ABSTRACT
This paper reports on the endeavour to compile a pocket guide on structural design for architecture students. The guide is oriented towards use during design assignments. The paper touches upon three topics; first is a literature review of recent practical guides for the design of structures. A lot of invaluable sources exist, but none are exactly fit for day-to-day use in architecture studios. Based on this, a very concise, easy reproducible, go-to guide is suggested. The second part of the paper addresses the choices for the guides’ format and content. The link at the end of this paper gives access to the most recent version. The last section is a sample check of published rules of thumb to make preliminary estimations for the depth of structural members. The variety of such rules of thumb is very large, which asks for some thoughts when one wants to reproduce them.
