Frame Solution for Aston Martin Superstructure - Essay Example

Frame Solution for Aston Martin Superstructure In an endeavor to expand their business in Manchester, Aston Martin plans to build a state-of-the-art building that will serve as a showroom to sell and to make minor repairs for their models. As such, there out to be an appropriate superstructure solution that will depict both excellent quality and technology prudence of the firm, thereby improving its image within the environs. The firm opposes the construction of the single-storied building commonly referred to as the shed and as such, the high-tech building ought to be a multi-storied building. Owing to the topography and the aesthetic nature of the intended building, the selection of the materials ought to be done in a careful manner, in order to create a high-tech building that is both appealing and durable for the company. Various materials are available for the construction of the building, and as such, consideration of appropriate materials for the site is critical (Long & Cronin 2010). The key decisions concerning structure choice may relate to column layout, groundwork conditions, incorporation of building services, and the exterior partition erection. In this respect, steel serves, not only in the structure, but also in the building envelope, services and finishes. The constructors ought to coordinate these core components in a firm dimensional principle, while highlighting the modular components characteristics to ascertain maximum repetition and consistency in the determined framework outline. The column positions and main beams will serve critically to characterize the structural outline of the building. It is therefore important to establish the structural outline, and as such, the constructors ought to put mull over the following factors: 1. There ought to be a column placed at every intersection of two grid lines 2. A main beam must be in place along each grid line. 3. Idyllically, the grid lines ought to be orthogonal 4. Practically, the building shape and site may require some variations, since it is impossible to avoid irregular spacing and skewed grid lines. Nevertheless, such challenges are usually concentrated in small places, allowing the main building to be set out in the regular orthogonal shape. The exclusion of a column at a grid intersection may have negative implications, except if the supporting beams are above are also eliminated. There is an exception, where there is a possibility of increasing the structural grid by omitting columns at regular intermissions. For instance, removing the alternate columns will mean doubling the grid size, and plan the roof to span the enlarged distance. Besides, the multi-storied buildings serve to transfer the applied load pressures to the foundation. The key loads of such a multi-storied emanate from gravity and the wind. The structural frame thereby transmits these pressures from the application points to the foundations. As such, there ought to be structural efficiency, while controlling costs and the functions of other elements within the structure. This calls for a carefully planned choice of structural grid, which will then define column positions (Voll & Bardow 2013). Among the key materials used for such a state-of-the-art, multi-storied building is steel. One of the key advantages of steel frames in construction is their flexibility. Ultra-modern steel framed buildings’ designs lie on the principle of the structure as an independent load-bearing structure that bear both perpendicular and cross loads down the structure groundwork. This will capacitate the creation of large column-free internal places for the vast showroom that the firm intends to construct. It may also have some subdivisions by exchangeable partitions, and through the elimination of the external wall as well as the load-bearing element, it will permit the creation of the large windows for the display. Owing to the fact that this will be a multistoried building, it would take numerous designs of architecture, with critical consideration of its purpose. The floor for the showroom ought to have floors with a wide span and will have large column-free areas with air conditioning and under-roof cabling. Owing to the idea of highlighting the image of the firm, there will be a shift from the external load-bearing walls to the steel frame building designs (Zhu & Tang 2011). The development of this building will also depend on the development of mechanical services, and the passengers lift. The utilization of steel also tends to have a number of advantages, in that it will initially reduce costs as opposed to other materials. Besides, in an attempt to overcome the challenges of fire and the development of efficient modern construction methods, the development of steel structured building with a composite metal deck floors will significantly aid in the construction of the entire building that includes the showroom, offices, and WCs. Besides, though there may seem to be an increase in the cost of the cladding systems, a steady reduction in the frame cost in relation to the overall building will be observed. Nevertheless, choosing appropriate structural systems will be a significant factor in making the design of the building coherent, thereby making it a high-tech building as intended by the firm. The individuals key components in the construction of the building will definitely vary, owing to the function of the intended building , the intended size and the choice of architectural design, since it has to be a state-of-the-art building. The following approximations may be possible: Foundation up to 10% Steel Skeleton up to 20% Floor Structure up to 10% Cladding/Finishes up to 40% Services up to 40% From the above estimations, it is evident that the structure cost is low. As such, it would be significant to employ an expensive structural system, since other costs may experience a reduction. Besides, the longer span beams will give a greater flexibility and shallow floors will facilitate floor installation and reduce cladding costs. The implementation of these considerations ought to be implemented over the expected project life of the intended building, putting in mind that it will regularly entail foremost overhaul including replacement of services, furnishings, and probably envelope. It is worth noting that the material weight is less significant that the processing costs. The material costs will tend to represent 30 to 40 percent of the steel works. The rest costs goes to the design, detailing, fabrication, formation and fortification. As such, opting for larger steel to avoid plate stiffeners around holes and permit higher standardization will reduce fabrication expenses become ultimately cost-effective in the overall system (Lynn & Nagy 2012). Steel has an edge over other materials owing to a number of factors. Various constructors consider steel to have low waste generation during its manufacture and its utilization in construction. Additionally the capability of flexibility in steel cannot be overemphasized. Additionally, steel has been considered to aid in speedy construction, thus saving critical time in the completion of the construction projects. Steel is also appealing in its resource efficiency and adaptability. Another advantage of steel is its capability to demount, reuse and recycle, thereby having significant environmental and economic benefits. In its use with concrete, steel observably reduces the concrete amount in construction. As such, owing to its spanning capability, it will be critical in the construction of the Aston Martin building project. It is also apparent that the site for the project is scarce. Steel will result in larger unobstructed space. Another material to consider in the construction of the Aston Martin’s superstructure is glued laminated timber (glulam). Glulam applicable in the construction of highway bridges for a long time, and may be critically applicable in the construction of the Aston Martin’s structure owing to a number of factors. To begin with, the material is preferable for its versatility. It is possible to make glulam to almost any size, owing to its versatility. In the intended building, it will be applicable in the construction of arches and portals, lintel and floor beams, rafters and ‘A’ frames among other applications. The parts may be uniform, or disparate in length, depending on the aesthetic value that the building wants to achieve. Besides, the material may be straight or curved in a bid to meet the artistic value and efficiency of the building (Smith & Tardif 2012). Another critical advantage of glulam is the fact that it does not require cladding, in comparison to steel. In the intended building, the choice of glulam will be essential, and thereby come up with a structure that does not have individual protection or cladding, thereby saving on cost and time significantly, and improve the aesthetic value of the intended structure. Additionally, the building will require large spans. As such, glulam will come in handy, owing to the fact that it is applicable to spans of over 50 meters. This will thereby eliminate the limitation of the shape and the size of various showroom, offices and WCs designs. On the other hand, glulam material has the quality of having a high strength per unit weight. In comparison to structural steel and concrete, it is possible to fabricate a lighter superstructure with a resultant economy in foundation building. In the selection of the construction material for the high-tech structure, it will be critical to consider those that have a high resistance to fire. Glulam is appropriate, since it has high and knowable resistance to fire. In comparison to steel, glulam will not twist or spall in fire and it may attract lower fire insurance premiums than steelwork. Additionally, unlike steel, gulam is not susceptible to corrosion. Besides, it has superior resistance to chemical attack and aggressive and pollutant environment, making it suitable for the construction of the repair rooms. Besides, seismic and wind shocks perceivable to cause collapsing in other materials is eliminated in glulam. Among the numerous manufacturers of glulam, it comes in these quality and strength categories: 1. GL 24h, GL 28h, GL 32h 2. GL28c, GL 32c Another significant material to consider is the concrete. The utilization of concrete in the designing of superstructures has been applicable for a very long time now, owing to its cost-effectiveness. However though concrete used to be the most preferable materials in the single-storied low-rise building, it may not augur well with the multi-storied buildings. However, it also possesses it advantages in the intended construction (Voll & Bardow 2013). However, in situ steel or wooden formwork has to be used together with the concrete in order to create the columns and beams. The pouring of concrete will follow and the removal of the shutter will follow once the concrete is able to withstand diverse pressures. A crane may drop precast panels, and bolting is required in order to form a rigid structure. A significant advantage of concrete is its fire proof capabilities. Unlike timber and glulam, concrete will significantly withstand fire. Besides, unlike steel, concrete may not expand under intense temperatures. Additionally, it is possible to mould concrete into desired shapes, thereby improving its functionality and aesthetic value. It also possesses the quality of high strength to overcome compression pressures. Additionally, concrete may not require additional finishes. The reflection of design has critical impacts on the modern building trends. As a result, reinforcing structures with concrete are effective when bay size between columns does not go beyond 20 to 30 feet. This provides a perfect condition for constructors to employ flat-plate floor erection, where the bottom floor block is flat. Such floors critically saves construction time and increase productivity (Aicher, Reinhardt, H.-W, & University of Stuttgart 2011). However, some significant disadvantages are observable in concrete. Unlike other materials, concrete must require initial support before it can stand on its own. Concrete also requires significant craning, a cost that may be eliminated in other materials. Settling on the use of a steel superstructure may imply the use of a wood-framing system or a structural concrete slab. The former is typical in multi-storied light commercial buildings. The creation of the concrete floor slabs is possible through the installation of a pattern of steel pans between the superstructure beams and placing approximately 4 inches of structural concrete on the pan top. The result is an extremely well-built inflexible floor system. The benefits of such a floor include a strong floor structure, free from vibrations and noise from people walking or exercising on the above floors. It will also allow the high-quality subfloors for supporting tile and marble floors. However, the setback in such floors is that they lack in thermal properties present in wood. They are however cost-effective in comparison to wood (Levin 2011). Timber frame buildings are aimed at enhancing efficiency, innovation and safety. Timber produces great ideas in both interior and exterior setting of the building. While building a high structured building, it is crucial to analyses the importance and challenges of wood while building a high structured building. While focusing on the positive side, wood enhances sustainability thus while the other resources are expensive due to mining cost, wood is retrieved and transported locally thus reducing the cost. At the end of the building, concrete can cause disposal problem, whereas timber can be either pulped or burned for energy. Another point to consider is that the wood maintains the carbon they had retained during the harvesting process, and this causes warming of the building. This belief contrasts to steel and cement, which emit carbon dioxide as a fundamental part during manufacture. Initially, during calamities such as earthquakes the main aim of rescuers was saving people’s lives not buildings as structures were made of wood. However, building made from concrete would shatter, and steel would buckle. Wood buildings may deform and heat up during an earthquake, but they are easily replaced afterwards. It is believed that in the start to public opinion, timber is a good fire resistance making it an effective product to build. Fire accidents tend to destroy a beam from outside, and the wood retains its load bearing strength for a long time unlike steel that is destroyed as temperatures rises. It is also easy to work with as it is easy to remove and replace a wood hence making it efficient (Zhu & Pochan 2013). However, wood is faced by many disadvantages that could be a challenge while building a structured building. First, there is the deterioration of wood, which occurs both biologically and non- biologically. A Biotic factor includes decay, multi-fungi and bacteria infestation to the wood. Non-biographical agents include fire, water wind among other factors. Conversely, wood can be treated to prevent both biographical and non-biographical matters. These woods could be treated through drying, coating, drying among other treatment areas. In conclusion, in order to build is a durable and appealing structure. The building team ought to be careful when selecting the type of the building and choose effective materials for the same project. The key decision falls in the groundwork, column layout, and incorporation of building services among other factors. The team has decided to build a high storage structure, as it is more effective as it has a high speed of erection, which has high economic payoffs. Sketches Sketch 1 Sketch 2 Sketch 3 References Aicher, S., Reinhardt, H.-W., RILEM., & University of Stuttgart. (2001). Joints in timber structures. RILEM. Smith, D. K., & Tardif, M. (2012). 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