Major Assignment - Update

Well, the idea of drawing up a CAD model has been officially thrown out the window. I imagine a physical model will be a lot more work but surely it wont be as frustrating as it has been for me working on CAD.

I have been working out dimensions and stuff for a 1:10 model and it works out that at this scale the model will br 340mm length x 340mm depth x 7000mm height. This seems to me to be alright, the risk is that not enough detail will be shown but I will try my best. On the Assignment instruction it does say to make a 5m x 5m section but I have chosen to do a 3.4m x 3.4m section because that it the span between two columns. Making the section model from a 6.8m x 6.8m section will not actually bring more information or detail to the model because it would just be repetition. The height from floor to ceiling I made at 3.6m and width I wanted to be as close to this as possible so that the grid was cubic.

Below is a photocopy of my workings sheet:

On the above image there is also a rough diagram of how I think the footings will look (bottom left) and how I want the model to show peeling away of layers on each floor.

Major Assignment - In-situ concrete CAD drawing

I have been trying for a few days to draw this really good detail but I have been having a really hard time. Here is the grid that I imagine and I'm trying to draw the ligatures but I have not had much luck with the cad tools thus far.


Detail that I want to draw:

Image from: ‘E Allen, J Iano, ‘Fundamentals of Building
Construction, Materials and Methods’, Fourth Edition, John Wiley
and Sons Inc., New Jersey 2004

My drawing so far:


I haven't really shown all my tries at different ways of making a wrapping ligature here. Its just getting really difficult and getting frustrated with it. I have asked a few of my friends for help as they are a bit better at CAD than me but I they cant work it out either. I have tried micro station and 3D Autocad tools. The whole point of in-situ is the re-enforcing and the form work so its no use leaving it out of my drawing.

If I don't work things out by tomorrow, I might have to resort to making a physical model. I'm just not familiar enough with CAD. I will make up my mind tomorrow.

Major Assignment - Change of plans

Ok, so I have decided that the design that I want will not work with pre cast concrete and I have tried and tried to make it work.
I am now going to use in-situ concrete to build. Here are some notes I have made on the topic:


Tonight I hope to start on a CAD drawing for the re-enforcing in the columns and the connection to the beams. We will see how this goes...

Major Assignment - CAD Drawing Update 1

Here is what I have been working on today. I made a column with an edge for the beams to sit on. I'm not really happy with the way that this will come together as it isn' t very clean. Ando's insitu designs would not have had such a messy edge piece.

Major Assignment - CAD Drawing

Here is what I have managed to draw so far in CAD.
I'm still haven't put a corbel in and I'm not sure how even the grid will look once its in.

Major Assignment - Warehouse Plan and Elevation

Here is the CAD drawing I drew up today showing how I want the warehouse to look.

(click on the image to see in close up)

I'm still not sure about how the windows are going to look in the office block. Tadao Ando would have done something similar to this:

Tadao Ando, 'Matsumoto House', Wakayama,1979-80
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Tadao Ando, 'Onishi House', Osaka, 1979
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In an Australian context, I don't think covering the whole wall with glass is a viable solution. Thats why in the elevation I have divided up the wall panel and put a smaller window at eye level instead. Still not sure if I will change the windows on ground floor to be different from first floor.

Plan:

So the car park will be wrapped by the wall extending from the office block. The dimensions of the warehouse have been skewed slightly from the original given so that they will play in nicely with the grid pattern.

Major Assignment - Hollow Core Research Update 4

Just putting up some of the details I found in the manuals from the 'National Precast Association Australia' www.npcaa.com.au

'Hollowcore Walling- Technical Manual', National Precast Association Australia, 1992

'Hollowcore Flooring- Technical Manual', National Precast Association Australia, 2003

Plank to plank connection:

'Hollowcore Flooring- Technical Manual', National Precast Association Australia, 2003, p.16.

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Plank to beam details:

'Hollowcore Flooring- Technical Manual', National Precast Association Australia, 2003, p.13.

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Bearing support details:

'Hollowcore Flooring- Technical Manual', National Precast Association Australia, 2003, p.17.
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Insitu connection detail:

'Hollowcore Flooring- Technical Manual', National Precast Association Australia, 2003, p.19.

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Wall panel fixing details:

'Hollowcore Walling- Technical Manual', National Precast Association Australia, 1992, p.14-15.
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Typical panel details at roof:

'Hollowcore Walling- Technical Manual', National Precast Association Australia, 1992, p.16.

Major Assignment - Hollow Core Research Update 3

I have been reading a few books on hollow core and here is the notes I have got so far to help me with my assignment.

Hollow core:

- Pre cast, pre stressed, excellent fire resistance
- Allows for fast construction as made off site
- Planks are 1200mm wide, thickness between 150mm-400mm
- Wall panels are standard widths of 1200mm-2400mm
- Casting bed is between 120m-170m in length, planks saw cut to size
- The voids allow sound insulation, reduce dead weight, conceal wiring and ducts, eg. lighting circuits. Slabs with heated are through cores can be used as a thermal mass in passive solar application.
- Topping on floor planks is a cement based skim coat to top surface of slabs. This allows direct installation of floor coverings as well as allowing the floor to act as one composite element.
- Structural topping a minimum of 60 mm thick for up to 200mm deep planks, 80mm thick for 300mm deep planks. Topping provides a level working surface.
- Non structural topping usually self leveling mortar at 10-15 mm average thickness
- Camber- topping thickness to follow camber of the planks or not, varies with each situation.
- Construction joints- saw cut made within 18 hrs of casting topping

Book list

Verge, G.C, 'Hollow core floor technical manual', 2nd ed, National precast Concrete Association of Australia, North Sydney, 199-

'Tilt-up construction notes / Cement and Concrete Association of Australia', Cement and Concrete Association of Australia, North Sydney, N.S.W., 1997

'Guide to concrete construction / a joint publication of Cement and Concrete Association of Australia and Standards Australia', 2nd ed., Cement and Concrete Association of Australia ; Homebush, Standards Australia, 2002

Helpful websites

- National Precast Association Australia, www.npcaa.com.au

Two manuals I was able to download have been even more helpful than the above books which I found in the library. They are:

'Hollowcore Walling- Technical Manual', National Precast Association Australia, 1992

'Hollowcore Flooring- Technical Manual', National Precast Association Australia, 2003


- Concrete Institute of Australia, www.coninst.com.au/

Major Assignment - Hollow Core Research Update 2

Ok, well here is where I am with the hollow core research so far:

The ground floor will have a poured slab and strip footing system so the research into hollow core planks will only apply to the first floor and roof, columns and bearers. The planks which I want to span the first floor for about 8m (not 15m), according to the span chart provided by www.hollowcore.com.au will need to use 205mm thick hollow core. (link to detailing manual)


- Load span chart:

Image from 'Detailing Manual', p. 7., www.hollowcore.com.au

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- Detail of 205 hollow core plank:

Image from 'Detailing Manual', p. 7., www.hollowcore.com.au
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I've also found some great details which may assist with understanding how this will all get put together:

- Detail of beam, column, hollow core connection:

Image from 'Detailing Manual', p. 33., www.hollowcore.com.au

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- Detail of cobel wall to hollow core plank flooring:

Image from 'Detailing Manual', p. 35., www.hollowcore.com.au

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- Detail of wall to hollow core connection:

Image from 'Detailing Manual', p. 36., www.hollowcore.com.au
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- Another detail of wall to hollow core connection:

Image from 'Detailing Manual', p. 36., www.hollowcore.com.au
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- Detail of column base connection:

Image from 'Detailing Manual', p. 40., www.hollowcore.com.au

Major Assignment- Hollow Core Research Update 1

I looked a little into hollow core products at http://www.hollowcore.com.au/and would like to use hollow core slabs for the floors in the office block on the first floor. I would like to use the product for the walls as well.
For the first floor of the office, I will need to use hollow core that spans over 15m. Below is a drawing of the 400 thick slab that will be used.

Major Assignment- Hollow Core Research

Following the guest lecture on 'Hollow Core' concrete, 15th May, week 10, and the following tutorial, Chris and I have decided to use a hollow core system instead of in-situ concrete for the warehouse and office block.

In the tutorial Stuart showed us a possibility of how the office would look in section, using a corbel. I would like to use a concrete roof system, which I will have to research.

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For the warehouse we need to span 50m with minimal columns to break up the space. Thus it has been decided that we will use a steel portal frame roof attached with bolts to the hollow core wall panels.

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It has been decided that Chris will do a warehouse section and I will do an office section. I'm kind of interested to see how I can use the hollow core members to make a grid.

Current Events in Construction

Newspaper article in The Age, 14th May 2008

Major Assignment - Warehouse Design Update

After meeting up with my partner Chris Tang we got a few sketches together about how we want the office and warehouse to look. We have settled on a gird kind of design with will be carried through on the warhouse with columns with engaged wall panels. Below are some pictures which we have used for inspiration:

Tadao Ando, Art Gallery Complex, Tokyo design, 1977

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Tadao Ando, Onishi house, Osaka, 1979
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Tadao Ando, Matsumoto House, Wakayama, 1979-80
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Tadao Ando, Fuku House, Wakayama, 1979-80
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Plan showing a wall extending out from office block to wrap around car park. Also shows a curved wall in the office block with a stairway following and piercing through this wall to the first floor. These kind of details are typical of Tadao Ando. (see images above)

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Perspective showing how the office block will be a grid

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Elevation of the office block

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How the warehouse might be put together. Obviously the columns will be repeated either site. I imagine the columns will be engaged with the wall.


This Thursday Chris and I plan to talk to our tutor Stuart about exactly how we can connect the roof to the warehouse, weather we have to use all concrete or perhaps a steel portal frame roof? Also I need some help understanding how the office grid will work in pre cast concrete, or should we design in situ concrete as Ando would have done. I'm pretty sure that pre cast panels could be made to have the form work tie dots that Ando uses as architectural detail.

Current Events in Construction

Newspaper article in The Age, 7th May 2008

Major Assignment- Inspirational Architect

Architect: Tadao Ando, 1995 Laureate of the Pritzker Architecture Prize

photo source: http://www.pritzkerprize.com/ppg7.htm

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Short bio and philosophy:
Ando is a Japanese architect based in Osaka. He is entirely self- taught and had no study under a master architect. He developed his understanding of architecture through extensive reading and site visits to actual buildings in study trips to Europe and the United States, during which he kept detailed sketch books.

Ando describes the goal of his architecture- "to endow space with meaning by using the natural elements and varied aspects of everyday life. The forms I've designed have acquired meaning from their relationship to the elements of nature: light and air, indications of the passing of time and the changes in the seasons."

Quote from A. Zabalbeascoa, J.R. Marcos, Tadao Ando : architecture and spirit = arquitectura y espíritu, Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, 1998, p.56.

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Building material: in-situ concrete
His primary building material is in-situ concrete which he has refined to an art form. His concrete has been described as 'smooth as silk', a quality which owes much to the high level of carpentry available in Japan to construct wooden form work in projects. The outcome of bolts holding the form work together, Ando's concrete typically has evenly spaced holes in the surface.

Part of my research will require me to read up on the techniques used to build in-situ concrete the way Ando prefers.

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Examples of work:

Tadao Ando, UNESCO Meditation Space, 'Pavilion exterior view', Paris, Completed 1995

Tadao Ando, UNESCO Meditation Space, 'view of pavilion roof and the overhead skylights from inside the building', Paris, Completed 1995

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Tadao Ando, Church of Light, 'interior view', Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan, Completed 1989

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Tadao Ando, Chapel on Mount Rokko, 'view from inside the temple of the entrance area', Nada, Kobe, Japan, Completed 1986

Tadao Ando, Chapel on Mount Rokko, 'the entrance gallery', Nada, Kobe, Japan, Completed 1986

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Tadao Ando, Vicariate of Rome, 'interior view of church', Rome, Completed 1996

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Tadao Ando, Town House in Hirano, 'Entrance', Hirano, Osaka, Japan, Completed 1996

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Tadao Ando, Naoshima Museum of Contemporary Art Annex, 'Interior illumination of the museum', Completed 1995

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Bibliography:
Zabalbeascoa, A, Marcos, J.R, Tadao Ando : architecture and spirit = arquitectura y espíritu, Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, 1998. All example images were photocopied from this book.

The Pritzker Architecture Prize, 'Tadao Ando Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate 1995', The Hyatt Foundation, retrieved 7 May 2008, <http://www.pritzkerprize.com/ppg7.htm>.