Design of Structures - Essay Example

Computer software facilitates this process by beginning the filtering process with three dimensional illustrations displayed in a program or on paper before being constructed in to a scaled model. At this stage the architect can begin to see the strengths and weeknesses of the design prior to the consideration of critical elements such as the materials that are applied to the construction of the structure. A working model that is coming in to prominance today is the use of research and observations in order to inform the design and simulation segments of the production process.

How would simulation software such as Comsol software used by physicists to construct semiconductors Well, the answer is found in the exploration of materials to use in the construction of a building. Materials minutely or substantially changes all the proportional estimates of the puilding structure, and the contribution that simulation software makes is how the materials will effect the building structure. Once these calculations are known they maybe included in the AutoCad program to see how the dimensions of the designs have chnaged since the inclusion of various construction material.

Just after World War II a method of building construction that came into prominence was the texture over concrete method. Many buildings were constructed using an authenticating materials paneling over a money saving concrete block. This practice adhered to the premise that a structure did not have to be proportionately accurate in order to be visually authentic. Many real estate investors were satisfied with the authenticity of the aesthetic rather than the precision and additional expense that is derived from using the exact materials that will produce the desired proportions a design may demand.

This practice lasted from the beginning of the great depression until well in to the 1980's. A noted practitioner and author known as Graham Day Pattinson commented on the cummulative effects of errors. In his book, A Guide to Professional and Industrial Scale Model Building, that the additional .5 cm derived from the faade material increases the entire width of the structure perhaps by a full centimeter which may effect the flexibility of the structure, the height of the structure, or how it interacts with various elements within its environment.

Today, technology has evolved to a degree in which concrete itself no longer needs a faade. If concrete is the material of choice in order to construct a structure, than it can be altered to look like brick, stone, and even ceramic tiles. This is a great improvement in terms of increasing the accuracy of building proportions, which in turn improves the soundness of the structure itself. Buildings are safer because the act in a manner that is more consistent with planned cause and effect scenarios.

Some may still wonder about the buildings of yesterday, of which there are still plenty. In fact the federal government has implemented an executtive order that expands the authority of at least six government agencies in order to address the deteriorating property that is contained within their various jursidictions. This is a task that is easier said than done because the United State's economy is one that is in recovery. When the executive order that allowed the