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?
Land features are a very important component of a building site. They often dictate certain constraints on the construction of the building. Such as the on site exact location of a building or how deep a basement can be built. It is important to model the land features of the site so that the engineers and construction workers know what the site looks like and how it relates to the project. Without accurate knowledge of this type, they could make mistakes while building, especially when laying out the foundations. It is also important to accurately represent the land features for Revit’s calculations. Revit will help you layout your model based on the topography given. However, if the land features given are inaccurate the resulting model will also be inaccurate thus creating problems in the future.
When designing a project...
- Should the building adapt to the terrain?
- Or, should you adapt the terrain to the building?
There are a few circumstances where the terrain should be adapted to the building but for the most part I believe that the building should adapt to the terrain. By adapting a building to a terrain you are using the area the most efficiently, you are also creating less work for the contractors and less waste over all. This creates a more efficient and sustainable building process. It also forces the architects and engineers to think creatively and with innovation. I do recognized that there are cases where the terrain needs to be adapted. In these cases, I think that the changes should be done with efficiency and sustainability in mind. It is pointless to totally recreate the terrain of a site just to build a building. If this is being done a new design or new site should be considered.
What considerations affect a project team's decision-making when deciding the floor-to-floor height to use in a multi-story building?
- From a real estate developer's perspective?
- From a designer's perspective?
- From an engineer's perspective?
- From a builder's perspective?
- From an owner's perspective?
What are the advantages of stacking the levels of a multi-story building vertically?
- Can you share an interesting example of a building that doesn’t vertically stack (where the floor plates change their shaped radically between the floor levels)?
- What were the advantages or reasons for non-vertical stacking?
Stacking the levels of a multi-story building makes it’s modeling, engineering and building much easier. Once one level has been determined, the other levels are much easier to create than if non-vertical stacking was present. It also creates a very systematic load path for axial loading on the building.
However, not all multi-story building stack vertically. One examples is the Oasia Hotel in Singapore. Every approximately six stories the floor plans and stacking of the building changes drastically, rotating anywhere from 90 to 180 degrees. This allowed for the creation of a lot of open space and terraces within the building. This helps to promote community which is an important purpose of the building. It also creates a very effective natural ventilation system in keeping with the building’s focus on sustainability.
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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?