Why is it important to accurately model the land features of your project site with a toposurface?
- What aspects of a building design are most affected by the terrain features?
It is important to accurately model land features so that any terrain changes can be accounted for when figuring out how the construction process will work. I realized through this project that the terrain can severely affect the positions of lower doors and windows, as well as the surroundings of the building such as driveways and connections to the road. When a house is on a hilly terrain, the area surrounding the house has to be adjusted, and the house itself has to be placed on the terrain in a way that makes sense.
When designing a project...
- Should the building adapt to the terrain?
- Or, should you adapt the terrain to the building?
The building should adapt to the terrain. If there is an area that is very hilly, adapting and putting the house somewhat into the hill can have some benefits with more heat being preserved through the terrain being against the house instead of open air. If the terrain has to be significantly adapted, it results in a much higher cost in building the extra infrastructure to manage this.
Why do stairs follow specific proportions with a set relationship between the tread length and riser height?
- How can building modeling help prevent the mistakes that often occur when designing and installing stairs?
When people are walking up stairs, tread length being too long can break up strides and make it hard for people to walk smoothly up and down stairs and riser heights being too high can make it much more difficult to climb the stairs. The proportions that are set likely are in place to make it easier to walk consistently up and down stairs. Modeling buildings can ensure that the length and height allocated to the stairs is sufficient and makes sense for the structure of the stairs.