Contents Foundation Wall Floor Roof Plinth Wall Opening Sunshading Flat roof Pitched roof Vertical circulation Door Kitchen Sanitary room Appendix
BUK ETHZ Construction Structure 16 26 42 58 Building envelope 90 114 182 212 240 256 Fit-out 300 310 316 332 350
Contents
BUK ETHZ Construction
Paula Scheidt
Essay 4
When I look out of my window, I see two low concrete blocks covered in yellowish green moss and white scribble from spray cans. These two benches cling to the pavement next to each other on the other side of the street, in front of a vacant lot. One is two and a half meters long, the other five. In the early morning they lie quietly in the shade. But before long my neighbor, a retiree known by his nickname Skeeter, stops by, in his shower slides, to pick up the rubbish. Cigarette ends, empty bottles, condoms — the sad souvenirs of one night in Zurich’s red-light district. Skeeter doesn’t have to do that, it’s not his job. It’s just that he loves the concrete benches as much as I do. Later, when the sun shines through the branches of the lime tree, Skeeter enjoys his coffee sitting on one of the
Paula Scheidt
Essay 5
benches, a tray with sugar cubes and cream beside him. At lunchtime, young, chic people from the nearby offices unpack their sandwiches here. Some sit with legs drawn up, engrossed in a telephone conversation, others sleep off their long night out, using their rucksacks as pillows. There’s kissing and gossiping, singing and quarrelling on the concrete benches. I often simply watch the goings-on from my window, lost in my thoughts. Of course, I too have sat on the concrete benches. Changed my perspective. Looked up towards my apartment in a block dating from the 1980s, lovingly called the “Aquarium” by some because of the glazed oriels. Drunk a coffee with Skeeter. You can start up a conversation with strangers, or just sit in silence together without seeming im-
Paula Scheidt
Essay 6
polite — there’s plenty of space. And no one stays here for long anyway — the concrete’s too hard for that. Only recently did I realize that these benches do not belong to us, the community. I had always assumed that, because of the obviousness with which the parallel worlds collide here. With which all of us use the two benches. I think it’s that very special mix of urban detachment and village green idyll that we recognize immediately when we find it, because we are secretly searching for it. The benches belong to the housing association across the street, whose wisteria and fig trees grow in the courtyard beyond the benches. I found that out when I read the notices that the association stuck on the concrete recently, requesting people to be considerate, not
Paula Scheidt
Essay 7
too noisy. It also said that, of course, everyone was entitled to sit here. And it really worked. Since then, the patrons of a Caribbean hairdressing salon have kept their voices down in the evenings. Likewise, the students who stop by on their way home to drink a last can of beer. There are fewer late-night parties on the benches to wake me now. Not long ago I was looking for Skeeter. I went to the benches first but didn’t find him there. So I went to the neighboring apartment block where he lives. There are no names next to the doorbells, only numbers. I entered — the door is always open, I’d noticed that before. Skeeter lives on the ground floor in a single, small room. He has a bed, a chair, a cupboard and just enough space for two cooking rings. As I stood among his few belongings, I recalled earlier trips
Paula Scheidt
Essay 8
to poor, far-away countries. I now understood why he ate his meals outside. Why he regards my apartment, which he has only seen from outside, as luxurious. I was embarrassed to think of how I moan about it being too hot under the roof in the summer, about the rain leaking through the balcony door. For a moment I managed to see my own small world from outside. From Skeeter’s small world. Parallel worlds, two of many. How did I even meet him? It was the benches.
St Structure 9
tru Structure 10
uc Structure 11
ctu Structure 12
ur Structure 13
re Structure 14
Overview
Structure 15
Roof
Floor
Wall/Column
Foundation
Foundation
Structure 16
Foundation
Structure 17
Foundation
Structure 18
Foundation Systems
Structure 19
Raft foundation
Strip foundation
Pad foundation
Structure 20
Foundation Excavation
3
4
3
2
7 .00
m
≥1
8
approx. 2.0 4.0 m
1 .60 ≥0
m
approx. 2.0 4.0 m
.60 ≥0
m
Foundation Excavation
Structure 21
10 9
6
H
B
11
5
1 Formation level 2 Working space 3 Sloping side 4 Berm 5 Toe of slope 6 Top of slope 7 No surcharge on this strip 8 Drainage channel 9 Sheet pile wall 10 Anchorage 1 1 Angle of slope H/B ≈ 2/1
Structure 22
Foundation Raft foundation
6
1
5 4
3 2 7
1 Ground 2 Formation level 3 Underside of foundation 4 Frost line 5 Blinding 6 Raft foundation 7 Local thickening (for heavy loads)
Structure 23
Foundation Strip foundation
6
2
1
4
5 3
1 Ground 2 Formation level 3 Underside of foundation 4 Frost line 5 Blinding 6 Strip foundation
Structure 24
Foundation Pad foundation
1
6
2
5 3
4
1 Ground 2 Formation level 3 Underside of foundation 4 Frost line 5 Blinding 6 Pad foundation
Structure 25
Foundation Pad foundation Column bases
3
3
3
3
1 Pocket foundation 2 Packing 3 Steel column 4 Grout 5 Temporary wedges
4 3 5
5
3
3
5
5
1 Concrete foundation 4 2 Column base, cast-in 3 Sheet metal bracket 4 Timber column 4 5 Dowels 3
4
2
2 5
5 5
5
4
2
2
4 1
2
1
1
1
2
1
1
5
5
1 Concrete plinth 2 Steel sections, cast-in 3 Holding-down bolts 4 Baseplate 5 Steel column
5
5
1 Concrete plinth 2 Column base, cast-in bolts 4 3 Dowelled plate let into slit 4 Timber column 4 5 Dowels
4
4
4
4
5 4
4
3
3 5
3
3
2
2
3
2 1
1
1
1
3
5
3
2
2
3
2 5
1
1
Flat roof Warm deck
Building envelope 246
10
9 7 3 8
6 5 4
10
8 6 5 3 4
1 Concrete slab 2 Masonry parapet 3 Vapor barrier turned up to form skirting 4 Vapor barrier 5 Thermal insulation laid to falls, min. 1.5 % 6 Waterproofing, 2 layers 7 Waterproofing turned up to form skirting 8 Gravel for protection 9 Sheet metal flashing 10 Precast concrete coping
2
1
Flat roof Upside-down roof
Building envelope 247
11 10
6
9
8
7 5
11
10
9 8 5 7 5
4 2
1 Concrete slab 2 Concrete parapet 3 Levelling layer laid to falls, min. 1.5 % 4 Steel angle 5 Waterproofing, 2 layers 6 Waterproofing turned up to form skirting 7 Thermal insulation 8 Separating membrane, root-resistant 9 Gravel for protection, natural-style planting 10 Backing board, angled 11 Parapet capping, sheet metal
3
1
Angela Deuber Architects House in Thusis
Building envelope 248
Angela Deuber Architects House in Thusis
Building envelope 249
Angela Deuber Architects House in Thusis
Building envelope 250
Angela Deuber Architects House in Thusis
Building envelope 251
Käferstein & Meister House in Küsnacht
Building envelope 252
Käferstein & Meister House in Küsnacht
Building envelope 253
Käferstein & Meister House in Küsnacht
Building envelope 254
Käferstein & Meister House in Küsnacht
Building envelope 255
Daniel Mettler Daniel Studer
Nothing was always so 354
This book deals with only a small part of what architecture is all about: construction. In fact, only a tiny part of that. However, architects have a choice, and this reference book provides a quick overview. But how to choose? Like music, architecture needs instruments. Crucial is not which instruments we choose, but how they sound together. Architects have never built exactly like their predecessors, instead according to the standards of their times. Architecture and construction are as old as humankind itself and change constantly as our knowledge progresses. Many forms of construction are hardly used any more. At the same time, new methods of construction are developed continually, or forgotten methods are revived. Both evoke new types of architecture.
Daniel Mettler Daniel Studer
Nothing was always so 355
It is the aim of all building methods to achieve good quality at low cost. Until recently, minimizing human input therefore seemed to be more important than the prices, quantities and origins of the materials used. This view is currently changing: A sustainable circular economy calls for methods that spare resources and involve short transport distances and slower cycles of renewal. The intelligent use of machines must complement human labor. Choice of materials is becoming more important again. Given this context, we must rethink our buildings again and again: Forms of construction common today must serve as markers that have to be passed. Divided into structure, building envelope and fit-out, this book presents
Daniel Mettler Daniel Studer
Nothing was always so 356
forms of construction that architects frequently use as the starting point for their work, in order to develop the constructive situations for their designs. The building envelope is the focus of attention and generally presents the greatest technical challenges. Plinths, walls, openings and roofs are architectural hotspots that mark indivisible junctions between construction and design. Besides stability, it is also always necessary to guarantee protection against the ingress of rain or moisture. Overlapping elements or joint-less waterproofing will always be penetrated at some point, e.g. for a balcony balustrade, and that will require measures that can affect all the layers in the building envelope. The thermal performance of new buildings is seen in