Architectural Engineering,
Structural Option

Introduction to Structural Analysis

The foundation of the structural option. Determining loads on buildings, then finding reactions and internal forces in trusses, beams and frames. Deflections by classical methods, and an introduction to analyzing statically indeterminate structures, with a practicum component.

• Load determination
• Shear & moment diagrams
• Truss & frame analysis
• Deflection methods
• Intro to indeterminacy

In the capstone: gravity load path and takedown · occupancy live loads

Design of Steel and Wood Structures for Buildings

Structural principles applied to steel and wood buildings. Analysis and design of members in gravity systems to AISC and American Wood Council provisions, covering connections, decking, open-web joists and composite systems.

• AISC 360 member design
• NDS wood design
• Composite beams
• Steel deck & joists
• Connections

In the capstone: composite beam DCRs · open-web joist substitution · CLT char design (NDS Ch. 16)

Design of Concrete Structures for Buildings

Analysis and design of reinforced concrete members with emphasis on one-way systems: slabs, beams and columns. The theoretical behavior behind flexure and shear design, compression reinforcement and interaction diagrams, applied to ACI 318.

• ACI 318
• Flexure & shear design
• One-way slabs
• Column interaction diagrams
• Material properties

In the capstone: concrete topping properties (E_c, G_c)

Advanced Steel Design for Buildings

Design of multi-story steel framing systems: design loads, gravity and lateral elements, serviceability, computer modeling, AISC resources, and the professional and ethical responsibility for safe, economical designs.

• Multi-story steel systems
• Lateral systems
• Serviceability & vibration
• Computer modeling
• AISC design guides

In the capstone: spandrel torsion per DG 9 · floor vibration · DG 22 façade attachments

Geotechnical Engineering

Analysis, evaluation and design of the foundation systems most often used under buildings, with emphasis on shallow foundations. Soil mechanics, bearing capacity and settlement, with an overview of deep foundations (piles, drilled shafts) and quality, code and safety considerations.

• Soil mechanics
• Bearing capacity
• Settlement
• Shallow foundations
• Piles & drilled shafts

In the capstone: foundation design procedure

Indeterminate Structures

Determinate and indeterminate multi-member structures. Extends classical methods for beams, columns, trusses and frames under gravity and environmental loads, including building code wind and seismic provisions, and teaches how to validate computer models against hand analysis.

• Force & displacement methods
• Stiffness method
• Wind & seismic provisions
• Model validation
• Lateral load paths

In the capstone: RAM model and its limits · ASCE 7 wind provisions

Advanced Concrete Design for Buildings

The second reinforced concrete course. It focuses on understanding the theory well enough to learn independently: designing gravity and lateral concrete systems with the strength design approach, laying out systems conceptually, and connecting analysis to design decisions.

• Two-way & lateral systems
• Strength design
• Conceptual layout
• Analysis → design decisions

In the capstone: floor system selection

Wind & Seismic Analysis

Listed in her coursework: lateral load determination for buildings under ASCE 7. That covers wind pressures on the main wind force resisting system and on components & cladding, and seismic design parameters.

• ASCE 7 wind
• Components & cladding
• Seismic parameters
• Drift

In the capstone: the full C&C chain · drift compatibility

Statics

Equilibrium of particles and rigid bodies: force systems, free-body diagrams, trusses and frames, friction, centroids and moments of inertia.

• Free-body diagrams
• Equilibrium
• Centroids & inertia

Dynamics

Kinematics and kinetics of particles and rigid bodies: work–energy and impulse–momentum. The basis for vibration and dynamic response.

• Kinematics
• Kinetics
• Energy methods

In the capstone: floor vibration

Strength of Materials

Stress and strain under axial, torsional, bending and shear loads, deflection of beams and column buckling.

• Stress & strain
• Torsion
• Bending & shear
• Buckling

In the capstone: torsion of a W18×40

Mechanical Response of Engineering Materials (with lab)

How engineering materials deform and fail (elastic and plastic behavior, fracture, fatigue), with a lab course measuring those properties by testing.

• Material behavior
• Failure modes
• Lab testing

In the capstone: orthotropic CLT behavior

Matrices

Systems of linear equations, matrix algebra, determinants and eigenvalues. This is the mathematics behind the stiffness method in every structural analysis program.

• Linear systems
• Matrix algebra
• Eigenvalues

In the capstone: finite element model

Fundamentals of Surveying

Measurement and field methods for distances, angles and elevations, as used in site layout and construction.

• Field measurement
• Leveling
• Site layout

Introduction to Architectural Engineering Concepts

How building systems depend on each other, combining architectural design, thermal science and building codes: fire protection, storm water, climate design, psychrometrics, thermal comfort, heat transfer, energy calculations and sustainable design.

• Building systems integration
• Heat transfer
• Psychrometrics
• Codes
• Sustainable design

In the capstone: assembly U-values

Building Materials, Methods and Modeling I

Building materials, construction methods and computer modeling: architectural and structural materials, 2D and 3D representation, industry software and code requirements, taught through site tours and construction demonstrations.

• Materials & methods
• 2D / 3D modeling
• Industry software
• Code requirements

In the capstone: layer-by-layer wall assemblies

Building Materials, Methods and Modeling II

Reading and producing construction documents: hand sketches and CAD drawings of plans, elevations, sections, details and schedules to code standards.

• Construction documents
• Detailing
• CAD drawing
• Hand sketching

In the capstone: connection details and wall sections

Programming and Data Science for Architectural Engineering

Programming in Python (object-oriented and functional), data science, exploratory analysis, visualization libraries, statistics and optimization, applied to architectural engineering problems.

• Python
• Data analysis
• Visualization
• Statistics
• Optimization

In the capstone: calculation tools and the live calculator

Fundamentals of Architectural Acoustics

Sound physics, room acoustics, sound isolation and human hearing. Calculating reverberation time and sound transmission class to improve rooms and keep noise out.

• Room acoustics
• Sound isolation
• STC
• Reverberation time

In the capstone: acoustic criterion in the glazing decision

Fundamentals of Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning

Air-conditioning processes and HVAC systems: thermal comfort, indoor air quality, heat transmission, heating and cooling load estimation, and common building system types.

• Heat transmission
• Load estimation
• Thermal comfort
• HVAC systems

In the capstone: enclosure thermal performance

Fundamentals of Electrical and Illumination Systems for Building

Lighting and electrical design: vision, photometric calculations, luminaires, IES guidance, energy codes, electrical calculations, the National Electrical Code and power distribution.

• Photometrics
• NEC
• Power distribution
• Energy codes

Introduction to the Building Construction Industry

How construction projects are organized and managed: contracts, cost estimating, scheduling with the critical path method, risk, bonds and insurance, and managing safety, quality, cost and schedule.

• Estimating
• CPM scheduling
• Contracts
• Risk management

In the capstone: constructability decisions

Engineering Lifecycle Economic Analysis for Buildings

Life-cycle economics: evaluating systems that cost more up front but less over the building's life, using engineering economics.

• Life-cycle cost
• Engineering economics
• System decisions

In the capstone: decision log

Basic Design and Research I & II

Studio courses in architectural design: form, space, representation and design research. They teach engineers to read and respect design intent.

• Design studio
• Representation
• Design intent

Architectural Design Analysis

Analysis of architectural design: how buildings are composed and why, from the perspective of an engineer who has to work with that design.

• Design analysis
• Architectural intent

In the capstone: aesthetic goals for the façade

Comprehensive Architectural Engineering Senior Project I

The first half of the year-long capstone, writing-intensive. Students analyze an existing building in depth in their option and propose redesigns, documenting the work as professional technical reports.

• Building analysis
• Technical writing
• Design proposal

In the capstone: Anchor Point Engineering team

Comprehensive Architectural Engineering Senior Project II

The second half of the capstone: carrying out the redesign, integrating across disciplines, producing the final drawing set, and presenting it.

• Integrated redesign
• Drawing set
• Presentation

In the capstone: the 17-sheet structural set · decision log

Organizational Behavior & Design

Listed in her coursework: how teams and organizations work, including communication, coordination and decision-making, applied to running a design team.

• Team dynamics
• Coordination
• Decision-making

In the capstone: discipline interfaces