AEC 101 MIDTERM (1-6)
1. survival - caves; protected humans 2. shelter - dwellings; changed because of surroundings 3. comfort - needs changed; surplus allowed extra free time
know the reasons for the first 3 building types in human development
strain
measures the local deformation of a material
codes
minimum standards
scaffolding
raised platforms used to support the workers and materials
Hammurabi's Code
-2200 BC -"if a builder builds a house for anyone and doesn't complete it firmly and the house he built collapses and kills the owner, then the builder shall be put to death"
Vitruvius
-an architect/master builder who recorded some of the most important building information ever documented -served during the reign of Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar and is the person we quoted at the beginning -his writings, which consisted of a set of 10 books, De architectura libri decem, were published in 1484, almost 1400 years after his death •contained a wealth of data "on building materials, rules of design, dimensioning of columns, temples, palaces, theaters, harbors, (and) building in water" -had a direct impact on changing the building practices in Europe at the time
Skara Brae
-around 2200 BC; Orkney Islands -migration had continued; brought their livestock, tools, and seeds with them -houses were built completely from stone, with the exception of the roof, which was supported with whale bones and covered with animal skins -the small village consisted of seven houses, each measured 20 by 18 ft, and had only one room -a covered alley connected these 7 houses so they wouldn't have to encounter the harshness of the weather to visit with their neighbors -the doors were about 4 ft high and made of stone; placed each door non a pivot -a square hearth located in the center of the room burned a peat to keep them warm and they had a water and food storage pit sunk in the floor -was served by a sewer system lined with stones -since the Orkney Islands don't have any timber and never did, even the furniture was made from a split stone -the furniture consisted of one or two beds along one wall, each one with stone posts carrying a canopy of animal skins -they slept on a mattress made from heather, an evergreen shrub-like plant that grows wild in these vast, northern areas -there was a stone shelf attached to the wall above the bed and a two-shelved dresser, also made from stone, on the rear wall
Augustus Coulomb
-bridged the gap between the "ivory towers" and the construction site in the late 1700s -was able to show the relationships of the mathematical models to the behavior of a building under static conditions--in a "definite and final manner" -he has become known as the founder of building statics and structural analysis after publishing an application-oriented paper in 1773 -was also the first one to recognize that the forces acting on a beam must be in equilibrium and if they are not, the beam will fail
The Sumerian Reed House
-built by the people living in the Tigris-Euphrates delta -a perfect example of using materials contiguous to then immediate locale -there was an abundance of reeds that grew along these rivers -these ancient builders, Sumerians, would gather them up and tie them into thick round bundles, known as facines -these facines then became the vertical columns that shaped the reed house -they would then use thinner and shorter facines as the horizontal members to complete the framework -the spaces between the structural members were filled with a reed matting -the roof was formed by bending the tall vertical facines inward and lashing them on the ends •gave the builder a couple of options in the roof design: one was to make the roof semi-circular and the other was to bend the reeds such that a pointed arch was formed •a vaulted ceiling was formed -usually, the whole structure was plastered with pisé •accomplished 2 things: provided an insulation and it formed a fire proofing, protecting the dry reeds in case of a fire -contained all of the structural members required to build a Romanesque or Gothic cathedral thousands of years later
Hoover Dam
-built during the Great Depression -would tame the flood-prone Colorado River southeast of Las Vegas, protecting cities and farms, generating cheap electricity to supply power to homes and industry, and providing work for thousands who desperately needed jobs
The Social Dichotomy Theory
-existed between the "intelligentsia", the ones that could write, and the craftsperson who was a bricks and mortar kind of guy---and couldn't write -the educated few that invented the first writing techniques simply didn't have much respect for the laborers who build the roads they used everyday to get to work, the temples they meditated in, or the houses they slept in •the writers ignored those who worked in the crafts -also could have been that they could not have written anything even if they had wanted to do so
The Fertile Crescent
-for thousands of years the currents in the Persian Gulf had carried off the silt carried by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers -sometime in the 5th millenium, this silt began to accumulate and created a tremendously fertile delta -the channels and lagoons teemed with fish, wild fowl, and game and date palms grew wild -this area, originally known as "Ubaid" in prehistoric times and is part of Iraq today, became known as "Mesopotamia," or the Fertile Crescent ~also better known as the Garden of Eden -has been given credit for providing the spark that caused the explosion of civilization and then end of the Neolithic Revolution (3500 BC) -initially, the marshes had to be drained -next, these farmers designed and built an elaborate irrigation system, which entailed the construction of dams and irrigation canals which were fitted with sluice gates to control the flow of water -reached a milestone: cooperation and teamwork -with all the success in growing crops in this most fertile soil, this early civilization created a surplus of food -the farmers found that there were other groups or villages in the surrounding area who had products like clothing or tools or pottery that they didn't have -a system known as bartering was created
Micro vs Macro Theory
-has to do with recognition more than respect
Koln-Lindenthal
-located on the Rhine river in Germany -was established by a Neolithic Danubian culture -is a good case study on the struggle by these early settlers to understand things like crop rotation and soil erosion -the site was home to about 100 to 150 villagers living in 25 "households" such as the communal-type buildings -it was resettled seven times, each time for a period of only 10 years, and then left abandoned for an interval of 50 years (over use of land) -farmers were never able to create a surplus of food -because they were not able to create a surplus, there would never be enough food to fuel a population increase
The New Order
-simplified the builder's responsibilities; led to a more complex building process -the sophistication of not only the structures, but of the societal demands, became too much for one person to handle
The Chunnel
-the tunnel connecting England and France under English Channel -3 tunnels go landward and 3 towards the sea
Life Along the Nile
-these early farmers contended with a much drier climate and it wasn't quite the paradise that was enjoyed by their neighbors in the Fertile Crescent -a lot of the grassy highlands and game had disappeared as weather patterns were altered due to the changing climatic conditions in Europe and the end of the glaciers -much less rain fell on the plains and the water table dropped drastically -as the swampy and uninhabitable area along the Nile River dried up, it was settled by farmers and became an ideal location to grow their crops -early Egyptians took great care to bury their dead •they would wrap the corpse in skins and bury them in cemeteries outside the villages •pots containing food and drink, ivory statuettes, and even cattle and sheep would be buried with the body -these early settlers became the nucleus for a civilization responsible for originating the economic, political, social, and religious forces that would shape the destiny of mankind forever
Uniform Building Code (UBC)
-was first introduced in 1927 by the International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) -demonstrates that there is an agency that is interested in safety, uniformity, and education
1. Mechanical Processes 2. Material Properties 3. Worker Activities and Performances
Builder's knowledge consist of what 3 primary things?
communal; animals and humans shared a home
what is meant by the term "communal" within the first dwellings created?
most likely was a combination of both humans had thoughts, ideas, and/or needs→wanted to create them→, technological innovations were made throughout process→inspired more ideas that were created by humans (cycle)
did humans drive technology or did technology drive humans?
architect
a Master Builder was the origins of what professional we have today but not back then?
speculation
a conclusion or an opinion reached by consideration, by thinking
centering
a frame used to support the individual units of an arch
stress
a measure of the local intensity of forces acting within a body
formwork
a mold used to contain wet material until it hardens
modulus of elasticity
a ratio that relates stress to strain
falsework
all temporary structures that are essential to the process of erecting (as well as decorating or repairing) a permanent structure -important because it is at the heart of how things got built
vectors
arrows that graphically portray the direction of forces
shoring
bracing used to prop something up nor prevent cave-ins in trenches and tunnels
available in the area
building materials used in ancient times were most often acquired from where?
No. Many of the major technological innovations in building science have not come from the architects, engineers, or master builders, but from someone outside of the industry or who worked at a trade -it was a churchman and politician who saw the virtue of the pointed arch -John McAdam, a businessman, came up with the first economical way of building roads since the Roman era -a Parisian gardener was the first known person to use steel to reinforce concrete, thus giving it additional structural strength -Joseph Aspdin, a bricklayer on the Isle of Portland off the coast of England, put together the right ingredients to make Portland cement
did all technical developments in the built environment exclusively come from people who are directly involved in (AEC) built environment? Know an example
tensile stress
stress caused by forces trying to pull a material apart
strength of materials
the ability of a material to resist loads or the level of stress that causes the materials to fail
compressive stress
the opposite of tension
elasticity
the property of the material that brings it back to its original size/shape after being deformed
statics
the study of forces and bodies at rest
live load
the weight of the non-permanent items in or on a structure that change over time
dead load
the weight of the structure itself
moments
they measure a force times the distance from a connected oint
International Organization for Standardization (ISO 9000)
was first published in 1987 to provide standards for the emerging European Community (EC), covers a variety of industries, including construction, and focuses on quality
scaffolding, formwork, centering, shoring
what are the 4 categories of falsework?
1. general usage (commercial, residential, ritual, industrial) 2. specific function (hospital, school, office building, house, church, warehouse, prisons, power plants) 3. materials used (concrete, steel, wood) 4. the era in which they were built
what are the 4 ways the author indicates that buildings can be classified?
intuition, innovativeness, creativity, inventiveness, ingenuity
what are the 5 qualities of the ancient builder as well as the contemporary builder?
1. farm 2. surplus 3. trade or bartering 4. taxation and politician 5. documentation
what are the 5 steps of progress?
speculation, data collection, consideration phase, speculation phase and conclusion
what are the clues to finding the "how"?
1. AEC 315: Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Systems AEC 270: Statics and Strengths of Materials AEC 344: Structural Design 2. AEC 204: Materials and Methods of Construction BCT 445: Soils and Foundations 3. ACTIVITIES - BCT 380: Construction Safety BCT 377: Construction Project Management AEC 496: Internship PERFORMANCES - AEC 254: Estimating 1 AEC 354: Estimating 2 AEC 288: Construction Scheduling BCT 333: Project Controls
what are the courses in your degree plan related to the 3 knowledge sets?
Provide: -labor force -access roads -tools and equipment -falsework -site utilities
what are the responsibilities of the builder?
increased complexity
what caused the emergence of the specialist?
crop rotation to make a surplus -just getting by did not leave anything extra to make more than was needed
what concept was mentioned that allowed humans to improve upon conditions and techniques of built environment?
"there is no architecture without construction"
what did the Norwegian architect, Sverre Fehn, say that is very important to all disciplines in the built environment?
need; for a builder to exist, there has to be a need
what is a single-summary term that applies to all builders?
megaron type house -generally had 2 rooms, one was the kitchen and the other the bedroom, and each was equipped with a hearth. -the walls were insulated with a birch bark and there was a planked patio in the front
what is another name for the single-family houses made after communal houses? describe it.
a method that the Greek civilization used about 2500 years ago to produce water near the ancient city of Theodosia. they built 13 pyramid-shaped rock piles from loose, limestone rock. each rock pile averaged about 40 ft high and was placed on the higher spots around the city. the sun would beat down all day and the rocks would soak up heat. at night, as a result of the cooler desert temperatures and the effects of the wind moving air through the pile of stones, moisture would be produced. the water was captured in clay pipes and fed into the city -first used by Sahara desert mice who would pile small heaps of rocks in front of their burrows and lick the condensation off of the stones in the morning
what is hydrogenesis? when was it first used according to the author?
invented by the people of Jarmo; a mixture of soil, preferably clay, tempered with chopped straw or dung, and mixed with water -can be either placed in some type of formwork and compacted, like we do with adobe today, or shaped into rough blocks or brick and left to dry in the sun -the material would disintegrate after a couple generations; people would knock down the old structure and build on top of it (mounding) -ex: jerusalem -8500 years old -example of using materials around you
what is so special about pisé?
"to study the way that our built environment was built (the how), the motivation that prompted certain things to get built (the why), and the cultures that existed at the time (the who)" there might be something that builders could actually learn from one of these past civilizations which would be useful to us today
what is the author's intended purpose of the book/text we using for this course?
everything that is built by humans
what is the built environment?
-NI: the builder was misinformed, he miscalculated, or he misjudged -I: knowingly did something wrong due to greed
what is the difference between intentional and nonintentional causes of failure?
harmony
what is the final outcome that both a composer of music and a construction manager hope to achieve?
the rationale is that with one company "in charge", the owner has more control and the process should run smoother than with an architect answering to the owner and the contractor answering to the architect -the conventional method with the chain of command from owner to designer to builder causes a whole lot of of finger-pointing when something goes wrong
what is the main idea that differentiates Design-Builders today from the more conventional builders of today?
vernacular = functional -in the beginning, buildings had one function: provide shelter and safety. there was no "bells and whistles". that came about when comfort and aesthetics were added
what is the meaning of the word vernacular and what does it have to do with the built environment?
1. Need - for a builder to exist, there has to be a need 2. Owner - if an owner has a need, the find someone to design it 3. Design - engineer/architect makes drawings 4. Build - drawings are given to whoever is going to construct the project; determine how long and cost 5. Architect/Master Builder - came from masonry and carpenters
what is the profile of the builder?
Jericho -first group came together in 7800 BC -desirable area and growing population -inhabitants eventually learned how to grow the grains in the valley, using the water that flowed from the western hills to irrigate their crops -area is known as the original farming center ~called the birthplace of civilization and the beginning of the Neolithic Revolution -were able to domesticate animals as a food source and then later to help them work in the fields -developed better tools to help them in their harvesting efforts -after the 1st rough settlement, a new generation of houses in the shape of beehives were built from pisé blocks ~a 12-ft high masonry wall and a round tower to protect them from outsiders then surrounded this community (didn't work) -conquerors then built a more conventional rectangular style house ~approached through a courtyard enclosed by storage rooms and subsidiary buildings ~in the main house, the walls were plastered and painted. the floors were also plastered and polished to a high sheen and then covered with mats of pleated rush. the walls were made of sun-baked pisé that had been shaped like flattened cigars. used wood for door frames Jarmo -formed around 6500 BC, not too far from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and was also a farming community -pisé ~houses were rectangular in shape and had several rooms and sometimes they were even set on stone foundations ~mounding as things became more settled in the Jericho and Jarmo regions, the population grew and the people began gradually moving elsewhere
what is the significance of Jericho and Jarmo in relation to the built environment?
lack of communication
what is the single most cause of mistakes in the processes that bring about a project?
caves (survival)
what was the first building type?
stone
what was the primary material used to build Skara Brae?
"Building Construction Before Mechanization" by John Fitchen -he was the first author to focus on the achievements of the builders, versus the designers, as the ones primarily responsible for our built environment "Man the Builder" by Gosta E. Sandstrom -a great documentary of the evolution of building
what were the 2 books the author attributes (gives credit) for completing the book we use for this course?
the Danube, the Elbe, and the Rhine
what were the great rivers in Europe?
9000 BC by crossing the Bering Strait land bridge
when and how did the first humans come to the New World?
forests, which contain trees, from which we get lumber
when humans moved from Jericho and Jarmo, some people went to what is now known as Germany. Since there wasn't pisé in Germany, what was there that the people were able to use to build?
ethical (even higher than professional)
which is a higher standard: legal or ethical?
professional
which is a higher standard: legal or professional?
politicians; people of high authority or priests -accounting, recording, arithmetic, geometry, writing
who were the organizers?
irrigation, fertile land, food from the fish and other animals within the river -created a surplus in food which allowed people to focus on creating other things and ideas -rivers were the principal means of travel and communication with other communities
why were rivers an important factor in human development?