Part 3

ACTIVITY: OFF CAMPUS

This class we visited the Brookfield Multiplex. This four-towered site plans to consist 2000 apartments, with a $60-$150 million budget for each tower. The building has two basement levels as well as a five-story podium, which includes parking and a few apartments. In the image below you can see the podium and the exterior walls, which have been temporarily boarded with timber sheathing and timber studs to prevent contamination in this publically used space.

Above this podium, on the sixth level there is to be a green roof. All towers are mostly concrete structures (both in situ and pre cast), with small amounts of steel as it is more expensive. The priority of the site is the program.

Tower 2 which you can see behind the car park in the above photo is currently in the defect stage. On the exterior of the building there are currently hanging painters, window defects caulkers, and window cleaners. While the lower floors on this level are occupied the top floors

are in the process of being commissioned.

Tower 1 currently has a lot of temporary works in place, including back propping and temporary scaffolding. The central core/main structural element in this tower is the lift and stairs area. This core is being made by a jump form system where the concrete is poured into the walls and layered with external cladding for protection. This Self-climbing jump form climbs on rails up the building through the use of hydraulic jacks.

The jump form is kept 3-4 stories above the top floor in construction. The remainder of the building progresses at one level of slab poured approximately every 5 days.

The main entrance is in stage 2. It has a bluestone floor and a steel trussed system comprised of pin joints to

Concrete structures

Five story podium with temporarily boarded walls

Crane & concrete pump

Stair/lift shafts

Temporarily boarded lift entrances

provide protection for this level. The lift foyer includes timber sprayed with MDF foxy paint and steel with a rust coat.

Walking through the ground floor of tower 2 you can see multiple service systems.

The below image shows a section of the building in stage four. It has four levels of back propping, and a gantry for floor protection. Nearby an old brick building remains with cast iron pipes.

A starter bar system is used to tie columns to beneath and above levels. You can see this in the below photo.

In the photo is also steel reinforcement; a combination of 32mm bars and smaller bars which are used to hold the main bars together as they support most of the load.

Embedded within the concrete slabs on each floor are post-tensioning cables. These are used to increase the tensile strength of the concrete slabs. The concrete is poured onto these laid out cables and which the day after are pulled to half strength and three days later pulled to full stress.

Ventilation system

Cable trays

Fire sprinkler pipe

Storm water pipe

LVL - laminated veneer lumbar (strong, lightweight)

Gantry

Starter rods

Reinforcing steel

ACTIVITY: DETAILING VOLUME

Vapour barrier- reduces chance of interstitial condensation

Caulk junction (water proofing) – prevents leakage

Vapour barrier

Caulk junction

Countersunk fixing (screw) – provides neat finish

Thermal insulation for external wall – reduces heat transfer

Timber framing/fixing block – prevents surrounding elements from moving, cost effective

Clay bricks – medium-low porosity/permeability, cost effective

Steel RHS – strong, expensive

Double glazed window – less heat transfer, energy efficient

Painted steel, strong, durable

CONSTRUCTION WORKSHOPACVTIVITY: DESTRUCTIVE TESTING PHASE)

Group One:Group one used a combination of nails and screws in their construction.

You can see in the above image that the perpendicular supports are closer together in the center. This was a clever idea and created more load paths for the applied point load. There design managed to support 110kg and deflect 18mm before failing. It failed through cracking at on of the knots in the wood, thus illustrating the potential weaknesses of natural timber, and necessity to spend extra money on better quality timber in construction.

Group Two:This group had an almost identical design to group one however, they sat their beam vertically while group one lay it flat. This group only used nails in their construction. Their beam failed at a load of 168 and diflection of 15mm due to cracking and splitting of the plywood at a point supporting a great load

Group Three (my group):We constructed our beam in a truss structure thus decreasing the force on each individual beam by providing more routes for the load path, as can be seen below.

Our beam through cracking in the plywood beams at a load of 320kg and 65mm. Our group managed to support the greatest load due to its trussed structure and hence its use of triangles.

Group Four:This groups beam needed to be clamped to the machine for stability. Their design was also similar to group one and two, however they had the plywood supports dispersed evenly along the length of the beam, reducing its strength. This group’s design fell apart under the tension in the beams caused by the load separated the timber from the nails. The design failed through crushing after warping at 45kg and 60cm deflection.

Closely spaced supports

Further spaced supports

All teams used only fixed joints in their construction as this was the quickest and easiest to complete under the time frame.

The main difference between working with actual construction materials and model making materials is the added amount of time and labour-intense work required to use construction materials.

KEY TERMS

WEEK ONE:Load Path: the direction/path in which each load will pass through connected members, ultimately transferring the total load of the structure to the foundation/groundMasonry: the use of stone, brick, concrete, hollow tile, concrete blocks, gypsum blocks, or similar materials in construction.Compression: -> = <-Reaction Force: Newton’s third law states that for every action force there is an equal and opposite reaction forcePoint Load: a load which is localized to a specific point on a structureBeam: a major horizontal structural member

Structural joint: the junction of two pieces, as of wood or veneer. There are three types: Roller joint: Pin joint:

Fallen supports

Warping

KEY TERMS

WEEK ONE:Load Path: the direction/path in which each load will pass through connected members, ultimately transferring the total load of the structure to the foundation/groundMasonry: the use of stone, brick, concrete, hollow tile, concrete blocks, gypsum blocks, or similar materials in construction.Compression: -> = <-Reaction Force: Newton’s third law states that for every action force there is an equal and opposite reaction forcePoint Load: a load which is localized to a specific point on a structureBeam: a major horizontal structural member

Structural joint: the junction of two pieces, as of wood or veneer. There are three types: Roller joint: Pin joint:

Span: the distance between two structural supports

Girder: a large principal beam that supports other structural membersConcrete Plank: a flat element used in roof decking and floorsSpacing: the repeating distance between a succession of like elementsStud: a vertical framing member used in timber frame wallsNogging: the horizontal member between two studsLintel: a horizontal member above a door/window that carries the weight of the above wallAxial load: a load that acts longitudinally in a structural memberBuckling: the distortion of a member caused by a load Seasoned timber: timber with a moisture content less then 15%Rafter: an angled beam, placed in a series, that supports the roof covering abovePurlins: a series of horizontal beams that transfer loads from roof into beamsCantilever: a structural member that is only supported at a single endPortal frame: a series of repeating structuresEave: a part of a roof that extends beyond the wallsAlloy: a combination of multiple metalsSoffit: the underside of a structural member Top chord: the uppermost horizontal member of a wall or trussDrip: a groove or interruption in the base of a projection that stops the water from travelling along the surfaceVapour barrier: a material that stops the course of vapour/moistureGutter: a channel positioned along an eave that collects water and transports it usually to a downpipeParapet: the section of wall that protrudes higher then the roofDown pipe: a pipe that carries water from a surface, e.g. a roof, down to ground level where it is transported to a drain or other water passageFlashing: an impervious sheet that stops water from entering a constructionInsulation: a material that decreases thermal and sound transferSealant: an impervious matter that fills cracks and joints to prevent water/wind transferMoment of inertia: 'the sum of the products of each element of an area & the square of its distance from a coplanar axis of rotation' (Ching, 2008, p. 2.14)Window sash: the framework that holds in place the glass in a windowDeflection: the bending/displacement caused by a loadDoor furniture: any item part of a door system that aids in appearance/functionalityStress: the intensity of the internal force within a bodyShear force: a force that pushes one portion of a body in one direction and the other side in the opposite direction

Sandwich panel: the attaching of two thin faces to a coreBending: when a force causes something to curveSkirting: the beam under a window stoolComposite beam: a beam which combines several materials but orks as a wholeCornice: an ornamental trim that lines where the wall meets the ceilingShear wall: a structural frame that resists lateral forcesSoft story: a story in a building that has large openings/spaces, prone to collapse in earthquakesBraced frame: a timber structural frame that’s vertical members (besides corner posts) only extend one levelLifecycle: the time period over which a material/building lastsDefect: a feature that decreases the durability, appearance or the strength of an itemFascia: a board that is implemented on the exterior vertical face of a corniceCorrosion: the oxidation/destruction of a metal that is caused by element exposureIEQ: indoor environment qualitySkirting: the beam under a window stoolComposite beam: a beam which combines several materials but orks as a wholeCornice: an ornamental trim that lines where the wall meets the ceilingShear wall: a structural frame that resists lateral forcesSoft storey: a story in a building that has large openings/spaces, prone to collapse in earthquakesBraced frame: a timber structural frame that’s vertical members (besides corner posts) only extend one levelLifecycle: the time period over which a material/building lastsDefect: a feature that decreases the durability, appearance or the strength of an itemFascia: a board that is implemented on the exterior vertical face of a corniceCorrosion: the oxidation/destruction of a metal that is caused by element exposureIEQ: indoor environment quality

REFERENCE LIST

Ashford, P. (speaker). 2014, May 19). Melbourne: University of Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNEl-fYRi_I&feature=youtu.be

Ching, F. (2008). Building Construction Illustrated. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons

Hes, D. (speaker). 2014, May 22). (lecture). Melbourne: University of Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhdfwGNp_6g&feature=youtu.be

Lewi, H. (speaker). 2014, May 7). Melbourne: University of Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqn2bYoO8j4&feature=youtu.be

Lewis, M. (speaker). 2014, May 15). Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx4tM-uSaO8&feature=youtu.be

Sadar, J. (speaker). 2014, May 19). of Melbourne. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NW_GibnyBZc&feature=youtu.be