Week 4- structural systems

            During the reading of Tucker, Chapter 3, and the PowerPoint, I noticed how much more there is to structural systems than just making sure a building stays standing. The reading gave me a better understanding of why interior designers need to know how a building is structured even though we are not the ones designing the structural system. It made me think more about how the structure affects the spaces we design. The main purpose of the structural system is to carry the loads of the building and transfer them to the foundation and eventually to the ground.

In Tuckers Chapter three, he went over the three main structural systems we most commonly see. Bearing walls, these carry the load all the way to the foundation. You cannot get rid of a bearing wall without damaging the structure, Stud walls. These are the walls that only hold themselves up and help divide spaces. Lastly, structural frames are columns or beams used to structurally bear the weight in buildings. 

The part about structural basics stood out to me because Tucker explains that a structural system needs to consider stability, strength and stiffness, economy, and aesthetics. I originally thought the most important thing would just be strength, but the reading showed that a structure has to do more than hold weight. It needs to stay stable, resist different forces, and make sense economically while also working with the overall design. The different types of loads, including live and dead loads, also helped me understand why the structure must be designed for both the building itself and the people and objects using the space.

When I researched an alternative building system, rammed earth stood out to me because it is so different from the typical wood, steel, and concrete systems.

I researched rammed earth and became interested in how the wall itself becomes the structural component of the building. The walls are made by placing layers of an earth-based mixture into temporary forms and compacting each layer until it becomes dense and solid. The wall can include a combination of soil, sand, gravel, and clay, with the compacted layers working together as one thick structural element. The thickness and mass of the wall are what give it strength and stability, while the forms help control the shape during construction. What I found most interesting is that the structure does not need to be covered up because the compact layers can become part of the finished interior or exterior surface. From a sustainability standpoint, rammed earth also connects the structure and material choices together because it can use locally available earth and reduce the need for additional finish materials. This made me see rammed earth as more than just an alternative material, but as a structural system where the material itself contributes to the building's performance and sustainability.

Reading through the chapter and looking at the structural systems PowerPoint together helped connect the technical side of structure to what we see as interior designers. Something I found especially useful was understanding that the structure, materials, and loads all work together as one system.  Overall, this chapter helped gain a deeper understanding of how structural systems are important for interior design. The structure can affect the spaces, openings, materials, and even the possibilities for any design.