Wow, those deadlines really get in the way of some good ol’ blog writin’ time. Sorry for the delay, I’ve been really busy researching cats, I mean working a lot. So, last week concluded the last of our discipline overviews. If you happened to miss last week’s meeting, we covered Engineering, and we covered a whole bag-full of it. There was a lot of information to take in, and I don’t remember anyone furiously taking notes, so in case you missed it, I’m uploading the power-points from class. You’re welcome.
Engineering 101 and Ceiling_Cavity_Coord_Presentation
As with the other disciplines, there was an activity to quickly show what engineers are required to contribute to the completion of a building. Each team was given a number of forms in a box representing different systems of the building: an “I-beam” structural member, MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) fixtures like an an HVAC duct, cable tray, and hot and cold water, etc. and were asked to provide the most efficient configuration of these systems while at the same time maximizing the floor to ceiling height. (We architects just LOVE a high ceiling…and so do tall people.) All the teams formed different solutions, and I think it was agreed that it was harder to do than it looked, now imagine doing that for an entire building, and a crap-ton more systems. This wasn’t really covered in the activity, but engineers do the brunt of the work making sure that these structures we’re creating are actually safe to inhabit. One famous engineering disaster was mentioned in the meeting, and is probably pretty well known to any architect, engineer, or construction manager out there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyatt_Regency_walkway_collapse. <–Occurances like that are exactly why this job is so important. And don’t be scared, it wasn’t just the engineers that are to blame for this, everyone got sued.
Now I’m going to open the floor to comments from any of the engineers, (hopefully someone will comment on this thing) because as an architect, I’m not quite sure I should elaborate on someone else’s profession. But, as I mentioned in the last blog post, I did intern at an engineering firm for a year during my senior year in high school, and I was taught that if I learned nothing else there, it was wise to remember three things as I went off and pursued a career in architecture:
1. Begin communication as soon as possible
2. Give engineers twice as much space as you think they’ll need
3. Worship your engineers
Now I’m not sure if these are entirely accurate precautions, but I still remember them! Nonetheless, these three professions work very closely, and each move that one makes, affects the other, so communication between makes all the difference. If anyone has any questions about this or any other topic, please feel free to comment on the blog or ask in class and we’ll be more than happy to answer it!
Next meeting:
Goettsch Partners office @ 224 South Michigan Ave, Floor 17
4:30 – 6:30 on 13 December
Like Amanda mentioned, we get to delve a little bit more into our project for our next meeting (I know it seems like forever since we’ve done anything for it). BUT, we’re picking a program, so unless you want this building to be a cat museum (my first choice) its best you show up to this weeks meeting and throw out a couple ideas of your own…
[PS: Anyone familiar with ArchDaily?? It’s a great website for current trends on architecture, and something that a lot of people in the profession, like me, check every day. Check it out 🙂 ]