Preface of Edward Allen – Architectural Detailing – Function, Constructibility, Aesthetics by Edward Allen & Patrick Rand book
AS a way of guiding the transition from architectural idea to built reality, an architect designs and draws for each building a set of details that show how it will be put together.
architectural details
How does the architect know if these details will achieve the desired result? Will the building that they represent go together easily and economically? Will it shed water? Will it be easy to heat and cool? Will the details look good with one another and with the overall form and space of the building? Will the building grow old gracefully, and will it last for the requisite period of time? There are many more questions of similar importance.
The experienced architect does not leave the answers to chance. Each detail, no matter how special or unprecedented, is designed in conformance with universal, timeless patterns that, given competent execution on the construc tion site, virtually guarantee satisfactory building performance. These detail patterns are the subject of this book.
Detail patterns are elemental fragments that are present in all successful building details. They represent an accumulation of centuries of wisdom about what works in building construction and what doesn’t. Many of the patterns are firmly grounded in scientific fact. Others are based just as solidly on common sense and the realities of human performance. The experienced architect employs all these patterns automatically, as if by instinct, when designing details.
Edward Allen – Architectural Detailing – Function, Constructibility, Aesthetics
The architect also uses the detail patterns as a reliable means of analyzing and understanding existing details. They are helpful in reviewing one’s own work, in checking the work of other detailers in the office, in judging the quality of manufactured building components, and in diag
nosing problems in existing buildings. The absence of a particular detail pattern, or the presence of a feature that contradicts a pattern, usually indicates a problem or a potential problem that should be corrected.
The detail patterns are straightforward and easy to learn. There are fewer than a hundred of them. Each is irreducibly simple. The first section of this book introduces each of the patterns in turn, explains it, and illustrates several instances of its use. Each pattern is given a simple descriptive name and a graphical icon to assist in its memorization.
The patterns are arranged in three main groups: Function, Constructibility, and Aesthetics, corresponding to the three major concerns of the detailer. Under each of these groupings, the patterns are further categorized by similarity of intent. The first category of patterns under Function, for example, is Controlling Water Leakage, comprising eleven detail patterns that offer a complete strategy for accomplishing this important task.
Edward Allen – Architectural Detailing – Function, Constructibility, Aesthetics pdf download
The second section of the book demonstrates the use of the detail patterns during the process of designing the details of three different buildings: one in wood, one in architectural concrete, and one in brick veneer over a reinforced concrete frame.
The book closes with an annotated listing of publications recommended for the detailer’s own reference shelf.
It is assumed that the reader has a general background in the materials and methods of building construction, and is familiar with the conventions of architectural drawing. In the detail drawings throughout the book, outdoors is always to the left or the top of the drawing.
Download Preface of Edward Allen – Architectural Detailing – Function, Constructibility, Aesthetics by Edward Allen & Patrick Rand in free pdf format.
