Interiors and Exteriors

Lighting is one of the major and important aspects of interior design exterior design as well. Aesthetics and Functionality need to go hand in hand when it comes to interior lighting techniques. Lighting design from space to space. For example, Lighting design for a museum cannot be similar to the lighting design for a residence. It changes with the purpose, its functionality, its design, area and Volume of the perceived space. These are some of the basic lighting design factors that one should consider while analyzing and designing. In this article, we will discuss in brief some of the important factors of Lighting design to be considered before deciding on the selection of a particular type of lighting technique.

Factors that influence Design

Function of the space
Dimensions and details
Furnishings and layouts
Style
Aesthetic
Décor
Lighting budget

Function of the space

Function of the space is one of the most important factor to be considered and studied before designing the lighting for a particular space. The lighting technique used for a particular space helps in illuminating the required spaces for a specific task or to create a specific ambience.

Lighting for specific Task

Ambient Lighting or general lighting for general illumination

Retrofitting old Foundations | Civil Engineering

May 21, 2011 by Designer

Retrofitting the Foundations of Old Structures

The level of deterioration of the foundation determines whether the building can be improved or needs to be demolished. Repairing and retrofitting of the building elements should be done at the initial stages of the deterioration. This would save time as well as costs of construction.

In case the deterioration is not paid attention to, it can lead to excessive damage of building components which may result into excessive retrofitting costs.

Failure of Structure due to ignoring the need for retrofitting

Small cracks in Buildings

In case there are cracks having occurred on the building are small, the building can be declared to be in a sound condition. It involves nominal repairs and lower repair costs which would save your time as well.

Large scale damage

For older buildings where the foundations of the building have been severely affected, all large retrofit work is then subject to professional assistance. This would require the evaluation of geotechnical and structural conditions of the structure.

Surveys to be carries out:

Majorly two important surveys are to be carried out:

Technical Survey
Historical Survey

Development of Surface Active Structure system

May 15, 2011 by Designer

Development of Shell Structures | Structural Systems

In this article, we will discuss “Surface Active Structure System” with examples for better understanding….

In my earlier articles, we discussed “Structural Systems in the Post Modernist Period” and “Development of Suspended Structures“. Reading about different types of Structural Systems and their basis and purpose of evolution will help you understand the varied concepts of Structural Systems.

In this type of structure system, a thin curved structure is so shaped to transmit applied forced by compressive, tensile and shear stresses that act in the plane of the surface. They are usually constructed of concrete reinforced with steel mesh.

Sydney Opera House | Example of Shell Structure

Shell construction began in the 1920s; the shell emerged as a major long-span concrete structure in postmodernism. Thin parabolic shell vaults and even complex forms i.e. hyperbolic paraboloids stiffened with ribs have been built with spans up to about 300 feet (90m). Thickness of the shell with this system can be achieved even less than 0.5 inches (1.25cm) thick. One of the most famous example of this is Sydney Opera House.

The shape of this majestic structure has been achieve with the help of plastic behaviour of the material. In this, the shells were constructed out of 2400 precast ribs and 4000 roof panels in an on-site factory. By this solution, they were able to avoid the need for expensive formwork construction.

Use of Porcelain and Ceramic tiles in Modern Architecture

May 9, 2011 by Designer

Porcelain and Ceramic Tiles in Modern Architecture

In my earlier articles, I have discussed about some of the Modern materials and “Modern Bathroom Designs“. But the fact that what materials make those Bathrooms modern and gives them an elegant look cannot be ignored. In this article, we will discuss in brief about two important materials responsible for giving beauty and elegance to your bathrooms and also some important places and corners in your homes.

Porcelain and ceramic tiles have been used throughout history and it is almost impossible to conceive a modern day structure without the use of ceramic tiles.

Modern Bathrooms | Use of Porcelain and Ceramic Tiles

What was initially considered a piece of art in ancient times has become a product of mass utility now due to its intrinsic qualities, which perfectly match the demands of modern architecture.

A ceramic is an inorganic, non-metallic solid produced by the application of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may be crystalline, partly crystalline or amorphous in appearance.

The earliest ceramics were pottery objects made from clay, either singly or mixed with other materials, hardened by fire.

Alamillo Bridge by Calatrava | Suspended Structures

April 11, 2011 by Designer

Alamillo Bridge, Seville, Spain | Suspended Structures

In my previous article, we discussed the development of Suspended Structures and the technical aspects involved in the construction of Suspended Structures.

Alamillo Bridge, Seville, Spain, 1987-1992, designed by Calatrava Santiago, total span of the bridge is 250m and height of the tower is 142m. Materials used are steel for tower with concrete infill where needed, steel bridge deck structure and concrete abutments. The extraordinary weight of the concrete filled steel mast, which angles away from the roadbed at 58 degrees is enough to support the deck without the need for counter-stay cables or support piers.

Alamillo Bridge, Seville, Spain | Suspended Structures

The mass and the bed of the tower exerts a backwards downward force while the cable stays and roadbed mass exert a forward downward force. The mass of the tower was so calculated so that its backward and downward force wouldn’t lift the bridge off the ground.

For this reason, an additional mass was needed to counter the reaction of vertical forces. In order to increase the mass, the steel box girder of the tower and the steel deck structure were filled with concrete. This added to the stability of the structure.

Development of Suspended Structures | Structural Systems

April 10, 2011 by Designer

Suspended Structures | Structural Systems

Suspended Structures are those with horizontal planes i.e. floors are supported by cables (hangers) hung from the parabolic sag of large, high-strength steel cables. The strength of a suspended structure is derived from the parabolic form of the sagging high strength cable.

To make this structure more efficient, the parabolic form is so designed that its shape closely follows the exact form of the moment diagrams.

The sagging cable is more stable under symmetrical loading conditions as the cable may deform as it attempts to adjust to an eccentric loading. As the cable adjusts to this load its shifts the rest of the structure.

This adjustment causes secondary stresses in the horizontal surface and additional deformation. The parabolic curve of the cable is also designed for various eccentric or lateral loads such as wind, seismic etc.

The large curving cable may consist of many smaller cables which are tightly spun together. As the cables are being spun together, they are also stretched over the span and attached to the supports.

Prefabricated Construction and Lightweight building systems

April 4, 2011 by Designer

Prefabricated Construction and Lightweight building systems

What is Prefabrication?

Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term is used to distinguish this process from the more conventional construction practice of transporting the basic materials to the construction site where all assembly is carried out.

During the development in the industrial revolution, the people have full awareness regarding the behaviour of the structure.

It was fully analyzed and understood that for the existence of an object and its form, it is necessary that the object can bear all forces which act on it.

The structure thus, functions in three subsequent operations:

Load reception
Load transfer
Load discharge

The flow of forces does not pose problem as long as the object form follows the direction of acting forces. With these analytical theories of structure and at the same time new technological developments like prefabricated construction influence the designer.

In the works of Buckminster Fuller and Moshe Safdie, there is extensive use of fabricated components.

Deconstructivism | Walt Disney Concert Hall

April 3, 2011 by Designer

Deconstruction in Architecture

Deconstructivism in architecture is a development of postmodern architecture that began in the late 1980s.

Characteristics of Deconstructivism:

Fragmentation
Non linear processes of design
Apparent non-Euclidean geometry

The building designing is dependent upon the construction technology, majority of functions are streamlined and computers are playing the major role in it. It mainly covers the designing of multidirectional ambiguous spaces and forms creating optical illusion.

The basic concept project is to give the look of a ship with its sail at full mast and the designer wanted to create the feeling of square-foot Concert Hall having 2,265-seat auditorium with natural lighting in which the audience surrounds the orchestra.

The auditorium has a curved wooden ceiling which fulfils the acoustical requirements. The dramatically curved exterior of Walt Disney Concert Hall is clad in 22 million pounds of primary steel joined out of 12,500 individual pieces that range from 13 inches to 110 feet long.

Guide to the Construction of Sunken Slabs | RCC Construction

March 9, 2011 by Designer

Construction of Sunken Slabs | Building Construction

Sunken slabs are used in the toilets, bathrooms and washing place where we have our washing machines. The purpose of having a sunken slab is to conceal all the pipes below the floor. Since the pipes that carry water are concealed below the floor, care has to be taken to avoid leakage problems.

It is seen that people are not much aware of the idea of waterproofing the Sunken slab before the floor finish is done. In this article, we will discuss the method of the construction of Sunken slab and waterproofing technique.

Method of construction of a Sunken Slab

The concrete of the R.C.C. (floor and sunken slab) should mixed with a waterproofing material to get a denser, watertight concrete.

Then cement and waterproofing material should be diluted in water and splashed onto the RCC sunken slab. Over that a layer of plaster should be provided using a mortar plasticizer with the cement mortar.

Brick laying of walls and plastering (prior to tiling) of the walls and floor should be done with cement mortar mixed with a mortar plasticizer.

Tile fixing for the floor and walls tiles should be done with non-shrink, waterproof tile adhesives to make the tiled area waterproof.

Sanitary pipe joints should be sealed with sealants specially manufactured for Sealing Sanitary joints firmly so that no water can leak through.