ENVS10003 Studio Journal Week 6 Christian James Virgona – 641276 ‘Primary Structure Model’ The task we were given this week was to be able to make a 3D model of the case-study building that we have been studying over the last three weeks, however it was only to involve primary (structural) elements. For our group, this was a benefit because glass was a major material used in our structure. The first thing that was required for us was to take a birds-eye view of our area to get an idea of the size and shape. Figure 1 shows my interpretation of the scope and some of the structural elements that we had to consider, this was the mezzanine level as well as the galvanised steel purlins that spanned and held the roof structure, the actual architectural drawings of my interpretation are seen in Figure 2.

After appropriately scaling our floor and cutting it out, our first structural element that we focussed on was the roof. We knew that the roof structure was made up of steel beams from our site visit, these steel beams had been bolted at both sides onto the existing brickwork to allow for easy connect. However, the skylight meant that there would not be a consistent distance between each beam. As seen in Figure 3, the architectural drawings illustrate the distance between each steel purlin.

(Figure 1) (Figure 2)

Once we had discovered the amount, space and span of these purlins, we measured the width of these beams to make gage how far apart our existing buildings would be. We knew that these beams had been bolted on each side, so we used pins to act as bolts. Figure 4 below shows how we pinned our card beams on each side of the beams.

After a long and arduous procedure, we finally had positioned our beams so that they were in correct positioning as shown on the architectural drawings (seen in Figure 6).

Our next structural element to create was our stairwell, our stair well had a rhombus shape (Figure 7), however it had to be able to connect with our mezzanine level as well. The walls of this stairwell were the same size. To connect the walls and floor of the stairwell to our hallway we used card ‘starter bars’ a starter bar is an L-shaped form of steel reinforcement which connects concrete walls with their slab to ensure optimum strength, Figure 8 shows our interpretation of the stairwell area.

(Figure 3)

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(Figure 6)

Once the stairwell had been connected with our corridor, our next structural element to create was our mezzanine level. We knew from our site visit that the mezzanine level was also supported by steel beam reinforcement, so we pinned 6 steel beams into the wall of the MSLE building which allowed for our timber flooring to sit upon it easily. Figure 10 below shows the mezzanine level and how it is supported by steel purlins.

This was the final product of our development, whilst it was a little crooked, we thought that our structure adequately showed the major structural elements in this building (excluding the footings). Figure 11 shows the final result of our card structure.

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(Figure 11)