Question

ARCHITECTURE

Take one façade of your chosen building and assume (for this exercise) that all solid portions are precast concrete. Diagram the flow of forces showing primary and secondary forces and differentiating tensile forces from compressive ones. propose a new shape for the façade that is more efficient and expressive of the flow of forces.

It is important that you pick a façade that is not completely glass and includes some continuous nonglazed portions from top of wall down to the ground. The building should also have openings for windows and doors.

• QUESTION 1 a diagram and brief commentary (around 250 words) that describe the flow of forces in your chosen building façade
• QUESTION 2 a drawing and brief commentary (around 250 words) that describe your proposed new, more efficient and expressive shape for your façade

Answer 1

QUESTION1

The loads imposed on the facades are transferred to the building structure through the anchors which attach the mullions to the building. The main loads that are considering in the design of facades are listed below,

1)Dead load-It is defined as the weight of structural elements and the permanent features on the structure.

2)Wind load-It is a normal force acting on the building as the result of wind blowing on the building. Wind pressure is resisted by the curtain wall system since it envelops and protects the building.

3)Seismic load-These loads in a curtain wall system are limited to the inter-story drift induced on the building during an earthquake

4)Snow load-Snow loads and live loads are not typically an issue in curtain walls since curtain walls are designed to be vertical or slightly inclined. If the slope of a wall exceeds 20 degrees or so, these loads may need to be considered.

5)Thermal load-These loads are induced in a curtain wall system because aluminium has a relatively high coefficient of thermal expansion. This means that over the span of a couple of floors, the curtain wall will expand and contract some distance, relative to its length and the temperature differential.

6)Blast load-Accidental explosions and terrorist threats have brought on increased concern for the fragility of a curtain wall system in relation to blast loads.

Other loads we have to consider in the design of a facade are given below,

• Rain
• light
• sun
• heat flow
• water vapour
• dirt accumulation
• wildlife(like birds)
• flood
• heil
• maintenance load
• noise and vibrations
• normal wear and tear
• theft
• smoke
• fire

QUESTION2

The shape of Facade depends upon various factors like,

• Acoustics
• strength
• Appearance
• cost
• wind load and wind direction

so we cannot say a fixed shape ,it all depends upon the design of the facade .The curved glass is thinner and more transparent than typical glass façades. It will not need intermediary mullions for support, which maximizes floor space.Likewise different shape have their own unique properties.