Designing and constructing load-bearing building elements Columns, walls and floors make up the skeleton of nearly every building. This third volume in the series SCALE, Support | Materialise, takes an in-depth look at these load-bearing structures, covering the development and realization of appropriate constructions from idea and design intention all the way to constructional implementation. Following the traditional building methods of massive, cross-wall, and skeleton construction, it points the way toward a material-appropriate constructional approach to these defining structural elements – columns, walls, and floors. Special attention is given to how constructional and technical considerations can be harmonized with spatial and formal commitments. The load-bearing elements are organized, described, and explored in detail from a material as well as a formal and constructional perspective. Their practical implementation is illustrated by a series of international examples.

Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1. Introduction to the subject - The cultural history of load-bearing structures - Prospects, visions (mega-structures, flexible structures, dismantling/reconstruction, new materials) 1.2 Building site - regional, topographical features (climate, surroundings, neighbourhood) 1.3 Building Which load-bearing structure is suitable for which purposes: scale and uses: hall buildings, housing construction, office construction? 1.4 The design quality of bearing structures The difference between visible and non-visible bearing structures 1.5 Bearing structures - Overview of bearing structures: from linear (shell) to two-dimensional (wall, ceiling) structures - Principles underlying bearing structures – foundations, support, bracing - Components – support, wall, ceiling 1.6 Static systems - Criteria favouring a specific bearing structure: advantages and disadvantages - shell construction (cross-wall structures?), slab construction, hall building, space frames, shells, hybrid structures, tensile structures, membranes / foils / textiles 1.7 Demands placed on material properties - Transfer of tensile forces, pressure, bending stress - Spans, apertures, maximum sizes - Deflexion, jointing [Fugen]/grooves [Nuten]?? - Preservation of structures (fire protection, soundproofing, etc.) - Integration of services 1.8 Sustainability - Use, extension, (general definitions) - Maintenance, servicing, longevity, extension/addition, conversion/new use, disassembly, dismantling, recycling - Manufacture + waste disposal, environmental compatibility (general definitions, comparison of building materials) Primary energy requirement, use of resources, damage to environment by harmful substances, life cycle - Cost effectiveness and costs (general definitions, building materials / comparison of bearing systems) - Production costs 2nd Chapter Structural types 2.1. Wall construction (including cross-wall construction and slab construction) Presentation of bearing systems (loads, bearing structures, bracing) - Walls (focus on load-bearing walls; difference to non-bearing walls) - Ceilings, main beams, suspender beams Realisation (as relating to the walls and ceilings?) Masonry (bricks, concrete blocks…) - Reinforced concrete - Connections/drawings - (Connection of the individual elements, layer structure, connections, wall floor ceiling, each between the same and different materials??? 2.2 Shell structures (including half-timber structures) - Bearing systems (loads, bearing structures, bracing) - Building elements, function/role: supports, reinforcing elements (core, ceilings, walls, cables…), girders (including truss girders in this case), in-fills between the building elements, walls and ceilings Realisation: Steel, reinforced concrete, wood - Connections/drawings: Joining of individual parts, layered construction, connections, wall floor ceiling, each between the same and different materials??? 2.3 Special forms - Hybrid (definition of a hybrid here: Combination of different support systems – distinguished from combinations of materials that act as bearing elements, e.g. Reinforced concrete, structural wood building…) - shell construction - a hall building - space frames - cable-net - membranes - bridges 3rd Chapter Examples (8-10 Projects) - Shell construction: reinforced concrete, wood, steel - Wall construction method: reinforced concrete, masonry, cross-wall construction 4. Chapter Appendix - References to standards and guidelines (selection) - Associations - Links - Secondary literature - Tables - Manufacturers - Photo credits/acknowledgements