Masonry Magazine April 2004 Page. 38
Further Learning
"Laying the brick on a bed of mortar, leveling - all these events quickly and thoroughly immerse [students] in recognizing the need for a strong collaboration in creating design ideas."
Practitioners like IMI "make all the difference," he says.
A little exposure can go a long way. Illinois Institute of Technology Associate Professor of Architecture Arthur Takeuchi last fall had his students attend a couple of sessions at the IMI District Council Training Center, plus a side trip to the Glen-Gery Marseilles Brick Plant.
"Our students got some first-hand experience," he says. "We were very much impressed with how much information and know-how the students were able to absorb in a limited time span."
"It Should be Required"
NOTHING ILLUSTRATES the value of a quick, but intense, immersion into materials study - and the need for collaboration more dramatically than IMI's Masonry Camp. In just one week, architectural interns and graduate students team-up with apprentice BAC craftworkers on a design/build challenge that emphasizes role reversal. At the same time, they spend half a day studying and working with each masonry material: brick, block, stone, tile, terrazzo and plaster. That one week makes a big difference.
"The lessons I learned here will stay with me for the remainder of my career," says 2002 Camper David Rivera of Cannon Design in New York City.
Portland architect Jeff M. Yrazaba says it made him contemplate that "we all are more alike than we realize, and when we put our minds together good things happen."
Boston architect Kim Elliot from Perry Dean Rogers Partners Architects is unequivocal on the need for such experiences, especially at the start of a career.
"Every architecture student or intern should be required to come to Masonry Camp," states Elliot.
Teaching architects while they are "young," professionally speaking, also provides a golden opportunity to impress upon them that a working marriage of design, technology, constructability and durability/performance is not just wishful thinking, but with the right mindset is eminently achievable.
"Too often, students are programmed to think that what they design cannot be built," says architect Julie Eizenberg of Koning Eizenberg Architecture in Santa Monica, Calif. "They need to be aware of both ends of the process-design and construction - to better meet their building goals."
"Constructing the detail and knowing that it is crafted as part of a larger design element bridges the gap between design conception, where students spend the majority of their academic efforts, and the building activity," says Weeks. "It is a form of rehearsing the construction sequence in order to understand exactly how to create the detail."
A GUIDE TO MASONRY FUNDAMENTALS
Respect the modular system. Design modularly to provide the best aesthetics and cost efficiencies. This includes floor plan and elevation dimensions.
Not all masonry materials act the same. Bricks arrive at the job site at their smallest dimension and will expand over time. Blocks arrive at the job site at their largest dimension and shrink over time. Understand how this affects building movement and provide details with movement in mind.
Understand architectural responsibilities to assure your design intent. For example, architects are required by code to indicate and locate all movement joints on the drawings. Placement of movement joints should be clearly indicated in all brick masonry.
Avoid masonry problems by providing consistent drawing information. Scrutinize architectural, structural, mechanical, and other project drawings and specifications for inconsistencies or problems with cross-referencing.
Study the details. Include flashing at water penetration points, such as at the base of walls, windows and door openings, tops of walls and shelf angles.
Understand the full masonry package. Cross-reference drawings to specifications. Recognize that project specifications not only supplement the drawings, but often contain critical information that can override drawing information.
Identify structural uses. Clearly provide information on reinforcing and/or grouted masonry.
For further assistance, IMI provides a host of technical services, from detailing consultations and project review to job site troubleshooting, plus craft training in all the masonry trades and specialties. IMI can be reached at (800) IMI-0988.
Esteemed architects have earned their reputations by understanding that physical material components in an ordinary wall section deserve as much respect as the programmatic components that drive spatial requirements.