Understanding Buildings & Structures

From EngQuest 2010

Have you ever wondered how buildings, bridges, or dams are made? Look around you - you can see houses, tall buildings, bridges and footpaths everywhere. Who made the buildings, bridges and dams? Who do you think built your house? Why are some houses in other parts of the world built differently? Civil engineers can answer all these questions.

Civil engineering teams solve problems to do with building and construction. Roads and bridges are created by engineers. Civil engineering teams may have helped to build and construct your house, as well as the areas surrounding your house.

There are quite few different types of engineering teams.

Structural engineering teams think of ways to make buildings and other structures stronger, enabling them to last a long time, and even helping them to survive cyclones and floods. They also think of ideas to make houses safer and more environmentally friendly.

Geotechnical engineering teams test the ground on which houses, offices or other structures are going to be built. They study the rocks and soil to see whether they will be able to support buildings.

Transport engineering teams plan, design and build things such as motorways, railways and any type of road or path. They also decide where traffic lights will be installed. Can you imagine travelling in a large city with no traffic lights?!

Hydraulic engineering teams work on anything to do with water. They plan how to get water to your house and how to direct grey (used) water, such as bathwater, away from your house.

Local Government engineering teams work on improving the environment and the way we live in our local area.

Building services engineering teams make sure that your house is comfortable and safe. They plan things such as air conditioning, power, lighting and much more.

Now let us look at some of the engineers who probably helped to build the home that you live in.

House - construction

Building houses

Structural engineering teams design buildings so that they are safe and will last a long time. They design the walls, make sure that they can hold up the heavy roof, and ensure that the floors can support the weight of people and furniture.

Do you have stairs in your house? Stairs also need to be carefully planned, and structural engineering teams make sure that they are safe and easy to use.

Some houses are now being designed with sprinklers on the roof and other features to protect them from bushfires.

Civil engineering teams make sure that houses can be reached by road and are connected to places such as schools, parks and shopping centres.

Engineering teams are involved in the design and function of every room in the house:

House - attic living room

The living room

• Electrical and manufacturing engineering teams help in the design and production of the TVs and DVDs that entertain us in our living rooms.
  
• Electrical engineering teams also design the electrical parts that make things such as CD players work. Manufacturing engineering teams plan and manage the making of these items in factories.
  

House - kitchen

The kitchen

• Manufacturing engineering teams design the equipment used to produce items such as ovens and cook tops that we use in our kitchens.
  
• Electrical engineering teams design the electrical parts that make kitchen appliances, such as toasters and sandwich makers, work.
  
• Mechanical engineering teams design the motors that use electricity to run our fridges and keep them cool. They also design the moving parts in the blenders, mixers etc. that we use when we cook.
  
• Chemical engineering teams work out how to manufacture some of the foods we eat. They also investigate ways of keeping food fresher and for longer.
  

House - laundry

The laundry

• Electrical engineering teams design the electrical parts that run the motors in items such as washing machines and clothes dryers.
  
• Mechanical engineering teams design the motors that keep washing machines running. They also investigate ways of reducing the amount of electricity and water used by appliances such as washing machines and dryers.
  
• Electronic and software engineering teams are involved in creating new 'smart appliances' which seem to do their own thinking! One example would be a washing machine that knows it needs different cycles and water levels for towels and clothes.
  
• Chemical engineering teams and chemists create the chemicals used in detergents and other kitchen products.
  

Office building in Sydney

Amazing structures

There are millions and millions of buildings in the world, but some stand out from the rest. They might have been built thousands of years ago, be much larger than the buildings around them, or have been built with nothing more than muscle power and basic tools.

Today's skyscrapers are incredible because of their great height. They are very tricky to design and build.

The amazing 'Water Cube' was just one of the structures designed and built by engineering teams for the Beijing Olympics.

Beijing's Olympic Water Cube

The 'Water Cube'

The Beijing National Aquatics Centre (better known as the Water Cube) was the main swimming building for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Australian architects and engineers were involved in its design. The Water Cube is a giant cube which looks as though it is made of thousands of bubbles, each measuring up to nine metres across.

The Water Cube looks completely different at night, when the lights are on inside, than it does in the daytime. It truly is an incredible building!

See if you can find out more about how the Water Cube was built.

Cotter Dam

Dams/reservoirs

Dams (also called reservoirs) store water for such uses as drinking, farming and agriculture, mining, and manufacturing. Their construction requires the special knowledge and skills of Civil, Mechanical and Electrical engineering teams. (For more information on these and other types of engineering teams go to the Engineering - what is it? section.)

Dams/reservoirs are created by building a dam wall which blocks water flowing naturally along a river, causing it to collect in a valley or gorge for storage. The water in the river comes from a water catchment. This is an area of land where the natural landscape/landform is used to 'catch' the rainfall which then flows into creeks and rivers. Water catchment areas can stretch across thousands of square kilometres, or can be as small as a few square kilometres.

Water catchment areas need the following things:

• a suitable location free from pollution, with plenty of water (often situated within a national park)
• ridges, hills or mountains to 'catch' rainfall, allowing it to flow into creeks and rivers
• a valley or gorge suitable for trapping and storing water
• a wall to hold back the water (the dam wall), allowing it to collect into a dam/reservoir for storage
• pumping stations and pipelines to deliver the water to where it is needed for use.

Catchments are very important as they also provide many animals with an ideal habitat. In dry places, a catchment can stand out like an oasis, providing a cool and colourful place for plant and animal life. Catchments will often create wetlands that are perfect for fish, birds and other animals. Due to the importance of catchments, many are found within national parks or other protected areas.