Construction Assignment: Project Management Assignment
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Added on 2020-05-28
Construction Assignment: Project Management Assignment
Added on 2020-05-28
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CONSTRUCTION AND PROJECT PLANNING 1Construction and Project PlanningNameDate
CONSTRUCTION AND PROJECT PLANNING 2IntroductionConstruction planning is a basic activity in managing and executing construction projects; it is a challenging field that requires detailed planning and being in tandem with technology and use attributes for the building. Planning and executing a building requires taking into consideration the choice of technology to use, the underlying building concept, materials, and the structure’s life cycle as well as how these interact. One of the important concepts in modern building construction is the concept of the overall frame and the services in a building. Buildings now requires services for heating, lighting, ventilation, air conditioning, and lifts, and with the demands on energy sources, energy efficiency (Thallon, 2016). Builders are also keen to keep the costs of construction low, as one of the approaches to attaining green building aspirations. The frame of a building pertains to the fitting together of material pieces to give the structure shape and support; with the commonly used materials usually being engineered wood, standard wood, or structural steel (Baldwin & Bordoli, 2014). Framing has two main categories, light frame and heavy framing. Heavy frame construction,as the name suggests, pertains to very heavy vertical supports for the building, and features such materials as steel framing and pole building framing. Light frame construction, on the other hand, isthe opposite and is characterized by the use of standard lumber with minimal materials used to achieve cost reductions and to have a large area enclosed at minimal costs. Light frame structures are further given strength using materials such as plywood (Alen & Iano, 207), (Thallon, 2016). This paper discusses the two aspects of construction; frame and services by evaluating two buildings located in the UK- the Gherkin (The 30 St Mary Axe) building located in the City of London, and the Lloyd’s building, located also at the City of London, on Lime Street. Comparisons will be made on the two buildings based on frame and services and sketches as well as images of the building structures also madeLloyd’s Building Frame and ServicesThe Lloyd’s building is an apt demonstration of the concept of Bowellism where the interior of the building is designed for maximum uninterrupted space while the building services, including the lifts and air conditioning, are located in the exterior. The architectural firm, Richard Rogers and Partners designed and built the structure between 1978 and 1986 (Lindner & Schneider, 2017). The structure of the building is strength / vertical with a rolled steel profile in which the steel columns cross section are ‘I’ shaped and its wide column flanges are wider and thicker than the beam flanges; this is designed so that the building can withstand compressive stresses better. Further tubular and square steel sections have also been used and reinforced using concrete, with bolts used for connecting the steel beams to columns, with rivets and threading also used as connectors (Kroll,
CONSTRUCTION AND PROJECT PLANNING 32010). Because higher bending moments are likely to be experienced in the beams, the central “I” shaped steel webs are are wider that the steel column web to resist the bending forces better. Looking the Lloyd's building, the use of a perimeter steel frame that is rectangular can be discerned. The building is characterized by a large rectangular central space surrounded by three services tower lifts and three main towers. Because of the Bowell nature of the design, the center of the building has high steel galleries that reach up to 60 meters; on top of which there is a barrel vaulted glass roof to provide natural lighting (Lyon, 2006). The galleries open to an atrium that are interconnected using escalators running in the middle of the structure. However, to reach the higher floors, one has to use the external services (lifts), with facilities like Internet cabling also located onthe exterior of the building. At its highest point, the building is 88 meters and there are various service cores on top of which are found cleaning cranes. The overall structure of the building plan ismodular and each floor can be altered easily through addition or removal of walls and partitions (Kroll, 2010). The image below shows the modular structure of the building frame
CONSTRUCTION AND PROJECT PLANNING 4Lloyd’s building design showing the modular design and external service columns/ towersThe overriding factor in the design of the building was flexibility with uninterrupted space, factors that gave rise to the building and it is designed so that maintenance activities and cleaning do not interrupt daily operations. The spaces are grouped, using its modular design, into service towers for the stairs, elevators, bathrooms, and machinery rooms; the towers are found on the exterior of the building. The site of the building was very irregular, hence the need to use the modular Bowell design with services, including lifts on the exterior to maximize the use of the available space. The main body of the building is rectangular, yet the plot it is situated on is trapezoidal, hence the use of external services is very innovative. The services have been designed in such a way that they can be easily accessed from outside of the building; this implies that needs for changes of improvements can be done; or augmented, with minimal fuss to the daily operations of the building. For instance replacing ventilation shafts need not interfere with the daily operations inside the building (Booth, 2014). The building’s main structure is made of reinforced concrete with main pillars and augmented with steel; this means the building can still be expanded upwards (vertically). The towerstructure consists of beams, pillars, and slabs and are all prefabricated; implying that its design and construction was futuristic, using prefabricated materials assembled on site. The perimeter and core of the building is primarily made of reinforced concrete while the central building body is made up of a few 10.8 x 18 m modulated mesh pillars, all encompassed within an independent coating stage system that consists of three glass layers with one ventilated layer. The outer skin of the building is triple glazed to act as an air tube, running the entire vertical length of the building from the floor to the ceiling. Within the coating are sandwiched stainless steel panels that act as fire retardants. Because of its innovative frame and services design, the Lloyd’s building has been given a Grade I Listing, becoming the ‘youngest’ building to receive the accolade (Waite, 2011). Below are images of the building; both complete and structural to show its frame and services construction and placement, respectively.
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