Construction Systems

Week 01

Here you'll find are some notes on the contents for sessions 1&2. We'll also upload them to the Online Campus. Please check them there!
And here's our schedule this year. We've had a few changes -only 15 sessions this time! But we'll try to stick to it.

Year 2014-15

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Week 05

Here's the book about the things we do in India. Chapter 04 includes a precise description of some building processes, concrete structures too. Do check foundations and slabs, we'll keep talking about them.

Weeks 03 and 04

Great. So I made it, it works again.
These are the 2 exercises I promised. The first one is about that Abeille's vault you've been working on. The second one, about building strategies, facades and roofs. We'll talk about them these days.

Week 02

These are the links about moving huge weights you asked me for. Most (click here and follow the related links) are very simple Stonhenge constructions. There is a funny (and commercial?) website with these things, theforgottentchnology. In case you need detailed academic information, there are more ideas at Rabasa, E. Forma y construcción en la piedra. Akal. Madrid, 2000.

I also uploaded some links to interesting activities: Shigeru Ban, Bucky Fuller... Check them at the Agenda (right, section 04).

Here's the first exercise this year. We talked a bit about it last week, and you already have the meccano, so... Just check the dates.

We are going to see a few videos next thursday. Have a look at 1, 2 and 3 at least.

Starters

There you go.

Year 2013-14

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Exercises

All exercises are now on the online dossier.

Niemeyer again.

Rafael Oliva, the chief engineer of Avilés, sent us some brand new photos of Niemeyer's building. Check the website in case you need more information.

Week 09

This is a summary of this year's exercises. Please do check the dates. As you all know, you'll have to make a presentation of exercise number 3 on friday.

Week 08

Here's the program this week. Check the handbook and the online biblio.

We talked about exercise 4 last friday: each group will work on one of each Niemeyer Center's buildings (there were four of them, as you know) and prepare a small description of its design and construction. A similar example based on another building we prepared years ago is attached.

Week 07

Here´s some more info about Niemeyer's building. We´ll go to Avilés next friday, as you all know. We already talked about Niemeyer Exhibition at Fundación Telefónica: it might be a good idea to have a look at his work these days, or to go see the brand new exhibition on Francesco Lo Savio at MNCARS.

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Here´s the program for week 07.

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Week 06

There are some nice photos of the Niemeyer building under construction in the Centro Niemeyer site. Niemeyer himself presents his work in this short video.

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You can have a look at some other Niemeyer's projects at Leonardo Finotti's blog. Finotti is an interesting architectural photographer, check his online articles about Niemeyer.

Here's the program this week. Please do check the handbook and the new online biblio.

Week 05

This is the third exercise this year. We talked about it last friday.

And here´s the program this week. I´d want you to have a look at some chapters of the handbook (as always) and at a small book we made a few years ago, Maderas - Apuntes de construcción. It is very simple, but some of the images might be interesting.

Week 04

I would like you to have a look at some short books, Brickwork, Mud and Houses - How to reduce building costs, all by Laurie Baker. They are all very simple but contain interesting information that is difficult to find in ordinary handbooks. You can find more info, if you are interested, at lauriebaker.net. Lots of other interesting architects that used brick are on the internet. We´ll talk about Sigurd Lewerentz or Eladio Dieste next friday.

This week is going to be a bit different: we have one more session (friday at 13,00) and we'll use it to work on exercises 01 and 02. Here's the program.

There are some interesting links at Historia y Construccion again. Please check chapters 01 (Hormigón) and 02 (Fábricas). You can also have a look at the sites we talked about last week (ACI and others), and watch some videos we'll use next friday (Turning Torso 01 to 05 and Proyecto India).

Week 03

Here are some photos we´ll use next Friday. The first one is the Sacyr Tower, designed by Carlos Rubio Carvajal; the second one is La Caja Mágica, by Dominique Perrault.

If we have time we'll also talk about some different conceptions of steel structures. Here's an example: the Madrid Arena pavillion, built as a structural bike wheel.

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Here’s the third summary of contents. I’ll soon upload a new exercise on the visit we did last Friday. It’ll be short, don’t worry. By the way, it was me who took the Deplazes we kept in the classroom: I suddenly remembered I was going to need it to give you some bibliography clues…

Technical and commercial websites are quite important when we are dealing with construction materials and construction systems, as they provide current information about what industry is doing now. As I told you, we prepared a small web some years ago, Historia y construcción, with some information in Spanish. Have a look at the steel (acero) and concrete (hormigón) chapters, you’ll find some interesting links there.

These are some other links we’ll check next Thursday and Friday:
+ American Concrete Institute
….+ List of free publications
….+ ACI Journals

Week 02

These are the first two exercises this year. We talked a bit about number one last friday, but said nothing about number two. Don't worry, we´ll work on them next thursday. Sorry for the spanish in exercise two, we're going to share it with group B. I'll upload an english version soon.

And here is the program for this week. Please do read all the biblio, it is specially important this time.

Only a few links this time: test 01, test 02 and test 03.

Week 01

Here´s the first week program, incluiding sessions 01 to 04. You can have a closer look by clicking on the image. We'll make a short program every week, so that you can prepare your lessons.