Ground and structure
Structural module
officeschoolhospitalparkingcampus
It is the measure repeated between columns or walls that orders a building’s structure. It forms a grid on which spaces, facades and services are arranged.
What it solves
It allows faster construction with identical parts and changes of use without touching the structure. A regular structure also distributes earthquake forces better.
Today
Define the module early based on the use, the parking and the parts to be fabricated. Align the axes of columns, facade and ducts so everything grows on the same grid.
Common mistake
Choosing the column spacing without thinking about cars or classrooms, which leaves spaces that do not fit the structure.
Tomorrow
A well-chosen module allows an office building to become housing or classrooms with few changes. Parts of equal size can be dismantled and reused in another project.
Fact In Japan the traditional ken measures about 1.82 m, and a tatami equals half a square ken.
Where it comes from
- 1Traditional Japanese architecture Japan, measure fixed around 1650
The ken, the distance between pillars, is used to measure buildings by bays and defines the size of the tatami. - 2Song dynasty Kaifeng, China, 1103
The Yingzao Fashi treatise arranged timber parts into eight size grades, a modular system applicable to the whole building. - 3Industrial era London, England, 1851
The Crystal Palace was assembled from identical modules 24 feet on a side, in mass-produced iron and glass. It could be enlarged or reduced in parts.
Masters
- Mies van der Rohe Illinois Institute of Technology campus, Chicago, United States, 1940
He orders the entire campus on modules 24 feet on a side and 12 high. Each building is symmetrical and the whole slides along the same measure within a park.
Appears in the routes
See also
Also in Ground and structure
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.