Walls: Materials, Location, Load Bearing, Non-Load Bearing

while we are primarily concerned with interior walls, it is easy to understand some fundamental aspects of any vertical

construction

within interior wall construction there is a wide range of materials and construction techniques used to build walls.

an interior vertical surface can be categorized as:

wall: a general term for one of the sides of a room or a building, connecting the floor and the ceiling, or roof.

partition: an interior non-load bearing wall

screen or panel: a prefabricated building component that is typically broad and thin

NOTE: all physical objects must bear their own weight, and therefore are ‘load bearing’, structural elements.

wall construction

• walls are built in a variety of ways, including:• simple materials stacked up, one upon the other, to create a vertical

element/wall. a simple brick wall is an example of this.

• a skeletal system, or framework, that becomes the structure of a wall, typically used as a base for a finished surface of other materials. wood stud framing is an example of this.

• a pre-fabricated system, such as a panel system, that can be assembled to create both the supporting structure, and the finished, interior, exterior, or both, surface of a wall.

walls:construction vs. finish

• the construction of a wall may be a separate and different matter from the finished surface of a wall.

• in an interior environment we see the finished surface of a wall, or a partition, or a screen.

• what we are seeing may, or may not, be a reflection of how the wall is actually constructed/built.

• some materials used to build a wall reflect directly the way the wall is actually built, while some materials we see as the finished surface are only that, just a finished, top layer, surface, that conceals the structure beneath.

• nearly any material can be used to build a vertical surface, but the characteristics of the materials used will strongly influence the physical, visual, and emotional character of that surface.

• some materials have powerful physical, visual, and

emotional qualities.

• Materials with strong visual and physical qualities:

• brick, stone, wood, steel, ceramic tile, glass blocks

• any material that is produced as 'units' typically used in large numbers within one visual field.

Masonry: a term used to describe things made from brick, block, or stone

• masonry construction often requires the use of mortar, a cementitious material made from water, cement powder, and fine aggregates (typically sand)

As with other construction materials, bricks are 'named' by their orientation/location

brick construction, and brick walls in particular, are a substantial and

beautiful world of design possibilities.

• brick walls are constructed using individual bricks as a construction unit. by accumulating many individual bricks, used in a variety of orientations, and in possible color variations, walls of stunning visual character can be designed.

• brick walls have historically been designed and constructed in particular patterns.

• some of these patterns are: english bond, flemish bond, running bond, stack bond.

running bond, common bond,stack bond, english cross bond

archesan arch is a structural form

brick wall construction

Concrete block: a masonry unit material

concrete block (cmu)

concrete block foundation wall construction

glass block: a 'glass masonry unit' typically 4” thick, and hollow

glass blocks are hollow, and offer fairly good insulation

glass blocks are manufactured in a variety of textures and levels of clarity

solid glass bricks are also manufactured. these are very different from hollow glass blocks.

Expressing Material Characterversus concealing character

• Materials can be used in ways that express their fundamental character, or materials can be used in ways that conceal their fundamental character.

• good designers generally use the specific qualities of specific materials to make their work visually expressive.

‘fake’ materials, like a stage set, is an illusion. used excessively fake materials reduce our ability to understand the

built environment around us.

pre-fabricated, engineered, wall panel systems:a residential exterior wall, a highway barrier wall

Concrete: Cast in Place or

Pre-Cast (in a workshop)

• Cast in place concrete

Pouring ‘Placing’ Concrete &

Finishing ‘Floating’ Concrete

Formwork made of plywood,braced with 2x4 ‘kickers’

Pre-Cast Concrete

Concretethis is a concrete table and chair!

SHAWNESSY LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT STATIONCalgary, Alberta

Pre-Cast Concrete Shells

concrete wall panels:cast on the ground, tilted up, connected to adjoining panels

raised wood panels:wood panels fitted together to cover the entire surface of a wall:

there is a wall ‘structure’ under these finished panels

cherry raised panels

stiles with raised panel: stiles with flat panel:flat panel with applied molding:

beaded board wainscotting

Solarcrete: The wall consists of a core of expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam

insulation that is surrounded by steel reinforcing bars. This core is then encased in pneumatically applied fiber reinforced concrete.

a prefabricated metal wall panel system: can be applied over a variety of existing wall conditions and materials

metal panels: formed using machines that press, bend, perforate

entire buildings can be built using components that make up a system

panels used in a ‘kit of parts’

an aluminum panel product called ‘alucobond’

aluminum panel system that can be applied over an existing building wall

aluminum panel systems used to make curved form enclosures

the beautiful italian hilltown of san gimignanobuilt in the 1300’s

stones stacked upon stones:marble blocks on top of bricks.

very simple construction technique that yields a timeless, enduring, construction

logs can be used whole, to construct walls. wood logs provide very good insulation from cold weather.

if the logs are not cut very precisely, the spaces between must be filled with ‘chinking’ which today is often a synthetic elastic product.

stone is used today more as a surfacing material than as an actual construction, load bearing, material. stone can, nevertheless, be used to make

entire walls. here is a ‘dry’ stone wall made using no mortar.

stone is shaped, or used as found. found stone is calledfieldstone, or rubble. regular, even cut stone is called

ashlar: cut, regular shapes