Finished Model

The finished product. Concrete panel, reo, gutter, gutter straps, corrugated sheeting, and insulation (blue stuff).
Steel Work with fixing plate, safety mesh, sarking, C-Purlins, Purling fixing brackets. ect.

Making Model

1:2 scale steelwork made from mdf. Used sealant in corners to simulate welding. The spray-paint being 'steel touch-up' type, made it look really realistic.
A bit of an experiment i must confess. I made a box from mdf then mixed up some concrete and applies a layer to it.

It seems to be working well!

Once covered, it looks like a solid concrete block, (part of a tilt-up panel). Got my roof cladding in the background.

Building Visit 3

Flour Mill Estate - Newtown

The mixture of brick and steel sheet cladding looks great together. Behind the colorbond the lower 1.5m of the wall is also brick.
The rear wall, 35m or so in length, entirely masonry.

Thus it requires construction joints. The sealant showing signs of age, probably making it the weakest point for water intrusion.

Overview.

Sarking, safety mesh, C-purlins, suspended ceiling to internal office space.

Got up high standing on the cieling of an internal storage room. Up close the junction of the C-purlin and rafter. Also sarking and safety-mesh.


Corner section of the roof, welded join. Note that end of trench mesh is tied to the outer-most Purlin.

Trusses used along with lateral cross bracing to support roof loads.

The inside of the front wall. 1.5m high brick wall with colorbond cladding rising to the ceiling + gurts.

UB built into masonary work.

A close up section through the cieling, shows colorbond, sheet insulation, sarking, safety mesh.

Years of lateral loads on the stanchion have created this failure in the floor slab.


This is not sheet bracing for the roof truss, the warehouse was formerly divided into two parts by the steel sheeting, but was removed. However there wasnt any need to remove the top section.

Site Visit 5

Rippleside - Double Storey Residence with elevator n'all.

Crumbled corner.

And along from that corner......

A large portion of a ledge where brick wall is to sit has crumbled......so it has been replaced with solid timber bolted on.

Building very close to site boundary. Not enough room to build stud wall.

So they are fabricated laying on the slab and tilted up into place.


Pre-fab Warren Trusses to support upper storey floor loads. Limited working space means that only the materails needed immediately are delivered, in this case the lower storey frame is complete awaiting these trusses to form the upper floor.

Pre-fab placement design plan.

Formwork with connecting clip.

Used and Un-used formwork. I assume this is re-sold or kept by the builder to used again.

F17 Hardwood.

Site Visit 4

Westfield Shopping Center & Carpark - Geelong City Center

Carpark from western face, 2 levels erected. Note the pylons in the background rising 5 storeys.

The complexity of tempory supports and bracing.

Air ducts ready to be installed on floor level of the carpark.


Heavy duty machinery required in a project of this size.

4m length of strip footing reinforcement bars.

Column reinforcement rising from huge pad footings. I can only imagine the loads from a concrete/steel 5 storey building.

This pit was part of the previous developement, the solid concrete block is new.

Site Visit 3

Former Carpark - City Center

An overview of the site. The lanscape surrounding is on a slope, so the upper face has been cut away where a huge existing retaining wall is located.

Strip Footing to-be.

Site Visit 2

Spotlight - Princess Hwy, Belmont.

Tempory supports.

There were a variety of cranes on site ready to lift pre-cast panels, ect.





Formwork and Reinforcement of pad footings ready.


Steel framework + gurts inplace awaiting precast panels.

Article #6

This article is an analysis of the procedure and the specifications of a 55 storey tower built in Sydney's CBD by Multiplex. It was featured on steel.org.au, so yeah it is a bit of a plug for steel, which can be a good thing as it goes into detail of the actual products used. From a management perspective the overview discusses why steel was used instead of concrete (despite being more exspensive) because they wanted to "jump start" the project saving time and resulting in less congestion on site.

Fragment:
......Andrew Merriel, Project Manager with Multiplex explained that: “During the design development of the building several areas of risk became apparent and Multiplex requested its consultants to consider the alternative of delivering the structure in steel. These risks were:
-Limited working hours on-site
-Increased time and cost to construct a transfer structure capable of carrying the much heavier concrete structure.
-Risk of differential settlement with heavier concrete structure compared to steel.........

Full Article:
http://www.steel.org.au/_uploads/3845Latitude_article_SCREEN_version.pdf

Article #5

Just saw this article in the Age. Thought it is pretty indicative of the way the residential planning and design is heading. Although I think it will be hard to change the perception of bigger is better, promotions of ‘smart’ houses like this can only help. Also good to see that the architects chosen will be local Victorians.

Full Article:
Call to end 'housing obesity'
BIGGER is not better, says Planning Minister Justin Madden, who has announced an architectural design competition to stop "housing obesity''.Up to four Victorian architects will be recruited to design "homes of the future'', Mr Madden said.They will be paid a fee of $25,000 to prepare designs for two homes. Each time a house is built using the designs, a royalty of 0.5 per cent of construction costs will be paid.The Planning Minister wants developers to start building better small houses, to put an end to the McMansion."Our increasing affluence has led us to build bigger and bigger houses — we are suffering from housing obesity,'' Mr Madden told urban planners at the Metropolitan Planning Summit yesterday.With government development agency VicUrban, the State Government will today launch a design competition asking architects to provide environmentally sensitive housing designs, to be built by VicUrban and the private sector."Rather than a bigger house, we want to see a better house,'' he said. "We want people to walk into a display house and say 'This house isn't as big as the one down the road, but it's better'.''The four winning architects will be paid a fee of $25,000 to prepare designs for two homes. Each time a house is built using the designs, a royalty of 0.5 per cent of construction costs will be paid.

Article #4

This case study shows the advantages of creating buildings with sustainability as a primary focus. The end result is a quality building that enhances the experience for the occupants and also has minimal effect on the environment. I thought it was fairly relevant being the type of structure that is the subject in this unit.

Fragment:
......The natural ventilation system is supplemented by air-cooled reverse-cycle mini-chiller units, connected to internally located two-pipe ceiling cassette units. The mini-chillers use hydrocarbon refrigerant to heat and cool the building. The units have a 15% higher cooling efficiency than equivalent HFC refrigerant units, and the hydrocarbon refrigerant has a
global warming potential of three, compared to the 1300-3900 common for HFCs. Combined, this is expected to save approximately 6.5 tonnes of CO2 pollution annually........

Full Article:
http://www.airah.org.au/downloads/2005-09-02.pdf

Article #3

This is an analysis of the process that was taken in constructing the Deakin car park at the Burwood campus, which was mentioned in one of our lectures. It was an interesting project in terms of its constraints, the building process was limited to 4 months over the summer holidays. The initial 3 level car park was designed so that another two levels could be added at a latter date when funding was available. The decision process on the method of building is explained, the result was steel frame with composite slabs. This proved to be the most financial efficient method within the limited time span. The requirements of the project are explained in detail and the processes by which the eventual structure characteristics where chosen are discussed. The reasoning for the flooring system, columns, fabrication, stairs, façade, surface treatment are discussed and specifications given.

Full Article:
http://www.onesteel.com/images/db_images/casestudies/carpark16cbp.pdf

Article #2

This article released by the Australian Constructors Association focuses on the financial aspects of the industry. Past results and and predictions on the future are published on a quarterly basis. It includes dot points on main points of an extensive report made by the association, this is the most recent report being released in May. Some of the key findings where:
· 2008 should see $72 billion of construction work completed, that being double of 2003.
· Constuction turnover should increase by 8.7% this year, down on 12.4% in 2006.
· Other data on the different sectors of the industry, e.g. engineering, planning, public infrastructure ect.

Fragment:
............Non-residential building (commercial construction) is forecast to maintain an upward trend, generating $27.9 billion of work in 2008. However, growth is expected to be moderate, with forecast rises of approximately 5% in both 2007 and 2008.
Apartment building sector work is forecast to decline further by 22.3% in 2007, followed by a lower fall of -2.9% in 2008.......

Full Article: http://www.constructors.com.au/main/index.htm then click 'Construction Outlook Report'.

Article #1

This article discusses the effect increasing numbers of ‘big box’, e.g. portal frame warehouse structures are having on society. The writer being American uses the example of ‘Costco’, which is a chain store, very similar in style to our Bunning’s stores. He believes that these stores bring out the worst in people, making them aggressive, non-caring, ect. The theory is that there is no pleasure in shopping at these places because the architecture of the building is so bleak. They promote an in’n-out bargain rather than a pleasurable experience. Personally however, I really like going to Bunnings ect. because they have a good, 'more bang for your buck' feel, and the warehouse structures are fine, I mean they are economical, easy, simple, and they stand up!

A really interesting article, probably more so for archi’s.

Fragment:
..........Neither inside nor out, do any of the big boxes relate to the patterns of landscape or local culture around them. They're homogenized from sea to shining sea, which is another facet of the anonymity they radiate. And it's contagious. Since warehouse architecture slipped out of the warehouse districts and into retail and even residential neighborhoods, we've begun to accept the concrete box as a container for other kinds of activities: amusement centers, movieplexes, churches. Cheap, ugly and expedient has become the default mode. It's everywhere, so it must be OK...........

Full article here:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/visualart/261002_architecture28.html

Week 5 Tute