Overall strategy and the features of the structural system
I drew my inspiration from local architecture in Kenya and most of East Africa. As in the example below, my design also intends to use locally sourced stone with plaster finish for the load bearing walls. Local sourcing will contribute to my overall sustainability goals. The walls are thick for load bearing purposes as well as thermal insulation. I also used LW Concrete on deck for the flooring for the same reasons. For areas with larger empty spaces (lounge and atrium), I used concrete columns for additional structural support of the beams. I also used concrete beams for easy blending in with the cocnrete deck floors.
The material and framing system selected
- Exterior load bearing walls: Stone structure with plaster finish - 19.5”
- Interior load bearing wallls: Stone structure with plaster finish- 19.5”
- Columns
- Outside columns supporting terrace: Circular concrete columns 24’
- Inside columns: Circular concrete columns 18’
- Beams: Rectangular Concrete beams 12” by 24” (Varying spans but all < 35’)
- Slab: LW Concrete on metal deck: might make ot thicker in future for more thermal insulation
- Isolated Column Footings: Rectangular concrete footing (72”X48X18”)
- Strip bearing foundation: Concrete strip foundation (36”x12”), 6’ under the ground level
The locations of structural columns and major framing elements
All my walls are load bearing and i only added columns in the areas that had a lot of empty room (in the atrium area, the lounge and the terraces)
Below are floor plans that shows locations of major framing system
Level 1 structural plan with column - footing missing here
Level 2 plan
Level 3 plan
Level 4 plan
3D Structural view
Inside view of linked models. I was able to avoid openings (hallways, stairs, atrium)
Any special structural challenges
The biggest challenge was column placement around the full curtain walls. For the front curtain wall, I had columns both inside and outside of the wall iiin order to fnd a way to place the beam system. A solution for this in the future could be to have partial curtain walls embedded within load bearing walls in these locations in order to allow for easier placement of the beam system while still allowing for great views. I didn’t have time to do it for this assignment but if the columns become a hinderance to spatial goals as well as views, then I would remove them and implement the solution.
Another challenge was a result of the wrong dimensioning of the building spaces. The building was supposed to be symmetric which would have made it easier to place columns and beams. But because I did not make adjustments after the initial sketching, the building was not completely symmetric.