Structural pocket guide for architecture students

Feel free to use, spread and reach out with thoughts and feedback! For those who prefer print: this pocket guide is tailored to an A3 paper-size. The folio is best printed recto-verso (flipped over short edge) and folded as indicated on the front page.

A very low-threshold tool for students and practitioners, to assess the impact of choices on the structure during studio work, was still missing from the range of high-quality resource material that exists. The content is limited to a 2-page folio, made visually accessible and guides through the basic steps in structural analysis. In addition to bridging design courses with theoretical ones, it can serve as an overview to situate in depth knowledge from various theoretical courses.

More background can be found in the paper ‘Structural pocket guide for architecture students.’ The text touches upon three topics; a literature review of recent practical guides for the design of structures, which also makes it a reference guide. Secondly, background on the choices for the format and content of the proposed pocket guide. The last section is a sample check of the published rules of thumb to make preliminary estimations for the depth of structural members. The variety of such rules of thumb is very large, which asks for some thoughts when one wants to reproduce them.

Pocket guides are in some ways always context dependant, which is in particular the case for the chapters with a red background. This one is made in Belgium: Values for imposed loads and materials are based on Belgian rules and customs, but this context also explains why seismic loads are not addressed. I would be interested to have versions adapted to various regions, so if you would like to collaborate on that, please do reach out!

Keep an eye on this page, as it will always contain the most recent versions of the document.

Project Info

Research group: Architecture Culture and the Contemporary (ACC)
Start date: 11-02-2025
Researchers: Tilke Devriese