Friday, September 17, 2010

Architecture Week 1: The History of Civil Engineering and Architecture

Architecture Lesson for Friday September 17, 2010

Last class we looked at ancient architecture. We learned (hopefully) that the earliest structures resembled caves and that as human knowledge of how to use local materials expanded, architecture evolved from the basic bearing wall system of stone, mud and clay, to methods that allowed us to engineer living space through Columns and lintels, domes, arches, and vaults.

This morning please use the terms below to conduct image searches of modern examples of these ancient building systems. For example, search for “modern domes”, “dome homes”, “dome structures”, “domes”, etc. Choose one of your search results and sketch it in 2D (I will show you an example in class). When you are done sketching in pencil, go over your lines with pen, add shading if you want, and use the definitions below to identify the building system and the definition given.

You should have 4 two dimensional sketches with labels and captions (the definitions) by the end of class. You will submit this along with lesson 1.1.1 work sheet.

Bearing Walls: Solid walls that provide support for each other and for the roof of a structure

Dome: An arrangement of several arches whose bases form a circle and whose tops meet in the center.

Post-and-Lintel Construction: Wall construction utilizing a framework of vertical posts and horizontal beams to carry floor and roof loads

Arch: A curved structure for spanning an opening, designed to support a vertical load primarily by axial compression.

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