As mentioned in yesterday’s blog post, we have split ourselves up into three separate groups in an attempt to finalize our designs into 1 complete proposal. The group I have been working with has been looking at constructability issues. The purpose of the design is to be modular in that it can be easily disassembled, moved, and then reassembled. We are taking a deeper look at exactly how that would occur. Some of the major components we are currently researching are: the foundations, the removable doors, and the roof. The roof is currently the largest puzzle to solve. The proposal at the review a few days ago suggested that the roofing material would be lifted off in one piece, following by the roof framing being removed in a single piece. After discussion on Wednesday, we decided that removing the roof in a single piece was probably not the best approach to take. Specialized equipment would be needed that may or may not always be available on site, and we would have to design a technique that it could be lifted without any damage.
As a result, we have been investigating breaking the roof down into 8 identical panels. The main ridges would be placed first onto the structure, and then the 8 panels would either slide or set onto that structural element. The overall idea of this design is to make it easy to assemble and disassemble, so working with smaller panels seemed to make more sense. This, of course, is still a work in progress. One of the items we are investigating to help solve this problem, is roofing types and details. We have settled on having some form of a metal roof, whether it be galvanized steel or aluminum, and we are currently looking at various profiles and detailing for those. The hope is that in investigating how the roofing will be installed to the structure, we are able to draw some ideas as to how this whole thing could fit together.
As previously mentioned, there are a few other items we are investigating. We have a member of the group looking into how the doors would hinge and be able to be removed, and I, along with looking at roofing, have been looking into foundation types. We have narrowed it down to using either diamond piers or helical piles, it is now just a matter of determining which type makes the most sense for this design. Stay tuned to see how our research develops!
