Principles of Structures

aeo most existing structural analysis texts are highly mathematical aeo this text has minimal mathematics and uses a highly visual approach to explain structural concepts aeo particularly suitable, therefore, for architectural students and those civil engineering students who have difficulty with a very mathematical approach. This book provides an introduction to the conceptual design of structure for students of architecture and civil engineering. Using a highly visual approach and presenting concepts in a concise way, it provides an understanding of the fundamentals of structures and clear definition of technical terms, whilst avoiding extensive mathematical formulation. The book consists of two main parts. The first introduces the basic concepts essential to the understanding of structural behaviour. The second part is a survey of structural systems and their main structural features. Throughout, the central theme is the close link between form and structure, and between geometry and the flow in the structure. Both architectural students and civil engineering students need an intrinsic grasp of structures, but existing texts on structural theory are too mathematical for architectural students and many civil engineering students would benefit from an introduction to basic principles. This book provides a highly visual approach to explain structural concepts to these two audiences.