Construction For Humanity

UNION COLLEGE

History Department

Environmental Science, Policy, and Engineering Program (ESPE)

CONSTRUCTION FOR HUMANITY

Spring 2024

HST-291 / ENS-291

Professor	Dr. Ashraf Ghaly, P.E.
Department	Civil & Environmental Engineering
Office	Olin 102D
Tel., email	518-388-6515, ghalya@union.edu

Lectures: TTH 10:55 AM - 12:40 PM, ISEC 387.

Consultation: TTH 2:00-3:00 PM, or request an appointment at a time convenient to you.

COURSE OUTLINE

An interdisciplinary introduction to the technology of construction and the social uses of buildings by humans. The course will consider types of building materials and their application to domestic housing, castles, cathedrals, palaces, monuments, dams, bridges, tunnels, factories, and office buildings. No prerequisite. ETS credit.

COURSE GRADE

Mid-Term Test (6th week) = 30%
Class discussion and participation = 15%
Paper Constructrack (written only, no oral presentation) (5th week) = 10%
Paper Humanstruction & oral presentation (10th week) = 15%
Final Exam = 30%

COURSE GRADE
90+ = A	85+ = A-	80+ = B+	75+ = B	70+ = B-	65+ = C+	60+ = C	55+ = C-	50+ = D

NOTES

Attendance of exams is mandatory.
If you must miss the midterm test due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control (a letter from the Dean of Students will be required in this case), your 30 points of the midterm test will be automatically transferred to the final exam, i.e., your final will be graded out of 60 points. No makeup for the midterm test will be allowed for any reason. If you miss the midterm without a supporting letter from the Dean of Students, there will be 10 points penalty, i.e., the maximum score you can earn in your final is 50/60.
If you must miss the final exam due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control (a letter from the Dean of Students will be required in this case), your grade in the course will be prorated based on the components of your term work. No makeup for the final exam will be allowed for any reason.
Students are randomly selected to participate in class discussion. If you are unprepared or absent without documentation (a formal note from a doctor, nurse, coach, dean of students, etc.), this will impact participation credit.
Due date for assigned course work will be announced in class. Late submission is assessed at -1 point per day or part thereof.
The academic performance of the students in this course will be held to the standards of Union College's Honor Code.
Students with disabilities will be accommodated as per Union College's Policy.

TEXTBOOKS

Salvadori, Mario (2002). Why Buildings Stand Up, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, ISBN 0393306763. (Required)
Ching, Francis et al. (2014). Building Structures Illustrated: Patterns, Systems, and Design, Wiley, Inc., New York. (Not Required)

INTRODUCTION

Throughout history, different civilizations have used construction as means to display their greatness. Construction has always been influenced by historical, cultural, social, environmental, natural, and engineering factors. Humanity has always sought ways to advance the art and science of construction to better serve its needs. Despite these great ambitions, the state of knowledge and availability of proper construction materials have necessarily controlled and limited what was actually constructed. Furthermore, in some areas construction is affected by natural conditions such as earthquakes, heat, snow, wind, rain, humidity, and floods. These conditions cannot be controlled or regulated and have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. The difficulties and rewards associated with constructing massive or unusual structures have long been a source of fascination and challenge which humans have shown ready willingness to accept.

This course is mainly concerned with the human side of construction. Its goal is to understand how the engineering of structures is closely knit with historical, cultural, social, environmental, and natural factors.

The course will conclude with thoughts about the relationship between construction and humanity in the twenty-first century and will offer an insight into futuristic structures.

COURSE THEMES

Seven major themes will be addressed in this course:

1. Earth as a construction material used in large structures, such as dams, or as a small structural component in itself, such as masonry or bricks

Earth (soil) was one of the early construction materials found in abundance which could be easily processed and molded into desired shapes. The type of earth available in a given region, however, limited the type and scope of applications. The relationship between construction and earth throughout history will be explored. The historical and engineering perspectives will begin with the origin of human construction and proceed to the following points:

* The need for shelter

* Building materials

* Environmental factors

* Building techniques

* The emergence of villages and urban civilization

2. Domestic housing in the Ancient World

Small houses in which ordinary people spent most of their lives have seen constant changes in style, method of construction, and construction materials. These factors will be examined together with their influence on improving people's lives. The historical and engineering perspectives will cover the following points:

* Construction styles

* Impact of climate on construction

* Use of materials in construction

* Culture, customs, and construction

3. Large domestic and public structures: castles, and cathedrals.

In many societies wealthy secular or religious elites have used their power to build imposing structures designed to enhance their status. In Europe the transition from wood to stone as a primary construction material is especially evident in this category. Three historical and engineering perspectives will be covered:

* Castles: From Wood and Earth to Stone

* Cathedrals: Pointed Arch and Flying Buttress

* Palaces in Renaissance Florence

4. Uninhabitable structures such as monuments and dams

Civilizations throughout history dreamed of ways to commemorate their achievements. Construction of monuments was one to achieve this goal. Although monuments are uninhabitable structures, they were always used to symbolize what nations attempted to achieve. The historical and engineering perspectives will cover the following points:

* The Pyramids of Egypt

* The Eiffel Tower

* Hoover Dam

5. Large structures over gaps or waterways (bridges) or underground (tunnels)

Different civilizations viewed waterways or mountains as obstructions crippling or reducing their progress. Bridges and tunnels were thought of as possible solutions to connect different people, encourage commerce, or establish new communities. The social and historical implications of bridge and tunnel construction have been enormous, and this course will cover both the engineering and human aspects of large structures.

* Bridges: The Brooklyn Bridge

* Tunnels: The Channel Tunnel

* Subway systems

6. Large workplace structures such as factories and high-rise office buildings

These two types of construction will be examined in terms of how they change the workplace. The historical and engineering aspects of these structures will be covered from the following perspectives:

* Factories and industrial facilities

* High-rise structures and office buildings (Example: The Empire State Building)

7. Futuristic structures

An overview of innovative and unusual designs.

CONSTRUCTRACK PAPER

Constructrack is a paper that requires each student to survey and report on the evolution of a certain type of structures, a certain type of material, a certain type of design, or a certain type of function from the earliest documented history to the present day. Types of structures include but are not limited to residential/domestic/private, commercial/business/public, educational, entertainment, worship, defense, control/alignment of nature etc. Types of materials include but are not limited to earth, stone, wood, metal, fabric, leather, glass, plants, ice, asphalt/tar etc. Types of design include but are not limited to revealing, concealing, attention-grabbing, making a statement, communicating a message, displaying beauty/might/power, etc. Functions include but are not limited to simplicity, complexity, sophistication, imposing, impressive, etc.
This paper should be structured like a documentary (photo journal or photo album) where images, photos, figures, illustrations, sketches and the likes be used extensively to show the stages of evolution of the selected subject from the earliest documented forms to the ones presently used.
Each image should be accompanied by a detailed caption describing and detailing what it shows.
All images and their captions should be referenced in the paper as explained below (Paper Resources section).
This paper could be submitted as a PDF, PPT, or a Word document. There is no minimum or maximum limit on the number of pages/slides for this paper.
Your paper will be evaluated and graded on the depth with which you did your research to investigate the evolution of the subject you selected for your paper, and on your elaboration of the progress humanity achieved from early history to the present day.

HUMANSTRUCTION PAPER

Humanstruction is a paper that asks each student to pick a subject of interest or a noteworthy structure within the framework of the course and write a paper on that subject.
Students can select their subject at anytime during the course but no later than the 7th week of the term. All papers must be on different subjects.
A subject cannot be selected by more than one student. A student that was the first in selecting a given subject would be the only one entitled to it. The earlier you select a subject, the wider the selection available to you.
You can drop a subject you selected and select a different one as long as this is done no later than the 7th week of the term (provided that the new subject had not been previously taken by another student).
Once you settle on a subject, upload to nexus a document with the title of your paper, a brief description of your intended subject, and indicate what the reader will learn from your paper.
Papers should be submitted as a PDF or a Word document. There is no minimum or maximum number of pages for this paper. Students may wish to supplement their text with proper photos, pictures, tables, graphs, charts, and figures. Supplementing materials must be referenced at least once in the text of the paper.
Students taking this course will receive Engineering/Technology/Society (ETS) credit. Classroom presentations and discussion will promote critical thinking to enable students to evaluate evidence, results, and claims related to the natural sciences/engineering/technology and their impact on broader human or societal issues. In their written paper and in their oral presentation, students are expected to highlight and detail principles similar to those listed above. The grade in this paper will be assigned based on the quality and depth of thought, organization, and relevance of content to the subject under consideration, understanding, clarity of presentation, and demonstration of ability to address questions with comprehension.

Paper Resources

Students may collect the materials (technical and non-technical) for their chosen paper from one or more of the following sources (in no specific order): the Internet, publications, professional journals, magazines, textbooks, movies, documentaries, and all other credible sources including interviews with knowledgeable and experienced individuals.
Students are required to cite in their paper all the sources they used in their research in the form of "References", "Bibliography", Works Cited", "Footnotes", or any standard method of citation. Internet sites are cited using the address (URL) of those sites. All other references are to be cited with the name of author, year, title of paper or book, page, and publisher.
Students are responsible for checking the accuracy of materials obtained from Internet sources. Many Internet sources are not peer-reviewed and may lack credibility. Remember that in this day and age, any one can publish anything on the Internet. This does not qualify published materials to be worthy of an academic endeavor such as a term paper.

Professor Ghaly Homepage Union College Homepage