Building

This article is about a man-made structure intended for human use or occupation. For the act of making buildings, see Construction. For structures not intended for human use, see Nonbuilding structure. For other uses, see Building (disambiguation).
The Hôtel de Ville, building in Paris, France
A Shaolin Monastery building in China

A building or edifice is a structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory.[1] Buildings come in a variety of shapes, sizes and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, to land prices, ground conditions, specific uses and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the term building compare the list of nonbuilding structures.

Buildings serve several needs of society – primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) and the outside (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful).

Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasess of artistic expression. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practices has also become an intentional part of the design process of many new buildings.

Definitions

A building and skybridge in Munich, Germany
The Rotunda in Hellerup, Denmark, a cylindric building made in steel frame and aluminum
Example of a religious building: the Great Mosque of Kairouan (also called the Mosque of Uqba), founded in 670, dates in its present state principally from the 9th century. The Great Mosque of Kairouan is located in the city of Kairouan, Tunisia.
Da Vinci building (at the left), in Mendoza, Argentina. Considered one of the 1000 architectures of the Americas.

The word building is both a noun and a verb: the structure itself and the act of making it. As a noun, a building is 'a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place';[1] "there was a three-storey building on the corner"; "it was an imposing edifice". In the broadest interpretation a fence or wall is a building[2] However, the word structure is used more broadly than building including natural and man-made formations[3] and does not necessarily have walls. Structure is more likely to be used for a fence. Sturgis' Dictionary included that "[building] differs from Architecture [sic] in excluding all idea of artistic treatment; and it differs from Construction [sic] in the idea of excluding scientific or highly skilful treatment."[4] As a verb, building is the act of construction.

Structural height in technical usage is the height to the highest architectural detail on building from street-level. Depending on how they are classified, spires and masts may or may not be included in this height. Spires and masts used as antennas are not generally included. The definition of a low-rise vs. a high-rise building is a matter of debate, but generally three storeys or less is considered low-rise.[5]

History

A report by Shinichi Fujimura of a shelter built 500 000 years ago[6] is doubtful since Fujimura was later found to have faked many of his findings.[7] Supposed remains of huts found at the Terra Amata site in Nice purportedly dating from 200 000 to 400 000 years ago[8] have also been called into question. (See Terra Amata.) There is clear evidence of home-building from around 18 000 BC.[9] Buildings became common during the Neolithic (see Neolithic architecture).

Types

A timber-framed house in Marburg, Germany
A block of tenements (apartments) in Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, Scotland

Residential

Single-family residential buildings are most often called houses or homes. Residential buildings containing more than one dwelling unit are called a duplex, apartment building to differentiate them from 'individual' houses. A condominium is an apartment that the occupant owns rather than rents. Houses may also be built in pairs (semi-detached), in terraces where all but two of the houses have others either side; apartments may be built round courtyards or as rectangular blocks surrounded by a piece of ground of varying sizes. Houses which were built as a single dwelling may later be divided into apartments or bedsitters; they may also be converted to another use e.g. an office or a shop.

Building types may range from huts to multi-million dollar high-rise apartment blocks able to house thousands of people. Increasing settlement density in buildings (and smaller distances between buildings) is usually a response to high ground prices resulting from many people wanting to live close to work or similar attractors. Other common building materials are brick, concrete or combinations of either of these with stone.

Residential buildings have different names for their use depending if they are seasonal include holiday cottage (vacation home) or timeshare; size such as a cottage or great house; value such as a shack or mansion; manner of construction such as a log home or mobile home; proximity to the ground such as earth sheltered house, stilt house, or tree house. Also if the residents are in need of special care such as a nursing home, orphanage or prison; or in group housing like barracks or dormitorys.

Historically many people lived in communal buildings called longhouses, smaller dwellings called pit-houses and houses combined with barns sometimes called housebarns.

Buildings are defined to be substantial, permanent structures so other dwelling forms such as houseboats, yurts, and motorhomes are dwellings but not buildings.

Multi-storey

A Multi-storey is a building that has multiple floors above ground in the building.

Multi-storey buildings aim to increase the floor area of the building without increasing the area of the land the building is built on, hence saving land and, in most cases, money (depending on material used and land prices in the area). The building with the most stories is the Burj Khalifa, with 162.

Creation

The practice of designing, constructing, and operating buildings is most usually a collective effort of different groups of professionals and trades. Depending on the size, complexity, and purpose of a particular building project, the project team may include:

Regardless of their size or intended use, all buildings in the US must comply with zoning ordinances, building codes and other regulations such as fire codes, life safety codes and related standards.

Vehicles—such as trailers, caravans, ships and passenger aircraft—are treated as "buildings" for life safety purposes.

Ownership and funding

Building services

Physical plant

Main article: Physical plant
The BB&T Building in Macon, Georgia is constructed of aluminum.

Any building requires a certain amount of internal infrastructure to function, which includes such elements like heating / cooling, power and telecommunications, water and wastewater etc. Especially in commercial buildings (such as offices or factories), these can be extremely intricate systems taking up large amounts of space (sometimes located in separate areas or double floors / false ceilings) and constitute a big part of the regular maintenance required.

Conveying systems

Systems for transport of people within buildings:

Systems for transport of people between interconnected buildings:

Building damage

A building in Massueville, Quebec, Canada engulfed by fire

Buildings may be damaged during the construction of the building or during maintenance. There are several other reasons behind building damage like accidents[10] such as storms, explosions and subsidence caused by mining or poor foundations. Buildings also may suffer from fire damage and flooding in special circumstances. They may also become dilapidated through lack of proper maintenance or alteration work improperly carried out.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Max J. Egenhofer and David Michael Mark (2002), ''Geographic information science: second international conference, GIScience 2002, Boulder, CO, USA, September 25-28, 2002 : proceedings'', Springer, p. 110. Books.google.fr. 2002-09-13. Retrieved 2014-08-22.
  2. ↑ Building def. 2. Whitney, William Dwight, and Benjamin E. Smith. The Century dictionary and cyclopedia. vol. 1. New York: Century Co., 1901. 712. Print.
  3. ↑ Structure. def. 2. Merriam-Webster's dictionary of synonyms: a dictionary of discriminated synonyms with antonyms and analogous and contrasted words.. Springfield, Mass: Merriam-Webster, 1984. 787. Print.
  4. ↑ Building. def 1. Sturgis, Russell. A dictionary of architecture and building: biographical, historical, and descriptive. vol. 1. New York: The Macmillan Co. ;, 1901. 2236. Print.
  5. ↑ Paul Francis Wendt and Alan Robert Cerf (1979), Real estate investment analysis and taxation, McGraw-Hill, p. 210
  6. ↑ "World's oldest building discovered". BBC News. 2000-03-01. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
  7. ↑ Peter Hadfield (Nov 18, 2000). "Fraud means Japan must rewrite its history". New Scientist: 6.
  8. ↑ Peter Hadfield (Mar 4, 2000). "Gimme shelter". New Scientist: 4.
  9. ↑ Rob Dunn (Aug 23, 2014). "Meet the lodgers: Wildlife in the great indoors". New Scientist: 34–37.
  10. ↑ "Building Damage". Pb.unimelb.edu.au. Retrieved 2014-08-22.

External links

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