20 thoughts on “Reading 4 Reflections”

  1. This reading was some what confusing in terms of the calculations. I understand the rules of thumb however when it come time for me to actually try to calculate the span of a joist, I get lost and do not know where to start. I was able to understand the structural system mostly because I was able to connect it to the previous trip.

  2. This reading was a LOT of information to process. It took some time to understand some of it but I really enjoyed the sections on wood and masonry. I really did not enjoy the steel and it’s what I got assigned so I will get to know about it anyways. I always wondered how brick structures connected to their insides, now I got to understand that. It’s all just so neat and orderly and systematic this whole structural system. It’s not really possible to remember it all at once but I have a basic understanding now and it is easy to reference once you have the basic idea. I’d love to try a mini project of masonry or wood or even concrete to really “get” it at a deeper level of understanding.

    1. Understanding the basic concepts at this stage is what you need to build the foundation of your future learning. We will talk more about masonry in the next module so you should get to dive in to that a little more.

  3. Reading 4 had a lot of information to process. It took me some time to process the amount of information that was given, especially on concrete. At the beginning of the reading, I felt that there was so much information thrown at me. I never gave it any thought on how much goes into constructing a building with such materials as concrete, steel, wood, and masonry. At first, I found the concept of the rules of thumb to be confusing because I didn’t know how to apply it. After taking some time to read through and by doing additional research, I understand now how they come into play when designing the structure for a building.

    1. It’s n important point to realize how much goes into the design and construction of a building. And that level of rigor should alway be applied when working on any of your projects.

  4. One of the most interesting things in the Reading 4 was that different materials can span different amount of weight. Additionally, for each material there is a rule of thumb that helps you calculate the depth and the width of the material according to its span. At first, it was very confusing and I did not understand how to calculate it, but the discussion in the class helped me a lot.

    1. Glad the discussions helped in your understanding in the material. It was also helpful that you did the readi prior to our discussions so that you came with questions to clarify.

  5. Although this reading had A LOT of information, it was interesting to know that each material has a specific span according to its width and depth. Every material has a rule of thumb that it goes by. The calculations were not easy, as it was very confusing. The rule of thumb was nice to know, but not easy to follow.

  6. There was a lot of information to process from the reading and a lot of calculations to understand and rule of thumbs to remember. Trying to understand those rules and calculations were confusing on the though process behind it. But once I started to do the calculations for my reinforced concrete axon drawings, they started to make more sense. Using the rule of thumbs and understanding that in concrete, the columns are constructed first and then the beams and girders are constructed together and are then placed on the columns. Doing the drawings helped me understand the rules a bit more, and when and how to use them.

  7. There’s a lot information to retain and understand in this reading I had to read it twice to get a better understanding specially in wood and steel but it is really interesting how all of these material are applied to the construction. I really enjoyed concrete and masonry( concrete blocks) since these are the most common materials that are used to build in my country. In other hand the rule of thumb was a little bit difficult to understand as well but by doing the drawings I had a better understanding on how to use it.

  8. Reading #4 covered a huge amount of information. In my opinion some of the information was very encyclopedic and impossible to remember. But in general, the reading provided a lot of new and useful information. The reading clarified for me the “assembly” of structural units, like floor system for example. It also introduced the rules of thumbs for structural calculations which differ depending on a building material. I discovered a lot of new and useful information on concrete reinforcement, on steel framing and decking, and structural systems made out of wood. In fact, I feel that field trip to the Empire Stores made it more clear to understand the interaction of structural units described in the reading (for an example, what is bridging, where it is typically used, appreciate the size of load-bearing walls, and be able to distinguish the structural grid of the building.)

  9. Reading 4 was a hefty task to collect and understand the information. However, it helps me better to learn about the multiple rules of thumbs for each material. As well, it opened my eyes to what really goes into a structure and how every component no matter big or small is needed for a sufficient structure. In the end, this information would definitely benefit us, students, when going out into the field.

  10. in this reading, there was a lot of information and the way that it was explained a little too complex. but I feel that with the drawings, what you explained in class and after having some conversations with my classmate about the rule of thumbs and how everything works together in a structure I understand the main concept of these readings, which for me is that when building a structure every little detail is being thought about in order for the building to work how it is supposed to and that architects have to think about a lot even if they have someone helping them do the calculations as you were explaining.

    1. yes, the architect is the conductor of many not just the structural engineers. this is why architects need to understand all the disciplines and systems that go into a building.

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