AMBO UNIVERSITY WELSO CAMPUS

DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

AND MANAGEMENT
BUILDING CONSTRUCTION –I
COURSE CODE (2071)
1 INTRODUCTION
March 2018
CONTENTS
 Introduction
 General
 Definition of terms
 Building Classifications

 Classification based on material

 Classification based on construction type

 Classification based on occupancy

 Components of a Building
 Design and performance requirements

 Main Parties in Building Construction

 Resource for Building Construction

1. GENERAL
 A construction is a process of constructing something by man for
one purpose or another. It may be a road, bridge, adam, a
dwelling place, an airport, a commercial building, etc.
 A building can be generally considered as a structure consisting of
floors, walls and roofs erected to provide covered space for
different uses such as residence, business, entertainment,
workshop, etc.
 The building consists not only the house to be built, but also the
site, the roads, paths, the yard, the garden, the gate and the fence.

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1. GENERAL

 For constructing the building, among many factors, the following

requirements must be satisfied.

 A site to build the house

 Permission from local authorities
 Material for building the house
 Skilled laborers for erection of the house
 Financial source
 Professionals, such as architects and engineers.

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1. GENERAL
 Buildings serve several needs of society – primarily as shelter
from weather and as general living space, to provide privacy, to
store belongings and to comfortably live and work.
 The art of building is not new for human, it starts in pre-historic
age.
 The initial causes which forced man to look for shelter were:
Fear of wild animals
Seeking protection against the cold and the heat
Seeking shelter against the rain and wind
The desire for a place where everything belonging to the family
could be gathered.

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Building: is a built structure with a foundation wall and roof or, a
building can be defined as any structure constructed of what so
ever the material and used for residential, business or any other
purpose.
Building design: is the process of providing all information necessary
for construction of a building that will meet its owner’s
requirements and also satisfy public health, welfare, and safety
requirements.
Building construction: It is the art of constructing buildings for
residential, business and other purpose systematically according to
their design and planning.

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 Buildings can be generally classified in different groups depending
upon material use, construction type, use/function or occupancy.
I) Material Use

Classification Based On Classification Based On

Wall material Roof covering material
• Timber house • Thatched house
• Chika (mud) house • CIS house
• Stone house • Flat roof house
• Brick house • Pitched roof house
• HCB house

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II) Construction type

Classification Based On Classification Based On

Time Height of Building
• Traditional • Low height
• Modern • High rise building
• Sky sc.

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III) Use/Function/Occupancy

Classification Based On
Occupancy(use)

• Residential buildings
• Educational buildings
• Assembly buildings
• Business buildings
• Mercantile buildings
• Industrial buildings
• Institutional buildings
• Ware Storage buildings
• Hazardous buildings

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1. Residential buildings:.
Ex. private residences, apartments,
dormitories, hotels, etc.

2. Educational buildings: include any building

used for educational instructions.
Ex. schools

3. Assembly buildings: include any building

where group of people gather for amusement,
recreation, social, political, religious and
similar purposes.
Ex. theatres, halls, places of worship, etc.

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4. Business buildings
Ex. Garages, barbershops, city halls,
courthouses, libraries, etc.

5. Mercantile buildings: any building which is

used as shops, stores, market, and for display
(show) and sale of merchandise (goods).
Ex. Shopping malls

6. Industrial buildings: any building in which

products or materials of all kinds are
fabricated, assembled, finished or processed.
Ex. Assembly plants

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7. Institutional buildings: any building
which is used for purposes such as medical
or other treatment or care or for penal or
correctional detention.
Ex. hospitals, prisons, etc
8. Storage buildings: any building which is
used for storage or sheltering of goods,
merchandise, agricultural products, raw
materials etc.
Ex. ware houses, barns, etc

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 A building has two basic parts:
Sub-structure
Super structure
Sub-structure: is the lower portion of the building, usually located
below the ground level, which transmits the loads of the super-
structure to the supporting soil.
Super-structure: is that part of the structure which is above the
ground level, and which serves the purpose of its intended use.
 The basic component of a building include:
♦ Foundations ♦ Walls ♦ floor
♦ Roof structures ♦ Building finishes
♦ Doors, windows and other openings ♦ Vertical transportation

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Sub-structure

Super-structure and sub-structure 14

 To accommodate the basic functional requirements, a building
should satisfy the following requirements in its design and
construction works:
1. Strength and stability
 Any structural component of a building should be strong
enough to carry or support all possible types of loads to which
it is likely to be subjected.

 The loads in a building are commonly classified as:

Dead loads: are static loads.
Live loads: also called as super-imposed(overlay) loads,
consist of moving or variable loads
Wind loads: are loads, which can cause uplift on a building
and reduce the pressure on the foundation.
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2. Dimensional stability

 elastic and plastic deformations as a result of applied loads

 expansion and contraction due to changes in temperature
and moisture content.

3. Comfort and convenience

 Should be satisfied by proper planning of the buildings and its
units.
 Optimum utilization of space
 Lighting considerations
 Orientation

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4) Resistance to moisture penetration
 The presence of moisture in any building structure
deteriorates the materials strength, reduces durability and
could cause partial or total failure of the structure.

5) Fire protection
 A building structure should not ignite (catch fire) easily.
 A building should provide means of fire escape
 A building should be designed to reduce the spread of fire

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6. Heat insulation
 The building should be designed in such a way to maintain
fairly constant temperature of the internal environment
independently of the varying climatic conditions externally.

7. Day light and ventilation

 Day lighting is essential to promote the activities carried in
the building and to create pleasant inside environment.
 Ventilation is essential to prevent undue concentration of
odours, fumes, dust,

8. Sound insulation
 It is a very important requirement for buildings such as
hospitals, educational institutions, offices and residential
building located in noisy areas.

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9. Durability
 It is defined as the time over which a building remains
serviceable and depends mainly on
 Type of building materials
 Environmental exposure
 Quality of workmanship etc

10. Security
 Due considerations should be given in designing and
constructing external walls and openings to protect a building
against housebreak or theft.

11. Economy
 The designer must exercise economy at every stage of
planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation.
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 The practice of planning, designing, constructing, and operating
buildings is most usually a collective effort of different groups of
professionals and trades.
 Depending on the size, complexity, and purpose of a particular
building project, the project team may include:

 A client or an owner
 Financial institutions or other investors that provide the
funding
 Local planning and code authorities
 Consultants or Licensed architects and engineers who provide
building design and prepare construction documents
 Contractors who provide construction services and install
building systems
 Marketing agents or leasing agents
 Facility managers who are responsible for operating the
building.
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I. Client
 The client is the most important party who is active from inception
to completion.
 Clients may be classified as Public sector clients and private sector
clients.
A. Public sector clients
 Central Government Offices (Ministries)
 Local Authorities (Regional or Town)
 Public Corporations
B. Private sector clients
 These are private individuals & private companies.

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Duty of the Client
 Demand for the product. For example for the building project:
 Availability and cost of land,
 Location & accessibility
 Price
 Required Infrastructure
 Legal constraints
 Current & future development
 Soil characteristics of land
 Site preparation (right of way)
 Permits

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II. Consultant
 The main role of the consultant is to interpret the client’s project
requirement into a specific design.

 The consultants’ team shall:

 Design the project according to requirements and constraints
(imposed by statutory obligations, technical feasibility,
environmental factors, site conditions, cost, etc)
 Assess client’s cost limit to decide on materials & the like.
 Prepare contract documents.
 Supervise the project and constantly inform the client on the
progress
 Approve payments
 Resolve contractual disputes
 Issue provisional and final acceptance certification
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III. Contractor

 These are groups established mainly as commercial companies, that

contract to construct development projects.

 Responsibility of contractors:
 Carry out a full site investigation prior to submission of tender,
 Submit tender,
 Plan, Program, Control the construction process,
 Notify the consultant about delays, discrepancies,
 Effect all payments to his employees, suppliers, subcontractors,
 Rectify all defects on completion of works, etc
 Provide post occupancy repair & maintenance if required.

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IV. Public Sector Agencies
A. Statutory Authorities
 These bodies offer technical advice during design and
construction in their respective areas.
E.g. EEPCO, AAWSA, Fire Authority - requires meeting their
specific requirements. Thus early information to these
authorities is required.
B. Municipalities and Government Authorities
 These bodies offer the basic Land permit and building permit.

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 The following resources are vital for construction industry:
Human Resources (Labor or Workmen)
Financial Resources (Fund)
Information Resources
Physical Resources (Materials, Equipment)
Services and Management

A. Human resource (Labour or Workmen)

 These include professional, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled laborers.
 Human resources can be understood in two values:
 Capacity - refers to the quantity of labor for the scope defined.

 Capability - refers to knowledge, technology know-how and skill as

per the demands of the scopes ability.

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A. Human resource (Labour or Workmen)
 Construction Managers need to be capable of:
 Communication- Inter-personal, group interaction-skills
 Problem solving / Conflict resolution / Negotiation Skills
 Facilitating / Decision- making Skills
 Writing skills for Proposals / Reports
 Hard Skills- Planning, Implementing, Leading and Monitoring
tools.

B. Financial Resources (Fund)

 Usually funds are available from among Governmental institution,
Private institutions and Donors in the form of loan or assistance.

C. Information Resources
 Information can be understood in two terms:
data whether processed or not; and its technology.
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D. Physical Resources

i. Materials
 Material covers 55-70% of the total construction cost.

ii. Equipments
 Though their initial cost is high, using equipments are far more
better than using labor.

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E. Service and Management

i. Service
 Services such as acquisition of land, provisions of water supply,
electric power, communication systems, etc., are very much
necessary in the construction industry.

ii. Management
 Management facilitates to employ a disciplined approach to the use
of available resources.

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THANK YOU!

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