FAMILIAR WITH A BUILDING AND ITS NECESSARY PARTS.

 

A building can be defined as a structure broadly consisting of walls, floors and roofs, erected to provide covered space for different uses such as residence, education, business, manufacturing, storage, hospitalization, entertainment, worship etc.

Normally all buildings are constructed according to drawings and specifications prepared by Architects. Each city has prescribed building byelaws to which buildings must conform. The building byelaws lay down norms like minimum front, side and rear setbacks, minimum height and area of habitable rooms, kitchen, bath, minimum area of windows, width of stair case etc. which are required to be followed by the architect in evolving the design of the building.

TYPES OF BUILDING

Depending upon the character of occupancy or the type of use, different types of buildings have been classified in following groups as per national building code:

1.Residential Buildings

2. Educational Buildings

3. Commercial Buildings

4. Assembly Buildings

5. Business Buildings

6. Mercantile Buildings

7. Industrial Buildings

8. Storage Buildings

9. Hazardous Buildings

Residential Buildings: These shall include one or two private dwellings, apartment houses, dormitories, hotels etc.

Educational Buildings: These shall include any building used for school, college or day care purposes involving assembly for instruction, education or recreation.

Institutional Buildings: These shall include any building or part thereof which is used for purpose such as medical or other treatment or care of persons suffering from physical or mental illness or disease, care of infants and for penal or detention in which the liberty of the inmates is restricted.

Assembly Buildings: These shall include any building or part of a building where group of people congregate or gather for amusement, recreation, social, religious, periodic, civil, travel and similar purposes, for example, theatres, motion picture houses, assembly halls, exhibition halls, museums, places of worship, dance halls, club rooms and terminals of air, surface, and public transportation services.

Business Buildings: These shall include any building or part of a building which is used for transaction of business, for the keeping of accounts and records for similar purposes, city halls, town halls, court houses, libraries shall be classified in this group in so far as principal function of these is transaction of public business and the keeping of books and records.

Mercantile Buildings: These shall include any building or part of a building which is used as shops, stores, market, for display and sale of merchandise either wholesale or retail.

Industrial Buildings: These shall include any building or part of a building or structure, in which products or materials of all kinds and properties are fabricated, assembled or processed, for example, refineries, gas plants, mills, dairies, industries etc.

Storage Buildings: These shall include any building or part of a building primarily for the storage or sheltering of goods, wares or merchandise, like ware houses, cold storages, freight deptt, grain elevators stables etc.

Hazardous Buildings: These shall include any building or part of building which is used for the storage, handling, manufacture or processing of highly combustible explosive materials or products which are liable to burn with extreme rapidity and/or which may produce poisonous fumes or explosions; for storage, handling, manufacturing or processing which involve highly corrosive, toxic or noxious alkalis, acid or other liquids or chemicals producing flame, fumes and explosive etc.

 COMPONENTS OF A BUILDING

A building can be broadly divided in two parts viz. 1. Sub-structure and 2. Super structure. The portion of the building below the surrounding ground is known as sub structure and the portion above the ground is super structure. The components of a building can be broadly summarised as under:

1.Foundations

2. Plinth

3. Walls

4. Columns

5. Floors

6. Doors, windows and ventilations

7. Stairs

8. Roof

9. Building finishes

10. Building services

 

1.Foundations Foundation is the lowest part of a structure below the ground level which is in direct contact with the ground and transmits all the dead, live and other loads to the soil on which the structure rests. The provision of foundation is made in such a way that the soil below the foundation is not stressed beyond its safe allowable bearing capacity. Depending upon the type of soil existing at site, its safe bearing capacity and the type of building which is required to be constructed a structure may need shallow or deep foundations. In case of load bearing walls, the foundation could be in the form of spread footings. For framed structures, the foundation could be in the form of independent column footings, combined footing, rafts or piles.

2.Plinth: The portion of the building between the ground surrounding the building and the top of the floor immediately above the ground is known as plinth. The level of the surrounding ground is known as formation level or simply ground level and the level of the ground floor of the building is known as plinth level. The plinth height should be such that after proper levelling and grading of the ground adjoining the building there is no possibility of the rain water entering the ground floor. The built up covered area measured at the floor level is termed as plinth area.

3. Wall: Walls are provided to enclose or divide the floor space in desired pattern. In addition, walls provide privacy, security and give protection against Sun, rain, cold and other adverse effects of weather. The division of floor space varies according to the functions required to be performed in the building. In a well-planned layout, the walls divide the space in such a manner so as to achieve maximum carpet area and minimum area of circulation. Walls are constructed by use of building units like bricks, stone, concrete blocks etc. The building units are boned together with mortar in horizontal and vertical joints and the construction is known as masonry.

A load bearing wall supports its own weight as well as the super imposed loads transferred to it through floors/roofs.

A non-load bearing wall on the other hand carries its own weight and is not designed to carry any super imposed load from the structure. They are normally provided as partition walls.

4. Column: A column may be defined as an isolated vertical load bearing member the width of which is neither less than its thickness nor more than four times its thickness. Pier is a vertical load bearing member similar to a column except that it is bonded into load bearing supporting wall at the sides to form an integral part and extends to full height of the wall.

5. Floors: Floors are flat supporting elements of a building. They divide a building into different levels thereby creating more accommodation on a given plot of land. The basic purpose of a floor is to provide a firm and dry platform for people and other items like furniture, stores, equipment etc.

6. Doors, Windows and Ventilators:  A door may be defined as a barrier secured in an opening left in a wall to provide usual means of access to a building, room or passage. This can be termed as the most constantly used moving component in a building. A door normally consists of two components namely __1. Door frame 2. Door shutter. The door frame is permanently held in position and fixed to the masonry of the opening with the help of hold fasts or rawl plugs. Shutter is the moving part of the door. Doors are made out of material like wood, steel, aluminium, plastic, flexible rubber etc. They can be side hung, sliding, folding, revolving or rolling type depending upon the functional requirement. A window may be defined as an opening left in a wall for the purpose of providing day light, vision and ventilation. Similar to door, a window has a frame and one or more shutters. The shutters are normally fitted with glass or similar transparent material.

7.Stair: A stair may be defined as a structure comprising of a number of steps connecting one floor to another. The stair must be constructed in such a manner that it is safe and comfortable to use and it should be so located as to permit easy communication. Stairs may be made from material like timber, stone, brick, steel, reinforced concrete etc. the selection of the type of material to be used depends upon the aesthetical importance, funds available, durability and fire resisting qualities desired.

8.Roof:  It is the uppermost component of a building and its main function is to cover the space below and protect it from rain, snow, sun, wind etc. A roof basically consists of two components namely_ 1. The roof decking and 2. The roof covering. The roof decking is the structural component which supports the roof covering. A roof can be either flat, pitched or curved in shape. The choice of the type of roof is made keeping in view the location of the building, weather conditions, funds available and functional and aesthetic requirement. The structural components of roof decking in case of pitched roof is generally a truss, in case of curved roof it is a shell or dome and in case of flat roof it is a flat slab. The roof covering or roofing which is provided over pitched roof could be in the form of tiles, slates, A.C. sheets, G.I. sheets, etc.

In case of flat roofs, the roof covering is termed as terracing, which could comprise of a layer of varying thickness of material like lime concrete, mud phuska etc. The terracing serves dual purpose i.e. 1. Of providing suitable slopes on the roof top for draining of rain water and 2. Of acting as insulation layer for providing thermal comfort to the users of the space below.

9. Building Finishes:  A building is considered incomplete till such time the surface of its components is given appropriate treatment. Building finishes include items like plastering, pointing, white/colour washing, painting, varnishing, distempering etc. The building finishes not only protect the surface from adverse effect of weather but also provide decorative effect.

10.Building Services: Building services include services like water supply, drainage, sanitation, lighting, electricity, acoustics, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, fire detection and fire control etc.

The services like water supply, drainage and sanitation are normally clubbed under the term ‘plumbing service’. From consideration of safety of the users, the planning, designing and detailing of all services should be done based on provisions in national building code and also based on norms prescribed by various statutory municipal bodies.

 

TECHNICAL TERMS AND DEFINATIONS

Balcony: A horizontal cantilevered projection including a handrail or balustrade to serve as passage or sitting out place.

Barsati: Habitable room/rooms on the roof of building with or without toilets/kitchen.

Chhajja: A slopping or horizontal structural overhang usually provided over openings on external walls for protection from sun and rain.

Covered area: Ground area covered by the building immediately above the plinth level.

Fire Lift: One of the lifts sceptically designed for use by fire service personnel in the event of fire.

Floor Area Ratio(FAR): The quotient obtained by dividing the total covered area of all floors multiplied by 100 by the area of the plot.

FAR= Total covered area X 100/Plot area

Footing: A foundation unit constructed in brick work, masonry or concrete under the base of a wall or column for the purpose of disturbing load over a large area.

Foundation: That part of the structure which is in direct contact with and transmitting loads to the ground.

Loft: An intermediary floor space created by introduction of a slab between floor and ceiling of a room, passage or wherever it is provided with maximum clear height of 1.5 metre for storage purpose only.

Stair Cover: A structure with covering roof cover a staircase and its landing, built to enclose only the stairs for the purpose of providing protection from weather and not used for human habitation.

Mezzanine Floor: An intermediate floor between two floor levels above ground floor and at least one side of it should form an integral part of space floor/below.

Parapet: A low wall or railing built along the edge of a roof or a floor.