ABSTRACT

A thorough introduction to building for the non-expert, this book is a one-stop book reference source for knowing everything important about building structures.

Readers:

  • follow the history of structural understanding
  • grasp all the concepts of structural behaviour via step by step explanations
  • apply the concepts to a simple building
  • see how the concepts also apply to real buildings from Durham Cathedral to the Bank of China
  • use the concepts to define the design process
  • see how the concepts inform design choices
  • understand how engineering and architecture have diverged and what effect this has had
  • learn to do simple but relevant numerical calculations for actual structures
  • enter the world of structural theory and see how modern techniques are applied.

With over 400 pages and over 1000 user-friendly diagrams, this book is a must for anyone who has to or would like to understand the fascinating world of structures.

chapter |14 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|29 pages

Loads and load paths

chapter 2|24 pages

Internal forces

chapter 3|38 pages

Structural element behaviour

chapter 4|37 pages

Advanced concepts of stress

chapter 5|19 pages

Structural materials

chapter 6|40 pages

Safe structures and failure

chapter 7|31 pages

Geometry and structural behaviour

chapter 8|25 pages

Behaviour of a simple building

chapter 9|58 pages

Real structures

chapter 10|33 pages

Structural conception

chapter 11|52 pages

Structures and built form

chapter 12|61 pages

A simple approach to calculations

chapter 13|58 pages

The mathematical basis