Steel Buildings in Europe

Part 2: Concept Design 2 - 1 1 INTRODUCTION: STRUCTURAL DESIGN IN OVERALL BUILDING DESIGN In m ulti-storey buildin gs, the des ign of the prim ary structure is s trongly influenced by many issues, as defined below:  The need to provide clear floor spans for more usable space  The choice of cladding system  Planning requirem ents, which m ay limit the building h eight and the maximum floor-to-floor zone  The services strategy and effective integration of building services  Site conditions, which dictate the foundation system and location of foundations  Craneage limitations and storage space for materials and components  Speed of construction, which may influence the number of components that are used and the installation process. Studies show that the cost of the building structure is generally only 10% of the total building cost – and the influen ce of the choice of structure on the foundations, services and claddi ng are often more significant [1] . In reality , building design is a synthesis of architect ural, structural, services, logistics and buildability issues. Stee l f rames ar e ide ally su ited f or m odern m ulti-storey commercial buildings such as that shown in Figure 1.1. Figure 1.1 Modern commercial building in steel