ABSTRACT
The types of residential buildings that are included in this chapter are similar to apartment blocks and large housing schemes, except in the respect that they do not generally need to cater for permanent accommodation of family units and, therefore, are simpler to organize and plan. Looked at as structural entities, however, all these types of residential building are similar, because the subdivision of the floors, anyway at typical levels, allows use of the wall space for loadbearing elements. With the exception of those using a frame or staggered truss system, the buildings in this chapter all use the room dividing walls, themselves, as the loadbearing elements. If the walls are used as loadbearing elements, they must be lined up in plan at each floor level, in order to preserve the economy of this method of construction. The use of a loadbearing wall is an important method of building and applicable to a wide range of structures. It has more recently made a return in high rise building. In those cases where clear space is needed at lower levels, a standard frame may be used to carry the loads from loadbearing walls, or from staggered trusses, above, as some of the buildings in this chapter show.
