Building Construction and Design (Building Construction S.) - Hardcover

This book addresses, for the student of architecture, a subject that is of interest to a wide range of people with various relationships to the designing and constructing of buildings. There is at any given time a great mass of information on these topics which may be accessed for application to the many tasks of designers, builders, suppliers, and others. The enormity of this information resource is at once reassuring to those who regularly encounter needs for it, and overwhelming to just about everyone who needs to figure out how to use it. It is especially important for the young designer to be aware of and familiar with the entire framework and of the place of design within it. This book relates the topic of building construction to the basic problems of building design. The basic assumption here is that the need to design precedes the need to build, and that real concern for how to build comes from a desire to build something. This is the normal process of development for designers and others who start from the point of desiring a building and then proceed to determine what it should be. Intense concern for specific consideration of building materials, systems, and details of construction thus emerges at a later stage of design, typically after the general form, size, and essential nature of the building are already proposed.

Written especially for architects, this accessible introductory reference on building construction integrates construction issues within the overall design process. The focus throughout is on the architect's concerns with the building as a whole, rather than on the specific concerns of the contractor, supplier or developer. The book covers design issues, building codes, industry standards, architectural components and materials, and construction elements. Case studies of nine different building types provide fresh insight into the range of building uses, size and forms of construction. This book should be of interest to architects.