Structural Systems

 Structural Systems 

    Interior Designers contribute to the environment of the interior spaces; this includes space planning, materials and finishings, casework, and furnishings. There are many jobs and services that an interior designer takes on throughout a space. Project Management is a large one that handles the project budget, contracts, scheduling, and resources of a project. There are many others that play into the smoothness of a project design itself these include, project goals, data collection, existing conditions, conceptualization, selections and materiality, documentation, coordination, contract administration, and pre-design or post-design services. Each one of these plays a role into the project and how everything comes together throughout a design. 

    Interior Designers do not work directly with structure systems; however, they need to understand how they work within a space. The purpose of a structural system is to carry the loads of the building and transfer them into the foundation which then moves them into the ground. There are three main types of structural systems: bearing wall, structural frame, and stud wall. 

Bearing Wall- This type relies on the entire wall to carry all the loads to the foundation below. They are most frequently made of concrete, stone, brick, or concrete block. 

Stud Wall- This system relies on several small members to carry the loads to a horizontal sole plate that distributes the weight to a sill plate. Light gauge steel and light frame wood construction uses this stud wall system. 

Structural Frame- Composed of columns and beams that transmit loads to the foundation, these are normally constructed of heavy timber, structural steel, or pre-cast concrete. 

    There are four main characteristics of a structural system. These include, stability, strength and stiffness, economy, and aesthetics. There are also different types of loads that are dispersed throughout the space. Live loads are loads that move, humans, furnishings within a space. Dead loads are associated with gravity and include the building materials and the weight of the building itself. Uniform load is distributed evenly such as a stone flooring that is evenly adding weight and pressure. Concentrated loads act on a single point, static loads move slowly over time, and dynamic loads are ones that come jarring such as earthquakes or winds. 

    Throughout the book it went over different historical examples, it was interesting to see how different architectural designs add loads in different ways. For example, when thinking about roman architecture and how the arches and domes were developed without much understanding of what we know now. How amazing that they were able to develop these processes. This summer I got the opportunity to travel to Italy. It was amazing getting to see all the architecture and interiors that were developed hundreds of years ago, still preserved today. It was such a different experience getting to see them in person vs just in an image. 

Arches

They have the ability to span large distances without needing a vertical element to hold it upwards. "Arches work on the principle of transferring the load or weight placed on them to their supports or foundations through compression forces. Arches are inherently stable due to their shape and the nature of forces." I found it intriguing to look into many different types of arches. Old and new and seeing how they have developed throughout time. 

Resources- 

Arches | thestructuralengineer.info