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Week 6

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 Flooring  Gina Christopher  FRAMING SYSTEMS Floor framing systems can be wood, steel, or concrete. Wood flooring systems include light frame and heavy timber frame. Light frame construction uses multiple small wood members to carry a load. Heavy timber framing relies on a structural frame consisting of columns and beams to carry a load. Steel floor-framing is either light gauge with multiple open web joists or structural steel with beams and girders. Concrete as a flooring system is either poured in place on site or cast at a plant and assembled on site. When a first floor is located above a crawl space, or is directly on the earth, the underside of the floor must be insulted in most areas of the U.S. This insulation is used to prevent cold air moving from the ground into the finished space above, as well as keep a stable temperature for the concrete slab.  INTERIOR FLOOR-FINISH MATERIALS  Multiple materials are used as floor finishes. The use of the space and ...
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Week 5

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 Walls Gina Christopher FRAMING SYSTEMS  There are 3 main types of framing systems: stud walls, concrete and masonry bearing walls: and structural frame walls. Stud walls can be built from wood or light-gauge steel. The standard size for stud walls is 2x4 or 2x6 with spacing of 12",16" or 24" oc. Concrete and masonry bearing walls are made from brick, stone or reinforced cement. This framing system is challenging to work with when placing electrical wiring, boxes, switches, penetrations of plumbing and HVAC, and mounting materials such as artwork. The structural frame, column and beam systems can be in-filled in a variety of ways including stud-wall infill, insulation-panel infill, and other materials. Structural insulation panels can be made from wood or steel. Exterior walls are insulted in most parts of the U.S. and interior walls contain insulation for acoustical purposes.   INSULATION  The three main types of insulation include batt insulation, cellulose in...
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Week 4

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 STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS GINA CHRISTOPHER  STRUCTUAL SYSTEMS BASICS  Interior designers do not deal with structural systems, but it is important to recognize the building's structure and know when an engineer or architect is required on a project. The main purpose of structural systems is to carry the loads of a building and transfer them to the foundation. There are three primary types of structural systems: bearing walls, stud walls and structural frames. These systems are usually composed of wood, steel, and concrete/masonry. Bearing all construction relies on the entire wall to carry all loads to the foundation beneath. The stud all system relies on several small members to carry loads to a horizontal plate that in turn distributes the weight to a sill plate. The structural frame system is composed of columns and beams that transmit loads to the foundation. The four primary characteristics of a structural system are stability, strength/stiffness, economy and aesthetics. Th...
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Week 3

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  Site Considerations and Building Enclosure  Gina Christopher BUILDING SYSTEM OVERVIEW A building system is composed of multiple building systems that all work together and must be carefully coordinated. Traditional systems include structural systems, MEP systems, enclosure systems, and interior systems. THE SITE The architect is responsible for placing the building on the site while considering all factors such as sun, wind, views, regulatory concerns, environmental issues, and aesthetics. How a building is placed on a site also impacts the interior. Serval factors can impact comfort within a building including as solar orientation, site appurtenances such as trees, wind-blocking landscape, views, and other site features. If an interior designer is brought on to a project early in the design phase, they may be able to have input into window placements.  ENCLOSURE SYSTEMS  Although interior designers do not design foundations of building exteriors, an understanding ...
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