Building Design and Building Science - Case Study Report: Fernley Hey

This case study report analyzes the building design and construction of Fernley Hey, a notable building in the United Kingdom. Built in 1954, Fernley Hey showcases contemporary and modernist architectural styles, inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. The report identifies the building's structural and non-structural elements, including its deep foundation, steel frame structure, flat PVC roofing, double-height ceilings, and open floor plan. It also examines the materials used, such as timber, camphorwood, York stone flags, and double-glazed windows, discussing their mechanical and thermal properties. The building's innovative use of materials and design elements for its time, make it a significant example of modernist architecture in the UK. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments for students.

Building Design and
Building Science- Case
Study Report

Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
Identification of the selected Building.........................................................................................1
Structural elements......................................................................................................................4
Non-structural elements and materials........................................................................................6
The behaviour of materials..........................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Building and construction science focuses on the ways in which construction process is
completed for designing and finishing construction of specific building. It involves
understanding the ways in which external environment affects the building to ensure that a
sustainable and long-standing building is constructed. In the present report the case study the
popular United Kingdom building Fernley Hey is selected to discuss the different components of
building design and construction. The Fernley Hey is one of the most famous pieces of
contemporary architectural styles in noted Kingdom which has celebrated historical and
architectural legacy even in the current day.
Studying this building can help understand the construction and architectural elements of
the past and the ways in which effective design and construction contributes to creation of
architectural masterpieces. This includes analysing the construction system, structural elements,
relevant materials and existing pathologies. The building selected for this report, Fernley Hey,
has been listed grade 2 which depicts its architectural importance. The purpose of this report is to
study the case study of an existing low rise building which was constructed before the year 1992
so that the its construction and design characteristics can be examined in the present context to
effectively understanding building design and construction concept in relation to housing
buildings.
The report includes identifying descriptive information about the building. In addition to this
data about the substructure and superstructure of Fernley Hey is provided in the present report.
Finally, the non-structural elements of the building are also clearly stated in the report such as
the floor, staircase, windows and ceilings. Finally, the building is also reviewed on the basis of
any marks of ruin on the building or any failures. If any failures are not present in the building,
then the characteristics which prevented degradation are examined in detail.
MAIN BODY
Identification of the selected Building
Address of the selected building
Farnley Tyas, Huddersfield HD4 6TY, UK
Location Map
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Figure 1: Farnley Hey House, 2022
Postcode of the selected building
DH1 5TT
Photography of the main Façade (front of the building)
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Figure 2: Time for a change: The Autumn property market, 2022
Date of building
1954
Purpose of the Building
The purpose of the building was a personal gift from the architect Peter Womersley as a
wedding gift to his brother. The building was created with the aim of developing a house which
merges with its green surroundings and creating domestic architecture which enables home
owners to have spectacular view of the surroundings. The high usage of glass and timber is also
unique to the building and was included in order to tenure that the domestic areas of the building
are filled with full of light. In this way the house was constructed to support modernist and
sustainable living for the couple to whom the house was gifted. It was successful in becoming a
symbol of modernized home in United Kingdom and is regarded as spacious and sustainable
home even to this day.
Design of the Building
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The architectural design of the building can be categorized as contemporary style. It also
has modernist elements and was inspired by the architectural style of Frank Lloyd Wright,
sharing similarities with his architectural work in California.
Building methods of the Building
The construction of house is simple with usage of timber stud building and open plans
style building. Of the building was unconventional for its time and requires usage of exotic
materials in construction which primarily includes timber. Domestic house construction during
the 1950’s in United Kingdom mostly involved the usage of sandstone to create the building
structure. In this way construction of Fernley Hey was ground braking for UK architecture.
Structural materials of the Building
The super structure of the building is designed t support open floor planning with usage
of various exotic materials such as camphorwood and York-stone flags for flooring to the lemon-
yellow Formica panels. Glass panels are primary materials in this building and their usage is
innovative and unique because it includes double glazed windows.
Structural elements
Substructure
The sub structure of the building includes a deep foundation because the surrounding area of the
building is filled with trees and greenery which required usage of strong deep foundations to
create a stable architecture. A deep foundation in architecture is defined as the type of foundation
system which lies at the depth of the ground surface. Under this foundation system the Lord of
the building is transferred from the surface areas which have weak soil or fields to the strong and
less compressed soils are locks deeply within the earth surface. The only disadvantage of
selecting a deep foundation for building is that it is more expensive than other types of
foundation with difficult process for construction because it needs more label skills and time
along with lower flexibility in construction. In addition to this it is also determined that the
foundation of farnley hey could have been with a minimum depth of 1 meter because the area
was filled with trees and greenery which have high water demand affecting the foundational
stability of the building.
Apart from this since farnley hey was a modernist building the construction method most
probably selected for the building could be steel frame structure construction. Usually under steel
frame construction mild steel is utilized which is immensely strong material for construction
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with a bar of mild steel having perimeters of one inch or 25 millimeter diameter. The advantage
of this type of structure is that it can handle strong weather condition an also creates a more
stable and structured building while also providing flexibility to the framing. On the other hand
the disadvantage of this type of construction is that still quickly loses its strength and can reduce
by half in terms of strength at reaching 500 degrees Celsius of temperature. This it is not
commonly utilized in houses or buildings which have to face harsh temperature conditions such
as skyscrapers which are very high.
Superstructure
When it comes to the superstructure of Fernley hey, Flat roofing was utilized during the
construction of the building which was unconventional for the time because most of UK
buildings avoided flat roofing. In context of the material of the roof most probably PVC roofing
it was preferred because it is the most common type of material used for building flat roof. The
double height ceiling was also present in context of the respective building which is another
major characteristic of modernist architecture enabling open areas where lots of light and air can
come in. This is advantages because it helps promote free living and usage of natural sunlight as
well as air to reach most part of the house fit for creating a suitable domestic building.
In addition to this open space flooring was also implemented in the construction of Fernley Hey.
An open floor plan is defined as a building which has layout with one or more than one large
open rooms that function as multiple rooms within a single living space. Under this type of
construction a common grade room is created which combines the kitchen dining room and
living room in French shared space. This was also unconventional for the respective building
becausr open floor plan inverse a characteristic of modernist architecture which was not
commonly found in United Kingdom and was more native to California United States then
United Kingdom.
In context of farnley hey the layout of the building is a four bedroom home with a large study
kitchen and dining room along with two reception rooms. This type of open floor planning is
advantages for domestic houses because it promotes but the usage of the area available while
also creating open spaces and reducing congestion inside the house. On the other hand a major
disadvantage in context of open floor planning is that it can be expensive and also create
unnecessary noises inside the house with the requirement of regular upkeep to maintain open
floor plan. In addition to the open floor plan farnley hey also includes an open area which is the
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main area of the house also known as the dance floor because of its polished floors inbuilt audio
system and double height ceiling. These characteristics of this part of the horse made it
favourable for hosting parties and even recording life music. In this way the building which was
constructed in the 1950s was quite modern and technology advanced for its age with benefits
being applicable for the current time as well.
In context of the material used in the building both traditional as well as an conventional
materials were used for creating the domestic house in the 1950s with exotic elements such as
Formica and glazed glass along with the usage of timber wood. This showcases that while the
building was created on the basis of modern architecture it supported the usage of traditional
elements and materials in its construction.
Non-structural elements and materials
The flooring of Farnley hey, Includes usage of white variety of conventional as well as
unconventional material. On one hand timber wood is utilized for flooring while it also involves
the implementation of camphorwood and York stone flags. In this way the convention
knowledge regarding architectures in the modernist movement during the 1950s both comes into
play when constructing the building. When it comes to timber wood flooring the mechanical
properties of this material include strength in tension and compression hardness static bending as
well as impact bending and toughness. On the other hand the thermal properties of timber
include Timber being a natural thermal insulator because of air pockets within its cellular
structure. On the other hand the camphor wood used in construction of the building which is a
hard wood has the high level of thermal conductivity because there is a linear relationship
between the thermal conductivity of wood and the density of the wood. In addition to this the
mechanical property of hardwood such as camphorwood include high axial and transverse
direction leading to better compression along with shrinkage internal stresses specific gravity and
swelling.
The yolk stone flags used including also have specific mechanical and thermal properties. In this
case it is an elegant and luxury flooring material for construction of the house property which
have Compressive strength and fracture toughness. In addition to this they have high resistance
to decay along with high durability because off better density compressive strength and porosity.
On the other hand thermal properties of stone include High conductivity because of high energy
density and external thermal conductivity which leads to absorption of large amount of heats
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quickly. The staircase of the building was also created with the help of timber because wooden
staircases produce less noise than other types of staircases and can be repaired in an inexpensive
manner. On the other hand the usage of word as chief material for building staircase of a building
can be very costly and expensive because it requires installation charges and also involves high
maintenance as working age and withering.
Finally the windows of the Farnley hey, Includes construction of slow to stealing double glazed
windows. The mechanical properties of this type of building include ability to reflect solar
infrared wavelength while transmitting visible light. On the other hand it is also a hard and bitter
material with great impact resistance against applied load. In addition to this another important
physical characteristics of glass as building material specifically glazed glass is weather
resistance and excellent insulation against heat electricity and electromagnetic radiation because
of good insulating response against visible light transmission. Finally glass is also chemical
resistance along with the glazing supporting Fire Protection up to 120 minutes making the glass
last one of the most popular choices for constructing large windows in houses and buildings. On
the other hand the thermal properties of glass include reflectivity transmissivity and absorption
level supporting control of the amount of daylight quality of light and amount of solar heat which
gets into the building.
In addition to this as a part of modernist building the farnley Hey Was constructed with flat roof
buildings which most commonly utilise PVC material for creating the roof. The mechanical
properties of PVC include High level of elasticity with height in size strength and fatigue
strength. On the other hand the material of PVC can also be brittle due to chemical exposure and
can have negative impact because of interacting with chemicals leading to lose bonds between
molecules of the material and increasing the brittleness of the roofing. In addition to this the
primary thermal properties of PVC includes Low thermal stability. PVC is sensitive to
temperature changes Really expands when heated and contracts when cooled. This thermal
property of PVC can be disadvantages because it introduces the threat off changes in structural
elements of the roof because of extreme heat or cold weather.
The behaviour of materials
The selected building does not have many signs of degradation because appropriate construction
methods foundation methods and structural methods were used for creating the building. Finally
he was created by using appropriate material and structure elements which supported the
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building in maintaining its architectural and construction legacy even after 50 years of its
construction. It is listed as grade two building by the United Kingdom and is one of the most
celebrated post war buildings in the country which showcases the importance of using the right
materials and structure remains for creation of the building.
In context of the specific building deep foundation was used to ensure that it is settled in the
surrounding area effectively and is not affected because of the greenery in the surrounding area.
Depp foundation played an important role in creating a strong structure which could last for
years because deep foundation in construction makes more permanent foundation repairs
supporting strong construction of the entire building. It also affects the stability of the building
making it much more stronger and durable towards weather changes as well as changes in
ground level elements such as moisture taken by surrounding greenery. In addition to this
another important characteristic of the building is that it has open floor planning which made the
building livable and purposeful for its domestic usage. The building was able to achieve better
results with the help of open source pacing because it remains useful in the present day and
enables the individuals and owners of the home to maintain a stable and healthy lifestyle inside
the house.
The modernist architecture of the building also supported its long term standing in United
Kingdom because modernist architecture Thursday advantage of using appropriate materials to
minimize carbon footprint and providing savings on various types of bills such as energy
consumption and usage of lick metals woods an modern glass. This type of energy and money
savings supported creation of a strong foundational and aesthetically appealing house which
remains popular choice of homes for United Kingdom general population even to this day. On
the other hand another advantage of the building is that it emphasised on functionality and
streamline usage of the building instead of ornamentation. The elaborated and decorated homes
and a different types of architecture such as classical architecture and Victorian architecture
require much more effort for up keeping an maintenance when compared to modernist
architecture which can be maintained for a longer time period without investing money and
labour on a piece of various intricate elements of the building. In this way less time and money
was invested in the upkeep of the building for more than 15 years making it more useful even for
future generations half a century later its construction.
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The clean lines and geometric structure also made the house more functional along with the
intentional symmetry supporting open floor planning and creating more spacious area which is
livable and less congested. In addition to this the usage of both traditional as well as
unconventional material in the construction of the house supported it’s better longevity because
it ensured that right kind of material are used in different types of construction in the building.
On one hand the usage of wood increase the foundational strength of the building as it was used
in much of the flooring and instruction of staircases. On the other hand doubled glazed glass
windows created an environment inside the house making natural light enters easily.
CONCLUSION
From the above report it is determined that the usage of appropriate construction methods and
materials is essential for creating a building which is able to last for a longer time. Modernist
architecture offers buildings which are treated with open source spacing and usage of
unconventional materials to ensure that it is functional instead of being ornamental and is able to
last for a longer time.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Carvajal-Arango, and et. al., 2019. Relationships between lean and sustainable construction:
Positive impacts of lean practices over sustainability during construction phase. Journal
of Cleaner Production, 234. pp.1322-1337.
Construction Sector Deal, 2019. [Online] Available through <is the construction industry
sustainable>
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application to the Portuguese construction sector. Journal of building engineering, 25.
p.100836.
Francis, A. and Thomas, A., 2020. Exploring the relationship between lean construction and
environmental sustainability: A review of existing literature to decipher broader
dimensions. Journal of cleaner production, 252. p.119913.
Lima and et. al., 2021. Sustainability in the construction industry: A systematic review of the
literature. Journal of Cleaner Production, 289. p.125730.
Pan and et. al., 2018. A framework of indicators for assessing construction automation and
robotics in the sustainability context. Journal of Cleaner Production, 182. pp.82-95.
Olawumi and et. al., 2018. Barriers to the integration of BIM and sustainability practices in
construction projects: A Delphi survey of international experts. Journal of Building
Engineering, 20. pp.60-71.
Adabre and et. al., 2020. Critical barriers to sustainability attainment in affordable housing:
International construction professionals’ perspective. Journal of Cleaner
Production, 253. p.119995.
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Saieg and et. al., 2018. Interactions of building information modeling, lean and sustainability on
the architectural, engineering and construction industry: a systematic review. Journal of
cleaner production, 174. pp.788-806.
AbouHamad, M. and Abu-Hamd, M., 2019. Framework for construction system selection based
on life cycle cost and sustainability assessment. Journal of Cleaner Production, 241.
p.118397.
Online:
Farnley Hey House, 2022.[Online] Available through
<https://www.google.com/maps/place/Farnley+Hey+House,+Farnley+Tyas,
+Huddersfield+HD4+6TY,+UK/@53.6131301,-1.7687274,18z/data=!4m5!3m4!
1s0x487bdbc234103c13:0xc8ee6a6b5c497121!8m2!3d53.6130744!4d-1.7682433 >
Time for a change: The Autumn property market, 2022. [Online] Available through
https://www.themodernhouse.com/journal/time-for-change-inspiring-homes-for-
modern-living/
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