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Structural Mechanics for Architects: A Method for Learning, Volume I

Structural Mechanics for Architects: A Method for Learning, Volume I

Author(s): Andrew Vernooy , Jordan Zignego

Edition: 2

Copyright: 2024

Pages: 76

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$86.00

ISBN 9798385149957

Details Electronic Delivery EBOOK 180 days

Faculty Review Copy

The first paragraph of the 4th part of Kenneth Frampton’s prescient book, The Evolution of 20th Century Architecture: A Synoptic Account, 2007, is a quote from Konrad Wachsmann’s thesis, The Turning Point of Building, 1961, with direct reference to the future of architecture: “only resolute decisions, based firmly on materials, methods and technology, could establish the true way ahead.” As we confront changes to architecture wrought by material innovations, industry, and science, in response to environmental concerns, a mechanical understanding of structural systems with a cogent mathematical intuition will be essential. Material, element and system design development will demand a conversant understanding of the concomitant structural principles engaged.

Volume 1, of a four-part series, focuses on load recognition and transfer, equilibrium, rotational statics, and beam diagrams. Our approach is simplified with an extended explication of the concepts, the equations, and the mathematical relationships involved. The expectation is that this approach will build a better mechanical understanding of how structural systems work, supporting the design process, communication with engineering consultants, and the understanding of construction. 

This workbook was conceived to be a companion to a broader course, which would address the form and construction-initiated content that implicitly accompanies structure in architecture. This series, which focuses on mechanics, is intended to be student oriented, easily accessible, methodologically clear, and reasonably contained, so that the student can guide themselves through the course, building an intuition and a vocabulary that will support their professional response to changes in material availability, structural logic, spatial requirements, and industry that are inevitable this century.

Introduction
A Good Place to Start 
Skills Development 
Unit 1: Loads and Load Transfers: From Top to Bottom! 
Unit 2: Vector Logic: Anatomy, Addition, Analysis
Unit 3: Rotational Statistics: External Loads, Moments, Balance, and Reactions 
Unit 4: Inside Members: Stress, Strain, and Material Stiffness
Unit 5: Internal Rotational Statics: Sectional Mechanics and Bending Resistance
Putting the Theory Together
Unit 6: Beam Diagrams: Load, Shear, and Moment

Andrew Vernooy

Andrew teaches design, design theory, and structures at the School of Architecture, Montana State University. Formerly the dean of the College of Architecture at Texas Tech, and the associate dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Texas, Austin, he has taught structures–based curriculum for 35 years. Andrew holds professional degrees in engineering, architecture, and urban history and theory. For 20 years he was the managing partner of the architectural and urban design firm Black and Vernooy in Austin, Texas.

Jordan Zignego

Jordan joined the Montana State University School of Architecture in 2021 and is the current director of the Community Design Center. Beginning in film theory and English, Jordan holds degrees in Architecture and American Studies–English Literature and earned his doctorate in American Studies–History. Jordan takes a multidisciplinary approach to architecture, combining his research in cultural memory and post–World War II design pedagogy with a practical and professional understanding of adaptive reuse, structural systems, and building construction methods. His greatest passion, however, is helping students discover their own path in architecture, finding what moves them about design.

The first paragraph of the 4th part of Kenneth Frampton’s prescient book, The Evolution of 20th Century Architecture: A Synoptic Account, 2007, is a quote from Konrad Wachsmann’s thesis, The Turning Point of Building, 1961, with direct reference to the future of architecture: “only resolute decisions, based firmly on materials, methods and technology, could establish the true way ahead.” As we confront changes to architecture wrought by material innovations, industry, and science, in response to environmental concerns, a mechanical understanding of structural systems with a cogent mathematical intuition will be essential. Material, element and system design development will demand a conversant understanding of the concomitant structural principles engaged.

Volume 1, of a four-part series, focuses on load recognition and transfer, equilibrium, rotational statics, and beam diagrams. Our approach is simplified with an extended explication of the concepts, the equations, and the mathematical relationships involved. The expectation is that this approach will build a better mechanical understanding of how structural systems work, supporting the design process, communication with engineering consultants, and the understanding of construction. 

This workbook was conceived to be a companion to a broader course, which would address the form and construction-initiated content that implicitly accompanies structure in architecture. This series, which focuses on mechanics, is intended to be student oriented, easily accessible, methodologically clear, and reasonably contained, so that the student can guide themselves through the course, building an intuition and a vocabulary that will support their professional response to changes in material availability, structural logic, spatial requirements, and industry that are inevitable this century.

Introduction
A Good Place to Start 
Skills Development 
Unit 1: Loads and Load Transfers: From Top to Bottom! 
Unit 2: Vector Logic: Anatomy, Addition, Analysis
Unit 3: Rotational Statistics: External Loads, Moments, Balance, and Reactions 
Unit 4: Inside Members: Stress, Strain, and Material Stiffness
Unit 5: Internal Rotational Statics: Sectional Mechanics and Bending Resistance
Putting the Theory Together
Unit 6: Beam Diagrams: Load, Shear, and Moment

Andrew Vernooy
Andrew Vernooy

Andrew teaches design, design theory, and structures at the School of Architecture, Montana State University. Formerly the dean of the College of Architecture at Texas Tech, and the associate dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Texas, Austin, he has taught structures–based curriculum for 35 years. Andrew holds professional degrees in engineering, architecture, and urban history and theory. For 20 years he was the managing partner of the architectural and urban design firm Black and Vernooy in Austin, Texas.

Jordan Zignego
Jordan Zignego

Jordan joined the Montana State University School of Architecture in 2021 and is the current director of the Community Design Center. Beginning in film theory and English, Jordan holds degrees in Architecture and American Studies–English Literature and earned his doctorate in American Studies–History. Jordan takes a multidisciplinary approach to architecture, combining his research in cultural memory and post–World War II design pedagogy with a practical and professional understanding of adaptive reuse, structural systems, and building construction methods. His greatest passion, however, is helping students discover their own path in architecture, finding what moves them about design.