Future Steel Buildings/Development

Development of Steel Buildings

Construction Basics

Before proceeding with the building design, figure out the exact purpose of construction. Most of the time greater attention is paid to the final look of the building, not the purpose for which it has to be built. It is important to consider how big and tall a structure needs to stand. The time for which building needs to be used is also an important factor.

If the building needs to be used for long periods, steel is a good choice. It will give greater strength and durability. Steel does not bend, break or twist with increasing load. Changes can be made very easily to the steel structure.

Pre-engineered steel used for construction these days has pre defined points at which bolts need to be fixed.

The most impressive feature of steel is that it is recyclable and is very environmentally friendly.

Most steel buildings used for offices or even apartments are located on busy streets of the city. It becomes more important to consider the safety of the residents and people waking around these structures. Structural flaws need to be avoided at all costs.

Building Design

The design of a modern building involves a team of experts from different disciplines. The team needs to communicate clearly to avoid any undesired outcome at the end of the procedure. The concept of the final design of the building starts with a drawing. Here the architecture comes into action. Designers (architects) start making new drawings and sketches. A rough design is made initially. Any problems in the design need to be corrected in the early stages. With support from the structural engineer, the complex procedure of drawing a building structure can become easier.

There are two basic parts of a building design. First is the aesthetic and second is practical. The physical and visual appearance of the building needs to be attractive. It will influence the perception people have of the building. The practical aspect of the building design is mainly concerned with the space allotment for different activities. It includes entry and exit of people, lighting, acoustics, legal matters and building codes.

Computer Aided Design (CAD) is widely used computer software to create technical drawings. There is no need to make the drawing on paper. A 3D model of the building can be made using CAD. Visuals can be added to the model. Different colors and textures can also be applied. Most appropriate settings can then be finalized.

After the architecture is decided, it is important to work out the design of the framework. Beams, columns, bracing are decided by engineering calculations. It is the job of the structural engineer to give a shape to the architect’s idea.

Steel Frame

A steel frame refers to the building technique with a steel skeleton. Vertical steel columns and horizontal I beams are constructed in a rectangular grid. This grid frame supports the attached walls, floors and roof of the building. The development of the steel frame technique has made the construction of sky scrapers possible.

The cross section of steel columns has a shape similar to the letter H. the two flanges of the column are thicker and wider as compared to the flanges on a beam. This makes it better to withstand compression stress on the building structure. Square or round steel tubules can be also used. They are often filled with concrete. Steel beams are connected to the columns with fasteners and bolts. The steel web in I beam is wider than column web to resist higher bending stress and moments that occur in beams.