Design Appraisal

1. Introduction
A new [x] storey height building [with a basement] is to be designed. [Site Location] + [Site
Condition] + [Site Restriction].
Two distinct and viable solutions will be proposed. One of the schemes will be recommended in
view of its function, safety and aesthetic.

2. Design Appraisal
With regard to the client requirement and site conditions, the following factors will govern the design:

Design Appraisal (IStructE Part III Examination)

Client’s Requirement /
Conditions
Architectural Consideration
1. Building Types
2. Building Plan
3. Elevation of Building
Implication to Design
a. Required good sound / heat insulation?
Sufficient thickness of member shall be allowed (Concrete is preferable)
a. Open Plan? No walls required
b. Long Span? Long span structure required.
e.g. Structural Steel / Truss System
c. Transfer Required? Transfer Beam required.
a. Fully glazed elevation? Column need to set back
b. Extensive glazed? Column may need to set back
c. Structural elements left exposed elevation? No set back
d. Full height glazing? No external wall and column set back
e. External cavity wall? Perimeter beam required and column
set back
f. Brickwork/blockwork elevation? Perimeter beams

4. Lighting System a. Artificial lighting to be used?

5. Appearance of building
6. Limited structural zone
Structure may be enclosed by walls. i.e bearing wall is applicable
b. High degree of natural lighting?
Elevation to be glazed as much as possible and the applicable of structural wall is
not feasible
a. Elegant structures? Small member size and good appearance
a. Flat slab, ribbed slab and waffle slab design is more appropriate

Architectural Consideration (Continue….)

7. Minimum headroom a. = Storey height – min headroom – service zone (say 300) – Ceiling (say 50) – floor
 Design Appraisal

finishes (say 50)

b. Headroom requirement:
i) General building – 2.35m
ii) Under door – 2.1m
iii) Under staircase – 2.1m
iv) Carpark – 2.0m
8. Windows a. X% of wall length to be window – Only (1-X%) of wall can be structurally effective
b. Y% of wall area to be window – Used for calculation of edge loading
9. Maintenance a. To minimize the maintenance, R.C. structure preferred. If steelwork, high standard
of corrosion protection to be specified

Structural Consideration
1. Minimum Column a. Column grids should be designed to (x.xx m) c/c min
spacing specified
2. No of story? a. Progressive failure has to be considered if more than 5 story

3. Lift or staircase core a. The core wall is used for resisting gravity and lateral wind load
exist?
4. Length of building? a. Construction joint/ Expansion joint/ Movement joint/ Shrinkage strip may required
6. Gravity Load? a. Assume nominal superimposed DL as follows:
Finish Service Partition LL
Office 1.2 0.7 1
Residential 1.2 0.3 1
Roof 3.5 0.3 -
Carpark 1.2 0.6 -

7. Wind Load? a. Calculation of basic wind Speed is Vm/s

Wind Pressure, w = 0.613(S1S2S3V)2
Where S1=S3=1, S2 refer to CP3
b. If the aspect ratio (height to base ratio) is small than 4. It is assumed that the effect
of wind load is not critical to the design of whole building. But wind force should be
considered for the design of important members i.e. curtain wall / cladding
8. Extension? a. Differential settlement between existing and proposed building should be
considered > Provide MJ
 Design Appraisal

Structural Consideration (Continue….)

9. Building Type a. Carparks
i) Ramps should not less than 1:7(rise < 1.5m) ,1:10(rise > 1.5m)
ii) Vehicular barriers required
iii) Split levels design is more appropriate but the lateral stability should be
maintained.
iv) Typical Bin Size - 2.4 x 4.75, Large – 5.65 x 2.75 and Coaches – 12.0 x 4.0
v) One-way aisle = 6m
vi) Two-way aisle = 6.95m
vii) Clearance to structure = 230mm
viii) Minimum headroom = 2.05m
b. Tall buildings
i) Differential shortening of columns due to construction sequence
ii) Temperature effects on external columns, walls and claddings
iii) Progressive collapse to be avoid
10. Large span steel roof a. Deflections and uplift to be checked

Site Conditions, Constraints and underground condition

1. Site Location? a. City Center
i) Site restriction such as noise, vibration, settlement and traffic
ii) Lack of working space (Pre-fabricated structure may be used)
iii) Design wind pressure is not critical
iv) Restriction in noise during site operations e.g. pile driving to be avoid
v) Site working hours decreased. Sunday not allowed for concreting.
b. In country area
i) Less site restriction on site. Large machinery may be used
ii) Larger wind pressure
c. Close to existing building
i) Column to be set back from the edge of existing building to accommodate the
new foundation
ii) Movement Joint between new and existing building to allow relative movement
iii) New foundation shall not induce additional surcharge to the existing foundation
iv) Excavation for new foundation may release the overburden pressure on the old
foundation.
Hence, decrease the soil bearing capacity
v) Access may be restricted, construction method and sequence to suit
vi) Settlement and tilting monitoring points should be provided during construction.
 Design Appraisal

Site Conditions, Constraints and underground condition (Continue…)

1. Site Location? d. Sloped ground level / Difference in ground level
i) Retaining wall to withstand soil and water loading
e. Working space restricted, Traffic flow to be maintained
i) Pre-fabricated construction
f. Restricted site access
i) Delivery and handling of structural steel is not feasible, use in-situ
R.C. concrete

2. Ground water table a. High water table?

i) Dewatering required
ii) G/F on grade slab not preferable
iii) Decrease allowable bearing pressure for shallow foundation
iv) Waterproofing may be required, use drained cavity
v) Temporary retaining structures may required
3. Soil condition a. Concrete exposed to sulphate attack? Chemical contains in ground water?
i) Refer to BS8110 Table 6.1 Concrete exposed to sulphate attack
b. pH value in soil specified?
pH Precautions for foundation above Precautions for foundation in
Value ground water table in any soil and contact with flowing ground water in
below ground water level in permeable soil
impervious clay
6 None necessary None necessary
6-5 Use ordinary Portland cement with Use ordinary Portland cement with
min.370kg/m3, and max W/C ratio min 380kg/m3 or sulphate-resisting
0.50 cement with min 350kg/m3, and
max W/C ratio 0.5
5 Use ordinary Portland cement with Use supersulphate cement, or
min 400kg/m , or sulphate-resisting
3
ordinary Portland cement with min
cement with min 390kg/m3, and 400kg/m3, or sulphate-resisting
max W/C ratio 0.5 cement with min 390g/m3, and max
W/C ratio 0.5; addition protect by
external sheathing
c. Clay in soil?
Heaving due to excavation / swelling due to the change of water table, could
overcome by leaving void, or allow compressible layer between basement
structure and soil
 Design Appraisal

Site Conditions, Constraints and underground condition (Continue…2)

3. Soil condition d. Fine sand?
(Continue...) Liquidation at Seismic Zone = can’t cater footing foundation
g. Highly compressible organic layer?
Differential settlement may occur if shallow foundation is used
h. Mud/Peat?
Assume this layer to be fully consolidated, and no negative skin friction is allowed
i. Weak soil stratum underlying strong stratum?
Assume 30o degree of load spread. Check bearing pressure on weak soil
j. Occurrence of difference settlement
i) Use raft foundation to bridge over the voids
ii) Divide the building to smaller units
Make structure flexible
4. Basement a. Have Excavation?
Temporary and permanent retaining system have to be considered
b. Site boundary not mentioned?
Assume no site restriction on excavation i.e. open cut allow
c. Need water proofing?
i) Cavity wall/slab ii) External / Internal Tanking iii) Water Stops at CJ
d. Depth of basement
i) >10m = Deep ii) 8 to 10m = Medium iii) <8m = Shallow
e. Large Basement = Movement joint may required
f. Large Basement in water = Large uplift pressure
g. Part of basement in water = Uneven uplift pressure
h. Basement for car parking – Structural walls not to be used at central part of building

Programme
1. Fast construction a. Pre-fabricated structural elements i.e steel, precast concrete
programme b. Have basement? Top-Down Basement construction
 Design Appraisal

Performance Requirement
 Provision of Joint
 Torsion effect i.e asymmetrical arrangement of corewall
 Durability i.e the design life
 Exposure Condition
 FRP i.e Size and minimum cover to reinforcement
1. F.R.P. Rating a. Provide sufficient concrete cover to BS8110 or fire proofing material to steel
elements (RC structures are preferred to long hour F.R.P.

2. Exposure condition a. Internal = Mild

External = Moderate
3. Durability Concrete vs Steel
4. Concrete Cover Concrete cover according to BS8110
5. Joint
6. Robustness

1. Provide two distinct Scheme A / B

a. Materials
Reinforced concrete / Structural Steel / Precast concrete is selected as the construction material for the
scheme [A] / [B] because of the following advantages:
> See Choice of Materials
b. Floor Plan – Line diagram, Column grids …..
c. Functional Framing – Specify the beam, column size and slab thickness and span direction
d. Vertical Load Transfer & Stability
Vertical Load Path:
Beam Slab System Slab > Main Beams > Secondary Beams > Columns > Foundation
Flat Slab System Flat Slab > Column Drops/Panel > Columns > Foundation
Load Bearing Wall Slab > Beams > Bearing Walls > Transfer Beams > Columns > Foundation
Transfer Structure at Top Slab > hanger post > Transfer Beams/Truss > Columns/Corewall > Foundation

e. Horizontal Load Transfer & Stability

Horizontal Load Path:
Beam Slab System
Flat Slab System
Load Bearing Wall
Transfer Structure at Top
Cladding > Slabs > Beams/Column Framing > Foundation
Cladding > rigid diaphragm [Slabs] > Corewall > Foundation
Cladding > Slabs > Coupled shear wall > Transfer Beams > Columns >
Foundation
Cladding > Slabs > Corewall > Foundation
 Design Appraisal

f. Robustness
> 5 Stories
(Robustness – Since the building is of five stories (more than 5 stories) in height, it should be detailed so that
any vertical load-bearing element other than a key element can be removed without causing the collapse of
more than a limited portion close to the element in question. This can be achieved by:
1) Design the building to resist a minimum horizontal force.
2) Provision of tie (horizontal and vertical)
main beam and secondary beam can serve as a horizontal tie
Column & wall can serve as vertical tie
3) An alternative load path
Alternative load path is provided by the adjacent beams and columns
< 5 Stories
(Robustness – Since the building is of four stories (less than 5 stories) in height, the progressive collapse is
not critical in according to BS8110, but effective horizontal and vertical ties should be provided to ensure the
robustness.
For a properly designed and well detailed insitu reinforcement concrete structure, the tying requirements laid
down in BS 8110 are normally satisfied and progressive collapse will not occur.
All key elements and its connection should be designed to withstand an ultimate load of 34kN/m sq. from any
direction.

g. Other Consideration
1) Provision of Joint
2) Torsion Effect – Torsion effect due to the eccentricity of core walls will be considered in detailed design
stage
3) Durability
4) Basement (if any)
 if underground water exists, special water proofing may be provided depend on the required level
of water proofing
 If underground water do not exist, no additional waterproofing required.

2. Scheme Recommendation
In general, both schemes can satisfy the client’s requirements and site condition. However, considering the
following points, scheme [A] / [B] – “Scheme Title” is recommended.

 Point out the advantages of selected scheme

 Point out the disadvantage of other scheme
Based on the above comparison, Scheme [A] / [B] is therefore preferred and recommended for this project.
 Design Appraisal

3. Foundation Scheme
[Foundation Type] is chosen as the foundation for this project because of the following advantages:

A. Point out the advantages of selected foundation scheme

Shallow Foundation vs Deep Foundation
Advantages of Shallow Foundation - [Pad Footing, Strip Footing and Raft Footing]
1. Usually more economical of an adequate bearing stratum is found near ground surface.
2. Construction requires the least amount of equipment, heavy plant or skillful labours.
3. The conditions of the foundation and the supporting soil can be examined readily.
4. Relatively fast operation.
5. The foundation and superstructure can be dealt with by one single contractor, result in reduced in
contract period.
Disadvantages of Shallow Foundation - [Pad Footing, Strip Footing and Raft Footing]
1. If the bearing pressure is high, larger settlement will result. Not suitable for very soft clay, silt or peat.
2. [OPTIONAL FOR PAD FOOTING OR STRIP FOOTING ONLY] - It may not be able to bridge over any
local weakness in variable soil. Thus differential settlement will be significant. May damage the
finishes and partition in superstructure.
3. [OPTIONAL FOR HIGH WATER TABLE] - As the water table is high, dewatering may be required
during the construction, which may impair the stability of the adjoining structures.
4. [OPTIONAL FOR FOUNDING ON SOIL OR CLAY] - Not suitable for heavy buildings or for buildings
sensitive to settlements.
5. Affected by seasonable variation of moisture, zone of frost heave, roots of large vegetation, excavation
later to expose foundation.
Advantages of Deep Foundation - [Bored Piles Foundation]
1. No dewatering problem, may be constructed through a very permeable boulder layer without a cut off
being required.
2. Drilling tools can break up boulders or other obstructions which cannot be penetrated by any form of
displacement pile.
3. Construction can be carried out in a reasonable quiet and vibration free condition, thus minimum
disturbance to adjacent structure is achieved.
4. The heavy loading from the superstructure can be transferred to the harder stratum, the differential
settlement of building can be minimized.
5. Bases can be enlarged to carry increased load. (Bell-out)
6. No ground heaves.
7. Soil or rock removed during boring can be inspected for comparison with site investigation data.
Disadvantages of Deep Foundation - [Bored Piles Foundation]
1. Heavy piling plant required considerable space and reasonably level site platform.
2. Obstructions encountered during excavation will cause considerable delay.
3. Precautions against formation of a thin soft layer at the pile base and against ‘necking’ in soft soils
 Design Appraisal

must be taken.
4. The use of rock chisel to break the boulders will cause a slight settlement of the surrounding soil.

RAFT FOOTING FOUNDATION:

Advantages of RAFT Footing Foundation
1. It is a useful mean of spreading foundation load over a wider area and thus minimizing the bearing
pressure and limiting the total and differential settlement.
2. It possesses larger stiffness than the strip foundation or pad foundation. It is more capable to bridge
over local weakness in foundation stratum or variation in column loading. Differential settlement is
thus minimized.

Disadvantages of RAFT Footing Foundation

1. It requires more concrete and steel.
2. The design is more complicated
3. Subsidence of neighboring building may result.

B. Write down the Stability and Load Transfer

1. Raft Footing
[Vertical] The R.C. pad/strip/raft footing will transfer the vertical load from the superstructure to
the underlying soil with adequate bearing capacity.
[Horizontal] Horizontal shear force is resisted by the friction and passive pressure of soil
generated by soil beneath and adjacent to the foundation respectively.
2. Bored Piles
[Vertical] The pile caps received the vertical load from the columns above and transfer it to the
piles, which will transmit it with the pile to a deeper and harder stratum.
[Horizontal] Horizontal shear force from the structure above is resisted by passive resistance of
soil behind the pile caps and sub-grade reaction of soil surrounding the piles.
The overturning due to wind load will resisted by push and pull effect of piles. Owing
to the geometry of this building, there is unlikely to be net tension in the piles.
Therefore, only normal reinforcement would be required for the piles

C. Calculation to show the sufficient of bearing capacity provided by foundation

[Refer to Foundation Design Notes]
 Design Appraisal

3. Basement Scheme
1) Basement wall
Lateral Load acting on Basement wall
a. Soil Pressure + Water Pressure
b. Surcharge (Road = 10kPa)
c. Ko value of
1) Sand =0.5
SURCHARGE SOIL
2) Clay =1
3) Normally consolidation clay = 0.75
4) Clay due to overburden of the gravel overlying the clay = 0.18
d. For simply supported, [ w in unit of kN/m ]
Maximum moment of triangular load
= 0.064wl2 per meter run
Maximum moment of uniform load
=0.5wl2 per meter run
2) Basement Slab
Uplift Pressure
a. Provide under drainage layer to release the water pressure
b. Design the basement slab to resist the uplift pressure
Ground Heave
a. Undercroft , 400 to 500mm to allow the heaving of clay
3) Water-Proofing (Depends usage of basement)
a. External Tanking (Can only be used under open cut construction)
b. Drain Cavity Wall (Expensive and Efficient)
c. Drain Cavity Slab (Expensive and Efficient)
d. Water bars (Must be provided in construction joint)
4) Construction and Temporary Retaining System
a. Construction: Bottom up construction vs Top Down construction
b. Temporary Retaining System
1)Open cut excavation
2)Soil berm + raking struts
3)Sheet-pile wall + king post + Flying shoring
4)Diaphragm wall

5) Overall Stability
a. How to resist the unbalance soil pressure?
b. How to resist the uplift water pressure?

4. Letter to Clients
 Design Appraisal

5. Design Calculation
The main purposes of the following design calculations are to justify the section size, estimate required
reinforcement quantity for QS to estimate the cost.

Principal structural elements included are as follows:

5) Slabs
6) Secondary Beam
7) Main Beam
8) Cantilever Beam
9) Column
10) Foundation
11) Basement [if any]
12) Steelworks [if any]

Design Standard and References:

1. BS8110 – Structural Use of Concrete
2. BS5950 – Structural Use of Steel
3. CP3 – Code of Basic data for the design of buildings Chapter V: Loading – Part 2 : Wind Loads
4. BS8004 – Foundation
5. ISE Manual for the design of reinforced concrete building structures
6. ISE Manual for the design of steelwork building structures to EC3

Design Data:
Material:
Concrete (For Superstructure / For Foundation):
Grade : [35D/20] / [40D/20]
Strength : (fcu = 35N/mm2)
Density : 24kN/m2
Reinforcement:
Type : High yield deformed bar to BS 4449
Grade : 460
Strength : (fy = 460N/mm2)
Steelworks
Grade : 43A
Strength : (fy = 275N/mm2) For thickness =< 16mm
(fy = 265N/mm2) For thickness >= 40mm

Performance Requirement:
 Design Appraisal

A) Durability
B) FRP
C) Concrete covers

Design Load
A) Loading Schedule (Finishes, Services, Partition and Live Load)
B) Wind Load

Calculation of Selected Structural Element

A) Beams
B) Slabs
C) Columns
D) Foundation
E) Basement
 Design Appraisal

Choice of materials
1) Reinforced Concrete
Reinforced concrete is selected as the construction material for the sche me [A] / [B] because of the
following advantages:
Factors Concrete Advantages
Strength 1. Reinforced concrete system provides a high strength/low cost structure with good
rigidity and robustness.
Durability 1. R.C. is durable and provides a good resistance to weather and chemical attack.
Maintenance cost is low.
2. Good fire resistance is easily achieved by the cover requirement.
3. It is easily to apply waterproofing material to achieve different degree of
waterproofing.
4. It is easily to resist sulphate attack in substructures by specifying sulphate
resistance cement.
Insulation 1. R.C. has good sound and thermal insulation behavior.
Construability 1. R.C. is easy in construction and requires less skilled labors locally.
Availability 1. Both concrete and reinforcements are readily available locally, no procurement
period is required and hence more flexibility to accommodate late design changes.
Cost ($$) 1. In situ concrete is the cheaper construction material than [precast concrete] /
[steelwork]. The maintenance cost especially in leakage problem for in-situ
construction is lowest.
Programme 1. In-situ concrete construction is a convention method. It is readily available of
labour and materials on site. Moreover, the availability of experience R.C. designer
and detailer will shorten the overall design period which is still the shortest
comparatively. Besides, and latest design changes can be accommodated on site
easily. In practice, table form, pumping concrete.
Safety 1. In-situ concrete construction is easily to obtain its robustness. But, [steelwork
construction] & [precast concrete construction] are relied on proper detail and skill
of labours. Therefore, the workmanship and supervision must be highly controlled.

Factors Concrete Disadvantages

Weight 1. Dead load of concrete structure is significant. This would result in a much heavier
foundation and hence higher the foundation cost.
Tension 1. Concrete structure has a poor resistance to tensile force. Cracking due to creep &
shrinkage can affect the esthetical appearance.
Formwork 1. A high content of formwork is required in concrete construction. This will increase
the construction cost and longer time is required.
Construability 1. Concrete construction (particularly concreting operation) can easily be affected by
 Design Appraisal

weather conditions. This would also prolong the construction time.

2. Special attention is required to provide the necessary mechanical distribution
space between ceiling & floor without increasing storey height (because concrete
system normally requires thicker structural elements)
 Design Appraisal

2) Steelworks
Structural steel is selected as the construction material for the scheme [A] / [B] because of the following
advantages:
Factors Structural Steel Advantages
Strength 1. High strength. High strength to weight ratio, suitable for long span structure.
Construability 1. Simplicity of assembly, all elements are prefabricated & delivered to site. Only
site welding or bolting will be required.
Cost ($$) 1. Steel construction can produce a light weight structure. (This is important in
some area where ground condition is poor. Therefore, shallow foundation can be
used and the foundation cost is reduced.
2. Overall economy may be achieved primary by reduction in erection time.
Programme 1. Fast construction, erection of steel structure can be relatively independent of
weather condition. Installation of flooring can keep pace with the remaining steel
structure. Floor construction may also be carried out at several levels
simultaneously using un-propped corrugated steel decking as permanent
formwork.
Safety -

Factors Structural Steel Disadvantages

Availability 1. Long pre-ordering and delivery time would be required since majority members are
to be imported from overseas.
Design Changes 1. Early decision on member size & connection details are required so as to allow for
ordering and shop drawing preparation. Little flexibility in cooperating late changes.
Durability 1. Steel members require special treatment and protection to fire and corrosion.
These requirements are likely to counterweight other advantages. The special
treatment are:
c) Low cost – Sprayed System (Mineral fibre sprayed systems,
Vermiculite/gypsum/cement system
d) External System(Mineral fibre boards/batts, Vermiculite/gypsum boards,
plaster board)
e) Performed System
f) Intumescent Coatings
g) water or concrete filled structural hollow section
h) Concrete casings
2. Steel structure require frequent maintenance

Constructability 1. Skillful labours are required for fabrication, erection and welding.
2. Large area on site is required for storage of structural member prior to erection.
3. Fabrication needs heavy plant and crane operation.
Properties 1. Steel structure are sensitive to temperature change and vibration
 Design Appraisal

2. Steel members will deflect appreciable under total load, needs pre-cambering.
Properties 1. Steel structure are sensitive to temperature change and vibration
2. Steel members will deflect appreciable under total load, needs pre-cambering.