BUILDING CONSTRUCTION I
In this course, students will develop an understanding of the principles and practices of construction technology in relation to site, building components which are below ground, like foundation, on the ground, like floors and staircase, beams and columns, walls, windows, doors, roofs and ceiling. Students will undergo a series of lectures, site visits and projects to have a comprehensive understanding and knowledge of buildability and the awareness of how buildings are developed in response to practical considerations involved in the process of construction.
Project 1: Famous Architect
In the first project, a group of 6 students are asked to visit a construction site of a 3-storey building. The aim of this project is to expose students to various construction elements, to enhance the principles of construction, sequence of construction activities, importance of basic detailing, construction joints and materials application through real life projects.
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Group members: Clara Lee Pei Lin, Tan Chin Werng, Wong Lieng Kam, Wong Teck Poh, Yee Mae Yuen, Yuen Xuan Hui
Building Project Name: Desiran Bayu, Puchong
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The slides below show the report that my group has done.
Project 2: Construction Detail and Specification
This is an individual project where a student has to choose a 2 to 3-storey building, and understand the construction detail and specification of the building. Then, the student has to draw the architectural drawings as well construction detail drawings of two construction details.
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The building that I chose was Y house in Japan and I chose to draw the details of the concrete roof and the metal open-riser staircase.
From this two projects, I have learnt about the construction process of a building, from its foundation to the finishing details in the house. I also have all the different specifications and details of each construction component, which is really quite fascinating once I really studied about it. At first, I thought it was just very rigid, boring and useless topic, something to just take up our credit hours (don't get me wrong, the lectures were still boring). But after the last design studio project, it just reveals to me how important the topic is, no matter how mundane it may be. Construction is an essential process in architecture, the heart of it in fact. Knowing your basics of construction will greatly affect and boost the 'believability' of your design. I learned that in this semester and I hope to never forget it.