BUIL 1226 Lecture 2: Building Systems

How could we classify buildings?
- Types of activity (use) or occupancy (after NCC-BCA, Vols 1 and 2)
- Types of structural system
- Construction method
- Materials used
All these classifications can/may be used at the same time (concurrently).
Consider the following types of classification:
- Based on general building use (after Schueller, 1996)
- Based on all construction activity (after Halpin, 2006)
- Based on use/occupancy (after NCC-BCA, Vols 1 and 2)

Residential
- Low-rise buildings
- Mid-rise buildings
- High-rise buildings
Commercial
- Offices, retail, shopping centres, hotels, restaurants etc.
Industrial
- Light and heavy manufacturing, warehouses
Institutional
- Schools, hospitals, prisons, churches, museums, government buildings
Special
- Towers, sports complexes, convention centres, exhibition halls, bridges, airports, offshore structures, parking facilities
Mixed occupancy
- Urban high-rise with parking, retail, offices, hotels, apartments in one building

Residential Construction (30-35% in US)
- Single-family homes
- Multi-unit townhouses
- High-rise apartments
- Condominiums
Building Construction (35-40% in US)
- Schools
- Universities
- Hospitals
- Commercial office towers
- Warehouses
- Light manufacturing plants
- Theatres
- Government buildings
- Commercial malls
- Recreation centres
Industrial Construction (5-10% in US)
- Petroleum refineries
- Petrochemical plants
- Synthetic fuel plants
- Nuclear power plants
- Steel mills
- Heavy manufacturing plants
Heavy Engineering Construction (20-25% in US)
- Dams
- Tunnels
- Bridges
- Highways
- Airports
- Urban transit systems
- Ports
- Pipelines
- Water treatment plants
- Communication networks

Building Code of Australia
- Volume One – Class 2 to 9
- Volume Two – Class 1 and 10
Plumbing Code
- Volume 3
Website: www.abcb.gov.au

Type A construction is the most fire-resistant.
Type C the least fire-resistant.
The type of construction required for a building depends not only on rise in storeys but on maximum fire compartment size.
Example: 4-storey low-rise office building.

A system is any collection of interrelated and interacting components which work together in an organised manner to fulfil a specific purpose or function (Dandy et al, 2007).
Systems thinking is the process of understanding how things/components that comprise a defined system influence one another other
Reductionism on the other hand…
- an approach to understand the nature of complex things by reducing them to the interactions of their parts
- complex system is nothing but the sum of its parts
Can a building be designed and constructed totally from independent components?
- Beam is a beam
- Pipe is a pipe
- A duct is a duct
- Window is a window

Systems are made of a variety of sub-components, which are also systems
Components are sometimes called sub-systems
Systems hierarchy describes a typical structure of system components or sub-systems, themselves being composed of sub-systems
System boundaries are imposed so that complex systems can be broken down for analysis

Attempt to define buildings and their constituent parts in terms of what performance-in-use they should achieve over time (Groak, 1992).
- Thermal performance = minimum loss of energy from whole building over a defined period
- Functional requirement = design building to achieve ‘energy efficiency’
- Design/construction solution = provide insulation batts to ceiling
Is the design/construction solution sufficient?

Single chapter required reading
Many of the ideas and systems ideas for the workshop this week and next week are from:
- Bachman, L.R. (2003) Integrated buildings the systems basis of architecture. Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley & Sons.
- Chapter 3 – Integrated Building Systems (pages 32 – 47)
- Available online (Canvas)

Elements
- Thermal plant for heating and cooling
- Distribution of thermal energy to individual zones of the building
- Delivery of comfort to occupants
Mandates
- Temperature control
- Humidity control
- Ventilation
- Air filtration
- Smoke control

Building systems integration goals
- Components must share space
- Arrangement must be aesthetically resolved
- Work together (not defeat each other)
Put another way…
- Physical = shared space
- Visual = shared image
- Performance integration = shared function

Components must fit
Share space, volume and connect
Meshing will mean very careful planning for physical integration
- Ducts between light fixtures
- Ceiling cavity as return air plenum
- Extract return air through light fixtures

“Exposed and formally expressive components of a building combine to create its image” (Bachman, 2003)
- Overall building
- Spaces
- Rooms
- Individual elements
Collective placements
- Colour
- Size
- Shape
- Manipulate to desired effect
Can combine technical requirements with aesthetic goals