ABSTRACT
The ability to think in “3D”, the ability to visualize how a building is constructed, the ability to qualitatively understand building behavior are skills necessary to practice in today’s building industry. At our campus, architecture and construction management students participate in a series of hands-on exercises developed to link design, structures, and construction. Two separate courses have been developed which require students to design a space incorporating a building material. In both of the courses, the buildings are designed, engineered, and constructed by architecture and construction management students. In the capstone course described with this paper, the buildings are constructed with concrete and utilize wire mesh for reinforcement. The concrete models are built at 1” = 1’-0” and the students build the models using building techniques similar to those for a full scale building. Working collaboratively in groups of four, the students:
• Bend “rebar” (wire mesh) and place the bar for columns, beams, slabs, and shear walls • Incorporate design principles for lap splices, hooks, and development length • Fabricate formwork and create false work • Explore the effects of formwork on concrete finishes • Finish the concrete – screed, rough trowel, and hard trowel, etc. • Develop schemes for solar and water features • Learn first-hand about team work, collaboration, and construction sequencing.
