Department:

Technical Sciences

Course Leader:

lect.dr.arh. Monica Mureșanu

Learning outcomes:

- Correct use of specialized terminology and development of technical vocabulary.
- Knowledge of the role and properties of wood and steel in architecture, from historical to contemporary contexts.
- Understanding the qualities, limitations, and applications of materials in construction.
- Mastery of design principles for wooden and steel constructions.
- Knowledge of structural systems and types of joints for wood and steel.
- Understanding the function and role of enclosure and partition systems (floors, walls, roofs).
- Analysis of the expressiveness and aesthetic qualities of contemporary materials (bamboo, aluminum, copper, COR-TEN).
- Development of the ability to correlate material selection with functional, aesthetic, and technological requirements.
- Designing architectural details and representing them graphically according to technical standards.

Content:

TOPIC 1. WOOD
Introduction to the architecture of timber constructions. Wood in the history of architecture. Wood as a building material. Specific characteristics and properties of wood and different species. Standards and quality classes.
Constructive systems and subsystems in wood. Design principles.
Joining wooden elements. Carpentry joints and engineered joints.
Enclosures and partitions: floors, interior walls, exterior walls.
Roofing systems for timber constructions.
Wood in contemporary architecture: parametric architecture, special constructions. Bamboo as a building material.
TOPIC 2. STEEL
Introduction to the architecture of metal constructions. Metal in the history of architecture. Steel as a building material. Specific characteristics and properties. Design principles.
Steel constructions. Basic products.
Assembly of steel elements. Types of joints.
Enclosures and partitions: floors, interior walls, exterior walls.
Metal in contemporary architecture (1). Aluminum, Copper, COR-TEN (case studies and types of use).
Metal in contemporary architecture (2). Special structures.

Teaching Method:

Lectures supported by multimedia content. Design exercises. Exercises for assembling wooden and steel constructive elements using didactic material.

Assessment:

The evaluation is based on two practical exercises, each accounting for 50% of the final grade.
Exercise 1 consists of the architectural and technical analysis of traditional wooden constructions (visit to the „ASTRA” Museum).
Exercise 2 involves creating a physical or virtual model of a characteristic span, assessing the ability to model, understand construction details, and represent them technically for a wooden or steel structure.

Bibliography:

• Crișan, R.(2006) Construcții din lemn, Editura Universitară Ion Mincu;
• Crișan, R.(2003) Construcții din oțel, Editura Universitară Ion Mincu;
• Ed. Deplazes, Andrea (2005) Constructing Architecture, Birkhauser;
• Zwerger, Klaus (2011) Wood and Wood joints, Birkhauser Basel;
• Szabo, B. (2004) Dicționar ilustrat de structuri portante istorice, Utilitas;
• Natterer, Herzog, Volz (1999) Atlante del Legno, UTET;
• Schulitz, Sobek, Habermann (1999) Atlante dell’ Acciaio, UTET.