ENVS10003 Studio Journal Week 3 Christian James Virgona – 641276 After listening to a panel including the Director of the Pavilion project as well as the project architecture, project engineer and client project manager it seemed fitting that we were to visit several sites and use the advice that we were given from the panel as well as from previous tutorials to critically analyse these structures. The four sites (including the Pavilion Project) were all located within campus and after lacing up our steel-capped boots and adjusting our hard hats we embarked on the visit. Site 1 – Eastern Precint Student Centre:

Whilst our site was the ERC what we focussed on solely was the link between the ERC and the Doug McDonald building. As seen in Figure 2 & 3, there had joints an extension on both buildings to connect the two separate buildings.

(Figure 1)

(Figure 2) (Figure 3)

• The construction type that was used was Masonry and Extension, this structure was a modern adaptation of two previous buildings in order to make an indoor corridor between both buildings

• The materials that were used in this construction from observation were burnished concrete, it was interesting to note that this concrete had control joints to prevent from deep cracks. Other materials used included steel (beams), concrete, vents, timber and glass

• The structural system I gathered was that there was clear joint at both ends of this ceiling, however the joint itself was only bolted and would not have been strong enough to withstand all the weight of the glass, therefore there was steel beams to reinforce the roof

• The support was in the middle of the ceiling, span and tension was what supported the extension, glass on both sides of the mid-section act as a cantilever

• Potential construction constraints may have included the elevated access, this may have made it hard for machinery to be transported to and from the site

Overall this site was very intriguing, I thought that the use of modern architecture to connect two older and less admirable buildings together made the area much more striking

(Figure 4) How the glass, steel beams and timber all work through span and tension

Site 2 – MSLE Building:

Again, this site acted as a lin between two existiing buildings, the buildings which were connected was the MSLE and MSLU buildings by a construction of roughly three to four metres in width.

• The construction type was a connection, windows were faced inward and it was likely to be a programatic design

• The materials used for the external structure were clay pressed brick, render, glass and aluminium. Internally, plaster and recycled brick featured

• The structural system was hard to identify but from a few indicators it was perceived that the small roof was steel framed, evidence of this was the use of skylights as well as the steel beams we saw under an internal balcony. This steel frame would have been bolted to both sides of each building, this would have allowed for the steel to connect to the brick more efficiently

• Possible construction constraints would include the load bearing capacity of the existing buildings, the idea that this extension was a two-storey development would’ve also posed as a restraint and waterproofing may have been an issue.

(Figure 5)

(Figure 6) Evidence of steel frames

Load-bearing capacity of existing building (Figure 7)

Site 3 – Queens College Extension After visiting two sites that were links between buildings, it was more interesting to visit a site that was an extension of a building. However, our access was limited as this site was amidst construction. This site was directly linked to Queens Colege.

• The construction type was pre-cast concrete slabs, these slabs would were used as walls that would later be rendered. Extended from a more developed area of the construction site was galvanised steel columns these steel columns had been welded.

• The materials that were seen in this construction site was concrete and render was beginning to be applied to the concrete slabs

• The structural systems seen was timber frame on the inside of these concrete slab walls, this timber frame would allow for insulation and would also take plaster boards

• Some potential construction constraints would have been access, the street adjacent to the site was incredibly narrow, as seen there was a skip on-site which would compliment the fact that this constraint was occurring.

Site 4 – Ormond Theology Centre Reception To me, this site was more enticing as we were actually granted access (albeit limited) on site. This development was linked to football clubrooms which were built in 1880. What was interesting on this site was the Foremans attention to detail with safety, he claimed that even if protective measures are deemed not necessary by Work Safe, he would still enforce them.

(Figure 8)

Galvanised steel beams

Pre-cast concrete slabs

• The construction type was a floor, 330 millimetres thick, this was due

to the span of 6 metres. The floor was composed of plywood joists beams

• The materials used was concrete blocks, reinforcement bars (steel bars to reinforce concrete), holding concrete and ‘L Bars’ I found the L bars an interesting concept as they connect the floor to walls, thus making the structure stronger

• Structural Systems that were used included forming the first floor, Soffit ‘aggies’ were also used to waterproof clay, seeing as when clay is wet it completely changes composition the builders made sure that waterproofing was of paramount importance

• Constraints were mainly natural, the foreman said that there biggest issue is water and mud and that clearing it does take delays

(Figure 9) Safety bars

Concrete Blocks

Waterproofing

Former football clubrooms

(Figure 10)

Site 5 – Theology Building:

Our final site visit was a site that was fully constructed and operating. However what I found most captivating about the Theology building was the use of different types of concrete moulding. Whilst there was mass concrete walls and columns, what particularly interested me was how in some areas where concrete had a smooth finish, a steel mould has been used in design. However some areas of concrete on this building had a rougher and more course finish, this was as a result of a timber mould concrete design. The holes that I found in the concrete like seen in figure 12 showed how steel bolts in regular centres can support the formwork of the concrete The roof of the building was interesting as it had a steel subframe that acted as a cantilever, steel beams were seen as the reinforcement for the roof.

(Figure 11)

(Figure 12)

(Figure 13)

Steel Beams