Oral+Presentations+(Summary)

GLASS

Glass is a fragile and transparent material used in many constructions. It was first used in Mesopotamia, but the term was developed by the Romans. The greater advantage of glass is its transparence because it allows the light into the interior spaces; it´s also a recyclable material, so it´s very eco-friendly. There are two types of glass: the common glass, used in windows, and the leas glass which is more durable and brighter. Glass does not deteriorate, corrode, stain or fade and therefore is one of the safest packaging materials. The Glass House, design by Philip Johnson, is an example of one of the earliest uses of industrial materials like glass and steel in home design.

WOOD

Wood is a natural constructing material with great characteristics. It´s an organic and ecological material and it is moderately strong, in stress and compression. Wood can be used for constructing solid systems, covering and skeletal system. It is a material with many advantages; it is a cheap and light material and it´s easy to transport and to work with, but it also has its disadvantages, it doesn´t resist very high temperatures, collapse under high compression forces and absorbs humidity.

SPACIAL ORGANIZATION A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement, but not every city is a good one. A good city is the one that has an economic environmental, structural, social al political organization in its space. The spatial organization is the tool used to describe the location of places. It can be describe with points, lines, areas and volumes, so spatial organization can be lineal, central, clustered, radial and grid. A city is not one if it doesn´t have citizens.

PROPERTIES AND SHAPES

The shape is the configuration of surfaces and edges of a two- or three-dimensional object. Shapes are classified into two groups: the two-dimensional shapes (square, rectangle, triangle, circle and arch), and three-dimensional shapes (cube, pyramid, sphere and cylinder). In architecture and Urban Planning shapes are essential in any design because they affect its development.

WALL

A wall is a vertical structure, usually solid, that defines and sometimes protects an area. There are three principal types of structural walls: building walls, which can be structural to support loads or partition walls to divide spaces; exterior boundary walls and retaining walls, which provide a barrier to the movements of the earth, stone or water. The walls were used to define spaces without the need for other elements, to separate the interior from exterior and to shelter the man from the nature.

POST AND LINTEL

“Post and lintel” is a simple construction method using a lintel as the horizontal member over a building void supported at its ends by two vertical columns, pillars, or posts. This architectural system and building method has been commonly used to support the weight of the structure located above the openings created by windows and doors in a bearing wall.The job of the post is to support the lintel and its loads without crushing or buckling and the beam or lintel bears loads that rest on it, including its own weight. Failure occurs when the material is too weak or the span is too long to support the load and the beam bends or breaks.

FRAMED STRUCTURES

The structure objectives are to limit the deformations, prevent vibrations and survive through time. A framed structure in any material is one that is made stable by a skeleton that is able to stand by itself as a rigid structure without depending on floors or walls to resist deformation. Framed structure is composed by horizontal and vertical elements. Some types of framed structures are heavy timber frame, American light wood frame, the light frame and steel framing.