Scribd
Upload
4 views1 page

Understanding Building Structures and Functions

Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, adapted for factors like materials, weather, costs, and uses. They serve societal needs like shelter, security, living space, and privacy. Ever since cave paintings, buildings have also been objects of artistic expression. Recently, sustainable planning and building practices have become an intentional part of many new building designs.

Uploaded by

Nishanthan
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
4 views1 page

Understanding Building Structures and Functions

Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, adapted for factors like materials, weather, costs, and uses. They serve societal needs like shelter, security, living space, and privacy. Ever since cave paintings, buildings have also been objects of artistic expression. Recently, sustainable planning and building practices have become an intentional part of many new building designs.

Uploaded by

Nishanthan
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

A building, or edifice, is a structure with a roof and[1] walls standing more or less permanently in one

place, such as a house or factory.[1] Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and
have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available,
to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, and aesthetic reasons. To better
understand the term building compare the list of nonbuilding structures.
Buildings serve several societal needs – primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space,
privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a
physical division of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) and the outside (a place that at
times may be harsh and harmful).
Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasses of much artistic
expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practices has also become
an intentional part of the design process of many new buildings.

Contents

 1Definitions
 2History
 3Types
o 3.1Residential
o 3.2Complex
 4Creation
o 4.1Ownership and funding
 5Building services
o 5.1Physical plant
o 5.2Conveying systems
 6Building damage
 7See also
 8References
 9External links

Definitions[edit]
The word building is both a noun and a verb: the structure itself and the act of making it. As a noun,
a building is 'a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place';
[1]
 "there was a three-storey building on the corner"; "it was an imposing edifice". In the broadest
interpretation a fence or wall is a building.[2] However, the word structure is used more broadly
than building including natural and man-made formations[3] and does not necessarily have walls.
Structure is more likely to be used for a fence. Sturgis' Dictionary included that "[building] differs
from architecture in excluding all idea of artistic treatment; and it differs from construction in the idea
of excluding scientific or highly skilful treatment."[4] As a verb, building is the act of construction.
Structural height in technical usage is the height to the highest architectural detail on building from
street-level. Depending on how they are classified, spires and masts may or may not be included in
this height. Spires and masts used as antennas are not generally included. The definition of a low-
rise vs. a high-rise building is a matter of debate, but generally three storeys or less is considered
low-rise.[5]

You might also like