El. knyga: Form and Forces: Designing Efficient, Expressive Structures

The Boston Structures Group, an informal association of teachers, engineers, and architects, advocates the teaching of structures as a design discipline. The core team that created this book consists of five members, four of whom have or have had some affiliation with MIT (the fifth practices privately in Boston). They are joined by another nine contributors to present detailed information in the context of engaging projects for students regarding statics, bending and buckling behavior, long-span structures, beam and column formulas, and the choice and layout of framing systems. The emphasis is on graphics rather than mathematics. "Master Lessons" include designing with the flow of forces, precast concrete and sitecast concrete, an entrance canopy, and a concrete shell roof for a grandstand, among others. Illustrated with line drawings and schematics. The format is horizontal (11x8.5"). Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Here, in one volume, is all the architect needs to know to participate in the entire process of designing structures. Emphasizing bestselling author Edward Allen's graphical approach, the book enables the reader to quickly determine the desired form of a building or other structure, and easily design it without the need for complex mathematics. This unique text teaches the whole process of structural design for architects, including selection of suitable materials, finding a suitable configuration, finding forces and size members, designing appropriate connections, and proposing a feasible method of erection. Chapters are centered on the design of a whole structure, from first ideas through construction planning. Each project is carefully chosen to bring out the fundamental issues that are then learned in the context of the design project.