zliten campus at asmariya university for islamic sciences by RMJM architects
image courtesy RMJM architects

RMJM architects have received the islamic architecture award for their work on
the zliten campus at asmariya university for islamic sciences in libya at the cityscape
awards in dubai, 2009.

the zliten campus is a new branch of al asmariya university, located 75 miles southeast
of tripoli. RMJM’s architects designed a campus master plan for the development of
the 202-acre site. core academic functions are organized in four quadrants within
a perimeter habitable wall that houses faculty offices and academic support functions.

with a total build-out of more than 1 million square feet, the new campus provides
academic and support buildings, a conference and student center as well as
administration, library, recreation and residential spaces for a population of 4,600 students.


image courtesy RMJM architects


image courtesy RMJM architects


image courtesy RMJM architects


image courtesy RMJM architects

The Connection Extension for Autodesk 3ds Max Design 2010 design visualization software offers a range of new and enhanced connectivity features exclusively to Autodesk Subscription program customers.

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Bring solid models from many of your favorite CAD packages into 3ds Max Design 2010 for visual enhancement and export them back when you’re done. A new, high-fidelity SAT data translator makes it easier for designers to move solids-based design data between 3ds Max Design and Autodesk Revit Architecture software, Autodesk Inventor Professional software, or third-party CAD products such as Solidworks, Rhino, and FormZ. The SAT translator offers:

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Via Autodesk Press Release …

Architectural Design & Fabrication with Digital Technology Lisa Iwamoto [Assistant Professor of Architecture, UC Berkeley] Abstract: Since the advent of Computer Aided Design (CAD), the process of making buildings has fundamentally changed. Computer drafting has become the industry standard, facilitating rapid and accurate communication among architects, engineers, and contractors. There is now a corresponding move toward Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) using computer numerically. Now you talking hey?

WHY THE FUTURE OF ARCHITECTURE DOESN'T NEED US:
What becomes of Louis Kahn when buildings
actually know what they want to be? By LANCE HOSEY, AIA

In April, 2000, Sun Microsystems founder Bill Joy published an article in Wired magazine entitled, "Why the future doesn’t need us." Joy argues that emerging technologies such as robotics, nanoscience, and artificial intelligence threaten to spiral out of control and endanger humanity. As we slip deeper into dependence on machines, he says, we will rely on them to make every decision for us, and existence without them might become impossible. Eventually, machines may decide that existence with us is unnecessary. When we can’t live without them, and they can’t live with us, what will happen?

Not everyone agrees with Joy’s fatalistic view, including the scientists whose work he cites. The possibility of HAL—the intelligent computer from 2001, A Space Odyssey—and his brethren eliminating the human race is probably not something we will have to worry about for a while, but new technologies have already begun to redefine daily life at an astounding rate. The information age has ushered in a well-documented revolution in design and production over the past decade. So far these changes mostly have affected our ability to envision and illustrate new forms, but soon the entire artificial environment may be restructured. Our understandings of architecture may quickly become outdated.

Nanotechnology alone offers exciting and disquieting possibilities. Originally proposed by Nobel physicist Richard Feynman forty years ago, nanotech manipulates individual atoms and molecules to build things—anything, in fact. Experts anticipate that within the next few decades, large-scale objects, including buildings, could be fabricated using microscopic robots called assemblers, which would join to make a cybernetic glue, able to assume any shape and size. Such an instrument would eliminate traditional constraints of design and construction. Standard, irreducible components, such as the 2 X 4, the brick, steel shapes, nails and screws, will be replaced by microscopic parts. Form, texture, color, and strength would be defined at the cellular level. Orthogonal geometry, demanded for efficiency by standard frame construction, could disappear altogether.

This is not science fiction; nanoscience is quickly becoming reality. In the last year or two, IBM researchers have fashioned a computer circuit from a single carbon molecule, and Cornell scientists have built a microbe-sized motor, the first nanoscale machine. Eric Drexler, who coined the word "nanotechnology" in his 1986 book, Engines of Creation, expects dramatic benefits for design, manufacturing, electronics, medicine, and every other human endeavor. Everything we make will become better, faster, stronger, smaller, and cheaper. For architects, nanoconstruction could finally accommodate the restless search for new forms, allowing varieties never before achieved or even imagined. We will be able to construct anything we envision through a virtual wave of the wand. Buildings may be conceived and executed through computer programming by entering only a few parameters and requirements. How big is it? What does it feel like? BANG! Instant architecture.

But this assumes that designers will control the process. Nanotech’s opponents see it as an untamable force, because its potential for self-replication could get out of hand. Picture trillions upon trillions of invisible mechanical pests filling the environment and utterly consuming the earth. Assuming we can avoid catastrophe, an important question is whether architecture will require architects. Will expertise become unnecessary when anyone could punch her desires into a keyboard and produce her dream home? Moreover, a building may not necessitate anyone at all to summon it into existence. Spontaneous assembly could allow nanobots to go on auto-pilot. While Feynman saw nanoscience as arranging atoms "the way we want them," in actuality they could develop unpredictably, in ways we may or may not want.

Such technology may both fully realize and ultimately subvert many of architecture’s most enduring paradigms. The notion of "organic architecture," which Frank Lloyd Wright defined as "building the way nature builds," will no longer be just a metaphor. By modifying themselves over successive generations, ebbing and flowing in endless cycles of reproduction and adaptation, nanoassemblers could produce architecture through a process similar to genetic evolution—only faster—and therefore build exactly "the way nature builds." On the other hand, Wright intended to establish a method through which designers could shape the entire visible environment at every scale: sites, structures, furnishings, and fixtures. While buildings may become literally organic, they may also become autonomous, free from the control of designers. Design itself may become an antiquated concept. Artificial creation will be pointless when all things organic and synthetic develop "naturally."

Wright felt that architectural form should stem from the inherent "nature" of its materials: "Each material speaks a language of its own." In his mind, the proportions, heft and texture of brick logically translated into structures like the Robie House, which extends horizontally and hugs the land. Clay, shaped and laid by the hand, returns to the earth; craft transforms nature. But when the constituent parts of a building are too small to be seen with the naked eye, the relationships between form and materials will change. What is the "language" of a nanobot? Because the character of a building may vary upon command—hard and opaque one minute, soft and transparent the next—the fabric of buildings may become fluid, fluctuating states from solid to liquid to gas and back. The notion of truth in materials will become irrelevant. In fact, the word material may go away. When the basic building blocks of architecture have no strict definition, structure and substance will separate. Matter won’t matter.

Artificial intelligence poses similar conundrums. In The Age of Spiritual Machines (1999), inventor and technology guru Ray Kurzweil maintains that if current trends continue, computers will surpass the memory capacity and computational speed of the human brain in the next twenty years. Complex machines will begin to exhibit processes resembling awareness and emotions, and by the end of the century, human and mechanical consciousness will become indistinguishable. There is no reason to believe that buildings will not also get smarter. At first they will learn to perform conventional functions better by adjusting to circumstances without being told to do so. Already, computers are being integrated with building systems to monitor and respond automatically to variations in temperature, airflow, energy consumption, wind loads, and other conditions. At the moment, these features simply act in ways predetermined by programmers, but it is only a matter of time before smart buildings begin to calculate for themselves how to behave. They will adapt, and eventually they may exercise free will. A thinking building—sentient architecture —will answer for itself Louis Kahn’s question, "What does this building want to be?" Architects’ conjectures about the desires of buildings will be beside the point; the buildings will tell us what they want, or they may just take it without consulting us. Sheltering us may prove to be less than fulfilling for an intelligent structure. Kurzweil predicts that in this century we will concede that machines have legal and civil rights. Will buildings become as privileged as their inhabitants?

When we begin to see buildings as our equals, our psychological relationship with architecture will be completely redefined. Buildings will become more like us, but we may become more like them, as well. Kurzweil is certain that artificial enhancements of the human body will increase until we are more synthetic than organic. Inevitably, new types of bodies will be considered. It will become possible to scan the mind and download it into more durable or flexible containers, and the need for shelter from the elements might become unnecessary. Our future bodies may look and act nothing like our current bodies. The humanist tradition in architecture, which depends upon the reciprocal relationships between the body and buildings, will collapse as age-old standards of scale, proportion, and habitation become meaningless. Existing concepts of space and place may be discarded. Kurzweil foresees a time when all conscious beings will no longer have a permanent physical presence. Not just buildings but all material things will come into question as existence begins to be defined separately from tangible experience. Virtual reality may become the only reality, and the form life will take is probably unfathomable to us now.

Clearly, the impact of technology on the future of humanity will be more momentous than the fate of any particular discipline or profession. Nevertheless, profound changes in architecture are happening right now, and how we confront change is an urgent question. As a software developer, Bill Joy is concerned primarily with the ethics of design: "As a toolbuilder I must struggle with the uses to which the tools I make are put." Architects, however, rarely consider ethics before aesthetics. In our love affair with technology, we often forget to question its use. All great buildings are a marriage of technique and purpose, but in much recent architecture, built and unbuilt, technique overshadows purpose. Today our facility with making form is unprecedented, yet the most sophisticated methods are irrelevant if our intentions are misdirected. If the task of architecture is to create exotic forms, eventually we may find that our tools will overtake us in this ability. But if our aim is to provide meaningful, humane places, we must be vigilant in pursuing this goal, or the future of architecture may not need us.

Lance Hosey is featured in November 2003's archrecord2 and has previously contributed to In The Cause — "Food for thought ".

Inclusion of architectural rendering software and techniques in architectural design has led to a radical age in the process of marketing and visualization of architectural designs. It breathes new life into design by bringing in new designs to 3D life. Architectural 3D rendering enhances design value and communication. It helps clients, shareholders, contractors and others involved in the design and execution process to better understand the intent and beauty of the design.

Creating rendering of an architectural design is a more comprehensive way to explain and/or sell your design. In the schematic design phase, architectural renderings can serve as effective and aesthetic tools to communicate the intended design to the client or stake-holder as it would look after it has been built.

You can effectively incorporate realistic tools like vegetation, people, colour, texture and lighting to your renderings to help them seem as closer to life and reality as possible. 3D architectural rendering using software such as Revit Architecture, Sketchup, 3D Max or Photoshop and many other CAD 3D softwares are of critical use to architects, interior designers, clients, real estate developers and house builders to create a hype and virtual representation of their proposed developments. These architectural rendering are used as marketing and promotional material in advertisements and brochures.

These 3D architectural renderings hence, give a virtual insight into the layout and proposed look of the design to prospective tenants and home owners.

Traditionally architectural rendering entailed the artistic representation of the reality of the architect’s design. Now with digital technology and advent of rendering software, more accurate and realistic future reality of an upcoming building can be created. Hand drawn renderings are thus, being slowly phased out of the architectural design environment except for being used by architects and designers during the preliminary stages of planning and design development and primarily for their own use. For the purpose of expressing their designs to clients, stakeholders and others interested architects and designers are increasingly relying on architectural rendering technology to create digital, virtual representations by way of a photo-realistic visual 3D architectural rendering or a full scale architectural walkthrough.

Uncompromised quality, accuracy in fine details, and an ability to allow multiple vantage points are some of the quantifiable advantages of 3D architectural rendering. Varied arrays of architectural rendering techniques are in use today. Concept visualization focuses in realistic colour renderings, exterior renderings, floor plan rendition, interior renderings and site plan walkthroughs. These could be coloured, textured rendering or black and white conceptual sketches.

Also search for architectural rendering software in Google, you’ll find 2D and 3D softwares which will enhance your projects.

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Architectural drawings form the backbone of the design industry and play a significant role in architecture related projects today. Paper drawings are a great challenge to manage and store. Therefore, to get a complete picture of the paper based architectural drawings is difficult.

Architectural drawings, based on paper, also consume a lot of time to manage and sometimes may not be in a good enough condition to use. Therefore, to overcome all these hurdles, Computer Aided Design (CAD) system is an indispensable tool for your paper based architecture drawings. Whether you want to know how a house or an interior of an office would look like after completion, want to pre-visualize your new building design, architecture rendering is an excellent tool that plays a significant role.

And what better way to put across your ideas than in graphic display. Architectural drawings and renderings have a great role to play when it comes to engineering drawings. Why use architectural renderings? Because:

• For better visualization and presentation of projects
• Gives you better picture of buildings, interior of the house etc
• Realistic and accurate
• Walkthroughs available for various projects

The benefits of architectural renderings are many including that for the architects to present themselves better and for the potential client to better view his services/work.
The architectural renderings help convey a great deal of information about the concepts of architects, contractors and engineers to their clients. The client list of architectural drawings includes architects, contractors, builders, interior designers, homeowners, and developers. Architectural drawings and architectural renderings form the basis of medium and large scale AEC industries.




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In this post I'll :

1. Describe common forms of low-rise buildings
2. Show how these forms of construction meet the following important concepts:

a. Durability
b. Stability
c. Human comfort
d. Environmental efficiency
e. Aesthetics

Before I start dealing with this I’ll describe what we mean by a high-rise or low-rise building, and after that I’ll describe the importance of the substructure and a the superstructure for the building.

We can divide all buildings in to two categories
High-rise
Low-rise

High-rise building:

I can define a high-rise building as a building 35 meters or greater in height, which is divided at regular intervals into occupiable levels. To be considered a high-rise building an edifice must be based on solid ground, and fabricated along its full height through deliberate processes (as opposed to naturally-occurring formations).

A high-rise building is distinguished from other tall man-made structures by the following guidelines:

1. It must be divided into multiple levels of at least 2 meters height;
2. If it has fewer than 12 such internal levels, then the highest undivided portion must not exceed 50% of the total height;
3. Indistinct divisions of levels such as stairways shall not be considered floors for purposes of eligibility in this definition.

Any method of structural support which is consistent with this definition is allowable, whether masonry, concrete, or metal frame. In the few cases where such a building is not structurally self-supporting (e.g. resting on a slope or braced against a cliff), it may still be considered a high-rise building but is not eligible for any height records unless the record stipulates inclusions of this type.



























Low-rise building:

A low-rise building is defined as any occupiable building which is divided at regular intervals into occupiable levels which is lower than a high-rise To be considered a low-rise building an edifice must be based on solid ground, and fabricated along its full height through deliberate processes (as opposed to naturally-occurring formations) and have at least one floor above ground.
An individual building in this category is generally defined as one with connected interior spaces. Any low-rise building with more than one disconnected interior space may only count as a single building if it was built as a single unit and if the separate parts form an architecturally integral whole. On the other hand, it is possible to consider a house with connected interior spaces as more than one building if the different parts are not intended to form a single development and do not form an architecturally integral whole.

We can defined a building as a low-rise building when it meets one of the following criteria:

• Buildings associated with major architects or other major building companies.
• Buildings which are especially prominent because of their size or position.
• Any buildings housing commercial uses.
• Buildings added at the request of a company.
• Buildings of significant historical or architectural interest



Substructure and superstructure:


Any building must have a substructure and a superstructure, Substructures can be defined as all the structure below the DPC including the ground floor construction but excluding the finishes if not an integral part of the structure.

Building substructure is:

• Foundation
• Wall below ground
• Ground floor

The Building superstructure includes the following:

• External Walls
• Internal walls
• Upper floor and stairs
• Roof
• Doors and windows
• Internal finishes

The construction on any type of building is different than any other type, i.e., TV tower, observation tower, church, temple, mosque, synagogue, stadium, airport tower, castle chimney, clock tower, colliery, silo, open-air structure, reactor building, cooling tower, ferris wheel, flagpole, guard tower, lighthouse, mast, mast (freestanding), mast (wired), monument, multi-storey building, palace, pyramid, roller coaster, subterranean building, fountain, tower, water tower, bridge, carillon and anti-aircraft tower they all different from their foundation to their roof, some of them need special design and some is very common and simple.
The main forms of low-rise buildings:
Generally speaking, there are two forms of low-rise builings and they are:
• Traditional
• Modern
Traditional construction:
I can describe traditional buildings as usual, customary, well-known, long-established, regular buildings that we get used to see in our streets and in our neighbourhoods. But technically speaking, a traditional building is a building with a traditional construction, and a traditional material, a good example for it is a loadbearing masonry brick and block building.

Building Control has a long history going back many hundreds of years, first recorded in the time of King Herod who introduced a law which stated that

‘Should a man construct a building which falls down and kills another then this man should be slain ’.

The first Building Control legislation within England dates back to the aftermath of the ‘Great Fire’ of London in 1666 when fire had spread rapidly between buildings. Shortly afterwards in 1667 the London Building Act was introduced which sought to achieve some degree of fire resistance in buildings.

In 1875, the Public Health Act was introduced to bring a degree of consistency. This required urban authorities to make byelaws for new streets, with regard to the structure of buildings, to ensure stability and prevent fires, and in respect of health matters to provide for the drainage of buildings and the provision of air space around buildings. The Local Government Board in response issued the first model byelaws for new streets and buildings as a guide for urban authorities making their own byelaws. These byelaws were further extended in 1905 to cover the whole of the country. This was because the Industrial Revelation, where many local authorities were faces problems because towns were expanding and the great need of housing.

A new concept of building legislation was developed with the introduction of the Public Health Act 1936. A single model series of controls regarding the construction and condition of buildings was introduced, together with the use of British Standards to indicate satisfactory compliance. This was a major step forward towards the legislation we have today.

The first national Building Regulations was introduced in 1966. For the first time the requirements they contained were mandatory and therefore local authorities who had their own local byelaws in force, had no choose but to enforce them.

In 1984 the Building Act came into force and consolidated a number of acts that were applicable to Building Control.

Bellow I’ll list the acts and the legislations which I think they are related to the primary services:



· The building act

· The building regulations

· The water act 1991

· The land drainage act 1991

· The gas act 1995

· The electricity act 1989

House Plans:

So you want to build a house? Let’s say you do, trust me it is pretty thing to do, or is it? Most important part of this is planning, this is the most important thing ever, not the money not the architect or the timing.

So how do you plan effectively?
Well, you just get a pen and a paper and do a brain storm, write down everything you can think about and organise it as you go, Here some help to organise this, first of all what do you need to build a house?

1. Plants

You need plants and when we say plants we mean the machines and equipments which are used in building not trees and vegetations, without it the construction could not be carried out. Plants are very useful they save you time and energy and there rang from small hand held power tools to large pieces of plant such as mechanical excavators and tower cranes.

Plants are used for the following reasons:

· To increase the production

· To reduce the cost of the construction

· To carry out activities which are hard to be carried out by hand

· To save labour and time

There is many types of plants, which can help you build your dream house bellow, I’ve subdivided plants in to three categories with few examples for each:

Light:

· Small tools

· Transforms

· Hoists

· Compressors

Medium:

· Dumpers

· JCB

· Dozer

· Back-actor

Heavy

· Tower cranes

· Piling rigs

· Tunnelling

In any construction project we have to understand that there is a requirement for a suitable type of plant, and we need to plan for it carefully considering the period of time in which we will need that peace of plant, the type of the work that we are carrying out and also the size of the site.

Construction plants are in a considerable number of accidents on sites, resulting in injury, and death sometimes, so be careful when handling it and it you can’t manage it worth to think about hiring a promotional.

There are several hundreds of different items of plant, as small as a concrete scabbler or as large as a tunnelling mole, and they are available for use on construction sites. When making a decision in the plant that we are using we should think carefully because we might lose money, time and resources.

Below I’ve list the most important points which effect the decision of selecting the type of plant:

· Operational requirements

· Digging

· Loading

· Transporting

Mode of movement:

· Caterpillar track

· Tyre

Accessibility of site/ work:

· Access to roads

· Ground bearing

· Working space

Service back-up:

· Maintenance

· Operators

· Parts

In terms of transport for example we have Dumpers and Fork lift trucks. If we take dumps for example we can see that it needs a mature person to drive it physically fit for the purpose.

· If the machine is to be used on the highway (freeway), driver must hold a current driving licence;

· Drivers must be trained and certificated; Drivers should have sufficient knowledge to carry out routine maintenance, and identify defects.

· The machine should be maintained and repaired

· The machine should be secured and cleaned

· The machine should have insurants and road tax if it will be used on the road.

You can see by just talking about the dumpers that there is a long list of important things that we need to consider and that is the case for any type of plant. This is known as plant management.

So house planning or project planning is not as easy as I thought after all and I just covers Plants above, imagine covering the whole project from foundation to roof, labour, materials, design, time planning, quality and cost control.

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WALL CLADDINGS FOR FRAMED BUILDINGS

BACKGROUND:

‘The earliest structural frames were employed to support the walls and floors of large buildings, using traditional masonry or brick wall construction. The frame was built into the external walls, which it supported at each floor level, so that these buildings had the appearance of a large traditional load-bearing structure…

The main disadvantage of brick and stone as wall materials applied to framed buildings is that their high self weight requires substantial frame members. The more logical use of a structural frame is in the support of some lightweight form of walling of sufficient strength to be self supporting between frame members and with adequate resistance to the penetration of rain and wind and adequate sound and thermal insulation…

The structural frame has provided the possibility of endless variation in the form and appearance of buildings that no longer need be contained inside a load-bearing envelope…

The external walls of framed buildings differ from traditional load-bearing walls because the structural frame has an effect on and influences the design of the wall structure it supports. To the extent that the structural frame may affect the functional requirements of an external wall, it should be considered as part of the wall structure.’

Extracts from; Barry, R. The Construction of Buildings 4, Blackwell Science.

Along with the other principle elements of superstructure, the selection of an appropriate cladding system for a framed building is crucial to the success of that building. The cladding system must be compatible with the structural frame and other building elements, which together must satisfy a range of functional requirements, the scope and nature of which vary subject to the individual building.

FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

In the context of a framed building the primary objectives of the cladding system itself are;

i) Provide an enclosure to the structure which will give the necessary protection against the elements

ii) Exploit dry construction methods where possible, including the use of off-site prefabrication

iii) Impose the minimal additional dead load onto the frame

iv) Enhance the architectural concept/appearance of the building

To fulfil these objectives the cladding system must meet the following functional requirements;

Strength and stability Strength to support its own self weight between points of supports or fixings to

the structural frame.

Stability against lateral wind pressures.

Allowance for differential movements between itself, the structural frame and other adjacent building elements.

Compatibility with Integration with vertical and horizontal frame members/elements, including

structure wind bracing arrangements.

Ability to cater for frame movements.

Weather resistance Resistance to wind, rain and other forms of precipitation (cladding and joints).

and durability Durability, freedom from maintenance, and ability to weather well.

Control of internal Proportion of glazed to ‘solid’ areas.

temperatures Type of glazing (ie use of solar control glass).

Three-dimensional form/shape of cladding.

Externally applied solar control measures/devices.

Consideration of cladding design in conjunction with internal environmental control systems.

Thermal insulation Achievement of U-values laid down in the Building Regulations (AD L). (Nb

‘Standard Assessment Procedure’ (SAP) approach allows one building element

to compensate for another).

Avoidance of problems arising from ‘cold bridging’ and from surface and

interstitial condensation.

Minimisation of air leakage.

Environmental/ Contribution of cladding system to overall energy efficiency of the building.

sustainability issues Environmental friendliness of cladding materials (embodied energy etc).

Fire requirements Fire resistance may need to be provided subject to proximity of other buildings and the use class of the building in question (AD B – ‘Unprotected areas’).

Restriction of flame spread to internal and external surfaces and within voids.

Sound insulation Insulation against airborne sound originating from external source.

Prevention of sound originating in one part of the building being transmitted to other areas via cladding members/elements.

Aesthetic issues The need to respond to the context within which the building is situated.

The need to satisfy the aesthetic aspirations of the client. (Weathering characteristics/durability of materials).

General function Daylighting and natural ventilation requirements.

of the building Degree of privacy required.

Exploitation of pleasant views/exclusion of undesirable views.

Etc, etc.

The above forms a basic, though not necessarily exhaustive, checklist of factors/issues to considered when selecting an appropriate cladding system for a building. Aesthetic issues will invariably form the initial basis for choice, though other factors such as speed of erection, buildability and, inevitably, cost, will also influence the choice strategy.

RANGE OF CLADDING SYSTEMS/APPROACHES AHVAILABLE TO THE DESIGNER

Walls to framed buildings may be classified as;

Masonry and metal Brickwork or facing blockwork as the outer leaf of a cavity wall, or the outer

‘facings’ leaf of a timber framed ‘wall’. Facings applied to a cavity or solid wall backing ie natural stone facing slabs, ceramic tiles, terracotta and faience, mosaic and flint.

Fully supported sheet steel, stainless steel, copper, bronze, aluminium, and lead, with welted joints. Tile and slate hangings and renderings.

Timber Weatherboarding fixed directly to the sheathing of a timber framed wall or fixed to timber framing fixed to masonry background. Plywood or blockboard panelling fixed as weatherboarding. Shingle hanging.

Concrete, GRC and Pre-cast concrete.

GRP Glass fibre reinforced cement (GRC).

Glass fibre reinforced polyester (GRP).

Infill panels Timber, metal or plastic framed panel ‘infilling’ between horizontal and vertical frame elements/members, with the framed panel subdivided to form windows or ‘solid’ panels as desired.

Glazed wall systems Curtain walling.‘Structural’ glazing.

Sheet metal cladding Profiled metal sheeting as outer skin to ‘sandwich’ or double skin construction.

‘Composite’ insulated panels, with flat or profiled outer face.

Flat panels Flat metal, wood fibre reinforced resin, fibre reinforced cement un-insulated panels fixed to ‘carrier’ sub-frame, in turn fixed to insulated structural backing

(Open joint ‘rainscreen’ type, open ‘drained’ joint type, and sealed joint types).

‘Composite’ flat metal insulated panels.

It is important to understand the characteristics/qualities of the above systems/materials, in relation to the functional criteria identified previously. For instance, for each cladding alternative, recognise;

How is it fixed and what is the overall build-up of the external wall, including primary and secondary support requirements, method of waterproofing and insulating, internal linings etc etc?

What is the relationship of the cladding system to the structural frame?

What are its appearance characteristics?

Fire resistance? Resistance to mechanical damage?

How are windows and doors incorporated?

How much does it cost to install, to maintain, to repair?

How environmentally friendly is it? Etc etc etc.

It is also important to understand how one alternative system compares with another, what advantages one has over another. All of this must be weighed against the client’s priorities in order to select appropriately.

1. MASONRY AND METAL ‘FACINGS’

2. TIMBER

3. CONCRETE, GRC AND GRP

4. INFILL PANELS

5. GLAZED WALL SYSTEMS

6. SHEET METAL CLADDING

7. FLAT PANELS

REFERENCES (AND RANGE OF SOURCES FOR RESEARCH)

Stroud Foster, J. and Harington, R. (2000) Mitchell’s Structure and Fabric Part 2, 6^th Edition, Longman.

Emmitt, S. and Gorse, C. (2006) Barry’s Advanced Construction of Buildings, Blackwell Publishing.

Chudley, R. (1996) Building Construction Handbook. Laxtons.

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The Architectural Technologist , also known as a Building Technologist, provides building design services and solutions and is trained in architectural technology, building design and construction. They apply the science of architecture and typically concentrate on the technology of building design and construction. They may negotiate the construction project, and manage the process from conception through to completion.

Most architectural technologists are employed in architectural and engineering firms, or with municipal authorities; but many provide independent professional services directly to clients, although restricted by law in some countries. Others work in product development or sales with manufacturers.

In Britain (Chartered Architectural Technologist), Canada (Architectural Technologist or Applied Science Technologist), and other nations, they have many similar abilities as Architects and can work alongside them. There, they are sometimes directors or shareholders of an architectural firm (where permitted by the jurisdiction and legal structure). To become an architectural technologist, a degree or diploma (or equivalent) in Architectural Technology is required, followed by structured professional and occupational experience.
The role of Architectural Technologist:

The role of an architectural technologist is not to be confused with that of an architect. Although the architectural technologists’ role does include some building design they actually specialise in the technical aspects of building design and construction. This means they use technology i.e. Computer Aided Design (CAD) and VR skills to check that the designs architects produce will actually work. in addition, it is the job of the architectural technologist to research and select the right building materials for the project.

Architectural technologists work in building design and construction projects with different members of a design team, working especially closely with architects and designers, forming a link between the architect's concept and the completed construction, bridging the gap between the ideas of an elegant functional building and the reality of that building performing successfully. Architectural technologists are to ensure that the right materials and building techniques are used and that the building meets all the building regulations and other legal requirements. Architectural technologists must also monitor the quality assurance, cost and the meeting of deadlines throughout the lifetime of a construction project.

In the UK, a fully qualified Architectural technologist of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT) can take full responsibility for the project management replacing the architect.

In multidisciplinary project team, an architectural technologist is expected to carry the following work activities:

* Administering contracts and project certifications;
* Advising clients on procuring the best and most appropriate contracts for the work they are undertaking;
* Appraising the performance of buildings which are in use and producing maintenance management information;
* Assessing what surveys (e.g. Land surveys) are required before work can commence and ensuring such surveys are undertaken and their results fed into the project;
* Carrying out design-stage risk assessments;
* Contributing to planning applications and other regulatory application procedures;
* Contributing to the overall running of business.
* Developing project briefs and working on these as the project progresses;
* Evaluating and advising on refurbishment, re-use, recycling and deconstruction;
* Evaluating environmental, legal and regulatory issues and advising on these;
* Leading the detailed design process and co-ordinating design information;
* Liaising with appropriate authorities (e.g. Planning enquiries and building inspectors) when producing documentation for statutory approval;
* Managing the work of trainee technologists;
* Obtaining feedback on work in progress and finished results from clients;
* Preparing and presenting design proposals using computer-aided design (CAD), VR and traditional drawing methods;
* Producing, analysing and advising on detailed specifications for suitable materials or processes to be used in construction;
* Meeting with clients and other involved professionals at an early stage to agree the project brief;
* Understanding how the design aspects of a construction project influence and relate to performance and functional issues, so that practical questions can be addressed at an early stage;


Adding to the above, the architectural technologist is expected to work collaboratively with the other members of the project, linking them with the architect to ensure a collaborative work and a successful project.