ABSTRACT
The buildings in this chapter are grouped by their type of use but could also be grouped together by the type of space they provide. The basic, common requirement is that the buildings should provide an economic means of covering a large singlestorey volume. Scale has an important effect. With buildings of the size of those in this chapter, the structure always has a major influence on the form and appearance of the building and, in general, the structure takes the form of a frame or truss structure. The buildings, here, show some of the infinite number of variations that are possible within these two generic types. They also demonstrate how the architects have been able to exploit the structure in the design and to marry it with other elements. At this scale the movements that occur, for example, those due to temperature variations or accumulations of snow and rainwater, assume great importance in the design of the building. Examples of some other general methods of covering large spaces are given in the next chapter.
