Blog 3

 Structural Systems

Although Interior Designers don’t deal with structural systems, it is still very important for them to know and recognize the structure of a building they are designing. The purpose of a structural system is to carry the loads of a building and transfer them to a foundation. The main 3 types of structural systems are bearing walls, stud walls, and a structural frame. There are different types of loads when talking about structural systems: tension, compression, and deflection. There are also different types of structural forms such as cable or post and beam. The cable structural form is often seen in bridges. 

Other structural forms include trusses, arches, and shells. Trusses are found in many buildings with angled roofs. Arches are seen in many older historic buildings. Shells are less common but are usually seen on larger buildings such as warehouses.

Systems Throughout the Years

More historic systems include heavy timber and mortise and tendon. These were most popular when buildings only had wood framing. Wood framing is still used today, but steel, concrete, and masonry are also frequently used today. Steel is most popular for large or tall buildings. 

Alternative Systems

There are also alternative building systems. Some use materials straight from nature to provide a more sustainable building. SIPs or Structural Insulated Panels are used very similarly to wood framing. They contain Agriboar,d which is made of rice or wheat straw. Another system is Cobb, which is made from water, straw, earth, and sand. 

There are also other systems like rammed earth and cord wood. Some systems are used in areas where that material is often found. There can be bamboo framing systems or earth sheltered systems where the building is dug into the earth. There are also more unique systems, such as Gabion walls or Sandbag systems. Gabion walls are retaining walls made from interconnected wire mesh baskets that are usually filled with rocks or stones. These can be seen along the sidewalk to Lindner Tower on campus. Sandbags are also used as retaining walls. They are stacked to create a barrier.

Some materials from old building systems can be used to create valuable designs on the interior of a building. An example of this is used lumber from a barn or other building. Recycling materials is a great way to better the envirovnment and be a more sustainable designer. 

I chose containers as my alternative building system, since we had the opportunity to design a container house last year. I think that container homes are a great way to repurpose and reuse containers to benefit more people. There is a rough estimate of around 11 million unused shipping containers in the world. There are many on the island of Abaco, Bahamas. My parents have told me about the piles of them that scatter the island. These containers get used once and then become like garbage around the island. Some people without homes attempt to live in them, but they usually just sit around in the way. I think designing them to be homes and other functional buildings is a much better way to utilize shipping containers.