Why do we need buildings?

It’s all to do with the Book of

Genesis

The human animal

• What is a human being?

The human animal

• What is a human being?

• A hairless, bipedal sub-tropical ground

dwelling ape

What type of environment suits us?

• Warm, 25-30 degrees C, not too wet,

not too dry

• Plenty of food to hand

• No physical threats (lions and tigers,

enemy tribes etc.)

• In other words…

The garden of Eden: where we really want to be

What environments do we actually live in?

How do we create the environment we need?

Buildings

The basic reason why we create buildings?

• To create artificial environments which

are suited to human life and activities

– All other functions (aesthetics,

power/control, cultural identity) are

subservient to this

– Even a prison must satisfy this basic

function or the prisoners will die

Essentials of a building technology 1: enclosure

• Enclosure:

– Separation of interior from exterior

– Control of heat flow

– Control of weather penetration

– Security

– Privacy

• Walls

• Floors

• Roofs

Essentials of a building technology 2: structure

• What goes up must come down…

• Buildings must resist:

– Force of gravity

– Wind load

– Snow load

– Impact load

– Live loads

• Basically it must not fall down

Essentials of building technology 3: materials

• What we actually use to build with

– Strength

– Durability

– Ease of use

– Cost

– Availability

– Aesthetics

• Bricks

• Concrete

• Timber

• Paint

• …

Essentials of building technology 4: environmental control

• The enclosure creates an internal

environment, which we want to return to

the Garden of Eden

– Heating

– Cooling

– Lighting

– Ventilation

• Windows

• Lights

• Boilers…

Essentials of building technology 5: utility services

• In the Garden of Eden we could drink

from a stream, eat from a fruit tree (with

caution) and nip behind a bush

occasionally

– Drainage

– Water supply

– Electricity supply

– Telecommunication systems

“Building Technology”

• We are not going to build the Garden of

Eden

• We are going to build a house

– How you build a house

• Building enclosures

• Building structure

• Using materials

• Providing services

• Coping with legislation

• And just a look ahead at bigger things…

More than just houses…

More than just building Technology…

• Creating buildings consumes resources

• Using buildings consumes resources

• Demolishing buildings consumes

resources

• We must become more sustainable

• But what does that mean?

• Over to you…