Urban structures for lower-cost housing projects

Abstract

The use of computers in the analysis and design of individual structures is known and widely used in practice. There are many operational computer programs such as ICES-STRUDL, ELAS, NASTRAN, WANG, and others which are readily available at the computation centers around the world. These programs are able to perform the analysis, either by direct stiffness method or by finite element technique of various structures and some of these programs will carry the study into complete design. The profession of structural engineering is fortunate to have an access to such a wealthy software library. The theme of this paper is not to deal with any individual computer program applicable to a particular structural unit, but to integrate the analysis and design computer programs with the total analysis and design of a housing project in an urban area. This concept defines an INTEGRATED SYSTEMS APPROACH to total analysis and design. The value of this approach stems from the fact that a structural engineer can not develop an efficient design for a structure in an urban project unless he is fully aware of all pertinent factors which are related to his structural unit. The Integrated Systems Approach will secure an optimum design for the project. Since one of the major concerns of our civilization is the provision of decent lower-cost housing for every citizen, structural engineers need to participate in this great endeavor by extending the application of their technical knowledge to its solution. Due to the size and complexity of the problem, the use of the computers is imperative. The Integrated Systems Approach is defined by a set of individual computer programs linked together. The structural analysis and design programs incorporated in this system use the data generated by the other general project study programs. It is obvious that the structural programs form the major part of the programming system. The Integrated Systems Approach to analysis and design stresses the point that the structural engineer should not consider only the factors for an optimum solution from the points of view of strength, durability and materials used. He has to be aware of other very pertinent socio-economic factors to develop a design to be happily accepted by the public.