Structural Elective Course for Special Building Systems

The training of structural engineers in most parts of the world starts by students going through a civil, structural or architectural engineering program. Undergraduate programs are heavily impacted and the high cost of educating the students is resulting in fewer courses being offered that are geared towards practice of structural engineering profession. In order for future engineers to meet the challenges of the twenty first century, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has proposed that future licensed engineers attain a recognized body of knowledge (BOK). This may be fulfilled by an accredited undergraduate degree in civil (or related) engineering, a master’s degree or approximately thirty credits of graduate or upper level course work and appropriate pre-licensure experience. The Architectural Engineering department at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) works closely with industry partners (future student employers) and the advisory board to tailor the program so that the graduates are able to contribute to the profession on the first day of their employment upon graduation. The program has a number of upper level elective courses that are aimed at contributing to the BOK. As the society grows in population and strides into the new century, new technological advances call for more and bigger “big-box” or warehouse type building structures. In the United States, these structures commonly house retailers like Wal-Mart, Costco, Home Depot, etc. and are typically one story buildings with floor areas ranging between 73,000 to 261,000 square feet. The design typically calls for high floor to roof height (20 to 25 feet) and the exterior perimeter is usually concrete masonry walls or concrete tilt-up panels. The need to have large open column-free space results in the construction materials typically used in these structures to include but not limited to: reinforced concrete (tilt-up, cast-in-place), steel (rolled, tubes, trusses), timber (sawn, engineered, glue-laminated, trusses), concrete masonry units (reinforced, grouted, ungrouted), wood sheathing (plywood, oriented strand board), light gauge metal deck, etc. This paper reports on how this elective upper level design course is taught in a laboratory format. The course incorporates all the above materials (concrete, masonry, timber, steel). The students prepare complete construction documents including all construction details and specifications.