Vertical Systems

Horizontal systems
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 Must resist gravity & lateral load
Vertical Systems

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 Load resistant elements
1 Shear wall / gravity load
2 Shear wall / lateral load
3 Cantilever / gravity load
4 Cantilever / lateral load
5 Moment frame /gravity load
6 Moment frame / lateral load
7 Braced frame / gravity load
8 Braced frame / lateral load

Element Resistance mode

Shear wall Shear
Cantilever Bending
Moment frame Bending
Braced frame Tension/compression

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 Vertical / lateral systems
1 Shear walls are least flexible but good for
apartments and hotels with party walls

2 Cantilevers provide the least intrusion at

ground floor

3 Moment frames are most flexible, good for

office buildings

A Concrete moment resistant joint:

rebars extend through beam and column

B Steel moment resistant joint:

beam flanges welded to column flanges;
stiffener plates between column flanges
resist bending stress of beam flanges

4 Braced frames are more flexible than walls

B
but less flexible than moment frames
bracing is usual around central cores

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 Shear walls
• Resist lateral load in shear
• Resist only load parallel to wall

1 Wood studs with plywood

2 Metal studs with plywood
3 Reinforced Concrete wall
4 Reinforced CMU wall
5 Un-reinforced brick wall
(not allowed in seismic areas)
6 Reinforced 2-wythe brick wall

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 Note: eccentric shear walls cause torsion and should be avoided
Concentric & eccentric shear walls
Shear wall vs. lateral resistance
Note: shear walls resist only lateral load parallel to wall

1 Shear walls resist only lateral load parallel to wall 1 X-direction concentric, Y-direction eccentric
2 Shear walls collapse @ perpendicular load 2 X-direction eccentric, Y-direction eccentric
3 Eccentric shear walls cause torsion 3 X-direction concentric, Y-direction concentric
4 Concentric shear walls resist torsion 4 X-direction concentric, Y-direction concentric
5 X-direction concentric, Y-direction concentric
Note: Walls in 4 are offset but provide concentric support 6 X-direction concentric, Y-direction concentric
Note: 5 is better than 6 to resist torsion
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 Shear walls
Architect: Wong / Schierle
HUD housing, San Francisco Engineer: Eric Elsesser
108 units, concrete

Apartments, San Mateo

200 units, wood

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 Shear wall cores
1. Unilever building, Hamburg
Architect: Hentrich / Petchnigg

2. Victoria tower, Montreal

Architect: Moretti, Greenspoon, Freelander and
Dunne
Engineer: Nervi

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 Curved shear walls
City Hall Toronto
Architect: Viljo Revel

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 Cantilevers
1 Single tower
2 Single tower / lateral load
3 Twin tower
4 Twin tower / lateral load
5 Suspended
6 Suspended / lateral load

Engineer: Fritz Leonhard

T V tower Stuttgart

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 Cantilevers
Pirelli Tower, Milan
Architect: Ponti
Engineer: Nervi

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 Cantilevers
Hypo Bank, Munich
Architect: Bea und Walter Betz

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 Moment frames
• Resist lateral load
• Provide planning flexibility
• Are ductile (absorb seismic energy)
1 Pin-joints / collapse @ lateral load
2 Moment joints @ footing
3 Top moment joints / gravity load
4 Top moment joints / lateral load
5 All moment joints / gravity load
6 All moment joints / lateral load
7 Moment frame tower / gravity load
8 Moment frame tower / lateral load
I Inflection points of zero bending

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 Moment frames
Require moment resistant
joints for beam to column
to resist load together

Steel joint Concrete joints (rebars continue through beam & column)

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 Moment frames
Casa Terragni, Como, Italy
Architect: Terragni
Concrete moment frame with
shear wall for fail-save seismic performance

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 Moment frames
Office building, Beverly Hills
Architect / Engineer: SOM

Steel moment frame

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 Braced frames
Braces restrict planning freedom
Brace stiffness effect:
• Good to resist wind 
• Increases seismic load 

Left: gravity load

Right: lateral load

Bracing type possible doors # of joints

1 Diagonal bracing one side 2
2 A-bracing center 3
3 V-bracing both sides 3
4 X-bracing none  5
5 Braced tower

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 Hotel, Barcelona Bank of China, Hong Kong
Braced frame Architect/Engineer: SOM Architect: I M Pei

Belt truss

links tension and

compression sides
to reduce drift

Belt truss

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 Braced core
Library Tower, L A
Architect: I M Pei
Engineer: CBM

Hybrid system, combines:

• braced core with
• framed tube

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 Horizontal systems
Resist primarily gravity but also lateral load

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 Horizontal steel framing
1 Flush framing (top of joists flush with beams)
Expensive joist/beam connections
Ducts below beam increase total depth
2 Layered framing (joists on top of beams)
Low-cost joist/beam connections
Reduced total depth assuming:
Ducts run between beams
Feeder ducts between joists

Small depth cuts curtain wall and AC costs !

3 S-shape joist and wide flange beams

4 Beam / column moment joint
5 Twin channel beam, allows passage of pipes
6 Tubular beam and column (unusual)
7 Castillated beam cut from T-beams to increase
depth and strength without material increase
A Concrete slab on metal deck
B Joist (S-shape, optimal spacing ~ 10’)
C Beam (wide flange, optimal spacing ~ 30’)
D Spandrel beam
E Wide flange column (W14 is most common)

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 Capacity Limits

• Beam depth and weight increase with span

• very long beam fails under its own weight
• Economic limit is reached before most capacity
is required to support self-weight

 • Short spans cost less than long spans


• Just like beams, other structures have capacity limits

• Capacity limits include minimum spans; for example:

• Cost of joints makes short span trusses expensive

• Cost of fittings makes short span cables expensive

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 Span / depth ratios
Structure elements and systems have optimal L/d
(span / depth) ratios that may be defined as
Never forget 10–20–30 rule:

• L/d = 10 for trusses and suspension cables

• L/d = 20 for beams

• L/d = 30 for slabs and decks

Chinese carpentry proportions are documented in

Building Standards by Li Chieh, construction
superintendent of Emperor Hui-tsung (1101-1125);
considering beauty and structure as unified theme.
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Horizontal elements Span L
Span ranges and span/depth ratios of structure elements

Depth D
Span Range:
Recommended min.
and max. spans
Span/Depth ratio:
For simple supports,
use average ratio
Adjust Depth:
• Decrease @ light load
and close spacing
• Increase @ heavy load
and wide spacing
• Decease @ elements
with overhangs
• Double @ cantilevers

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Horizontal systems
Span ranges, span/depth ratios, span/thickness ratios of systems
Span L

Depth D
Span Range:
Recommended min.
and max. spans
Span/Thickness ratio:
Use average ratio
Adjust thickness:
• Decrease @ light load
and close spacing
• Increase @ heavy load
and wide spacing

Span/Depth ratio:
For simple supports,
use average ratio
Adjust Depth:
• Decrease @ light load
and close spacing
• Increase @ heavy load
and wide spacing
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 Horizontal systems
Bending resistant

1 Beam
2 Slab
3 Folded plate
4 Cylindrical shell
5 Frame
6 Vierendeel girder
(named after the inventor,
19th century Belgian engineer)

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 One-way Two-way
Horizontal systems
Bending resistant
1 One-way wood joists
2 One-way steel joists and beams
3 One-way concrete slab
4 One-way beams
5 One-way concrete rib-slab
6 Two-way concrete plate
7 Two-way slab with drop panels
8 Two-way slab on beams
9 Two-way beams
10 Two-way waffle slab
11 Deflection  for span length L1
12 Deflection  is 16 time greater @ double span
(L2 = 2xL1)
Two-way spans are best @ square plans since
deflection increases to the 4th power of span which
makes the longer span inefficient 

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 Flat drop panels
Horizontal - bending resistant

Tapered drop panels

(depth increase with shear stress) Beams

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 Horizontal - bending resistant

Waffle slab (2-way):

1 Single waffle column panel *
2 Four-waffle column panel *
3 Beam support

* Solid column panels resist shear

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 Horizontal – bending resistant

Beam
1 Simple beam without load
2 Beam deformed under load
3 Bending stress illustrated

Bending stress:
• Top shortens in compression
• Zero stress @ Neutral axis
• Bottom elongates in tension

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 Horizontal – bending resistant
Beams:
1 Simple beam
2 Cantilever beam
3 Beam with 1 overhang
4 Beam with 2 overhangs
5 Fixed-end beam
6 Continuous beam

Note:
• Overhang reduces bending
• Fixed end reduces bending
• Continuity reduces bending

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 Horizontal – bending resistant
Wood joists and beams

Joists on twin roof beams,

propped by steel rods

Plywood floor (usually ¾” thick)

Roof rafters (usually 2x10 @ 16”) Floor joist (usually 2x12 @ 16”)

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 Horizontal – bending resistant

Steel joists, beams, and girders

IIT building, Chicago

Architect: Mies Van der Rohe

• Joists suspended from girders

reduce volume and express structure

• Stiffeners resist web buckling

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 Horizontal – bending resistant

Cantilever steel beams

Labor palace, Turin

Engineer: Nervi

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 Horizontal – bending resistant

Concrete beams

Hayward College Cafeteria

Architect: Campbell and Wong
Engineer: Eric Elseser

Prefab C-channels & C-posts

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 Horizontal – bending resistant
Cylindrical shell

Kimbell Museum, Fort Worth

Architect: Louis Kahn
Engineer: Kommendant

Photos: Michael Bodycomb, © 1977 Kimbell Art Museum, reproduced with permission

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 Horizontal – bending resistant
Vierendeel frame

UC Davis sports center

Architect: Perkins & Will
Engineer: Riesemberg
Two-way Vierendeel frame of
16”x16” steel tubing

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 Horizontal – axial resistant
Truss
1 Triangle is the only stable polygon
2 In-sloping diagonals (tension) *
3 Out-sloping diagonals (compression)
4 Top bar shortens (compression)
Bottom bar elongates (tension)
5 Gable truss
* Tension prevents buckling (better)
Pompidou Center (Warren trusses)
Architect: Piano & Rogers
Engineer: Ove Arup

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 Crystal Palace, London
Design: Joseph Paxton

Built 1850-51, for London’s Great Exhibition of 1851,

the Crystal Palace pioneered industrial construction

The glass roof on iron trusses covered an area of 408’x 1848’

and was built in only 7 months

Trusses and columns form moment frames to resist lateral load

The design was based on the Lilly House, designed by Paxton

for the Duke of Devonshire, his employer as head gardener

Fire destroyed the Crystal Palace 1936`

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 Speed skating rink Holland
Architect: Van der Zee & Ybema
Engineer: Arie Krijegsman, ABT

Parabolic trusses match global moments under uniform load

for constant stress in chords and zero stress in web bars
Radial end trusses are supported by a center truss that is
elastically supported by cross trusses.
Outriggers supported by concrete seating reduce truss span
Wind bracing is provided at end and mid bays
Truss span L= 66 m/0.3048 L = 217’
Truss spacing e =7.2 m/.3048 e = 24’
Truss depth at mid span d = 5.8 m/0.3048 d = 19’

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 Space truss (2-way)
Example modules:
1 Square cube / diagonal brace
2 Square cube / V-brace
3 Triangular prism / diagonal brace
4 Triangular prism / V-brace

San Francisco-Larkspur Ferry Terminal

Architect: Jacques de Brer

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 Tree structure
Airport terminal Stuttgart
Architect: Von Gerkan Marg
Engineer: Weidleplan
The roof is supported by 12 tree structures, 80’x80’ each
The trees branch from a stem of 4 pipes to 48 branches
The tree units are separated by bands of linear skylights

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 Cable stayed structure
McCormick exhibit hall Chicago
Architect/Engineer: SOM

To span railroad trucks underneath, the truss roof is

Suspended by stay cables from concrete pylons

Based on a structure module of 120’x120’ the exhibit

hall measures 480’x840’

1 Axon
2 Section
3 Center joint
4 Exterior joint

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 Horizontal - form-resistant
• Left: tension funicular
• Right: compression funicular

Cables adjust form for any load

The same form upside-down causes
compression without bending

1 Cable / single load

2 Gable / single load
3 Cable / double load
4 Frame / double load
5 Cable / multi- load
6 Frame / multi-load
7 Parabolic cable / uniform load
8 Parabolic arch / uniform load

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 Suspension roof

Exhibit Hall Hanover

Architect: Thomas Herzog
Engineer: Schlaich, Bergermann

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 Darby’s Coalbrookdale bridge
Arch First iron bridge, built 1777-79

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 Trussed arch

Airport Terminal Hamburg

Architect: Von Gerkan / Marc
Engineer: Kockjoy, Schwarz, Weber

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 Olympic stadium Athens
Architect/Engineer: Santiago Calatrava

Length section

Cross section
Support arch
Suspenders
Tension chord
Rafters

Deformation simulation

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 Railroad station Leipzig Vault
(3-hinge vault - allows thermal expansion)

Crown hinge
Base hinges

Exhibit Hall Turin Ferrocement prefab units

Engineer: Nervi resist buckling
integrate lighting
improve acoustics

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 Dome

Olympic Dome, Rome

Architect: Piacentini
Engineer: Nervi

Synergy
Prefab Ferrocement ribs:
• Resist buckling
• Improve acoustic
• Integrate lighting
• Articulate dome

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