Structures by Design: Thinking, Making, Breaking

Structures by Design: Thinking, Making, Breaking is a new type of structures textbook written for those who prefer to learn about buildings using hands-on, creative problem-solving techniques. Instead of focusing only on formulas and diagrams, this book teaches concepts before calculations and how principles of structural and material behavior can be applied to the design of effective, efficient, and expressive building designs.

The book's format makes it easy to adopt the content into a wide variety of courses that deal with building structures and architectural design. Each section of the book is focused on a particular manner by which structural resistance is provided: Form (Arches and Cables), Sections (Beams, Slabs, and Columns), Vectors (Trusses and Space Frames), Surfaces (Shells and Plates), and Frames (Connections and High-Rises).

In each section, design exercises are shown which use a Think, Make, Break method of reiterative design. These examples demonstrate how to generate and evaluate different structural options for building designs using a variety of structural design tools including: the human body, physical models, historical precedents, static diagrams, traditional formulae, and advanced digital analysis. These examples range from introductory lessons of structural fundamentals to advanced techniques and systems.

Each chapter includes potential lab exercises, questions for flipped classroom discussions, and suggestions for additional learning. More than 500 original illustrations and photos provide example solutions and inspiration for further design exploration.