Concept structural design of buildings

Concept design is the first design stage. Feasibility studies and options appraisals that the consultant team or independent client advisers may have previously carried out do not involve 'design' as such. They are preliminary studies whose purpose is to establish whether the project is viable, to assist in the development of the project brief and to aid the identification of feasible options.

The preferred option is then be developed into a concept design which is a response to the project brief. The project brief will continue to develop as the concept design is prepared, but is then frozen at the end of the concept design stage and change control procedures are introduced.

Concept design proposals from the structural engineer might include:

• Preferred foundation design.
• Frame system.
• Structural grid with column sizes.
• Primary and secondary beam sizes and spans.
• Schedules of floor loadings catering for dead and live loads.
• Special loads.
• Horizontal and vertical expansion joints.
• Major openings in floors and structural walls.
• Wind bracing elements.
• Typical edge details.
• Fire protection to the structure.

Concept design is followed by 'detailed structural design' (sometimes called 'design development' or 'developed design') during which the design develops to describe all the main components of the building and how they fit together.

See also descriptions of the tasks performed during the concept design stage in the project plans available from the Designing Buildings Wiki home page.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Adaptive structures.
• Anticlastic.
• Bending moment.
• Braced frame.
• Civil engineer.
• Compression.
• Concept design.
• Concept design report.
• Concept services design.
• Concept architectural design.
• Concrete v steel.
• Dead loads.
• Deflection.
• Design life.
• Detailed structural design.
• Elastic limit.
• Hyperbolic paraboloid.
• Lean to.
• Limit state design.
• Live loads.
• Point of contraflexure.
• Primary structure.
• Re-evaluating the design life of buildings.
• Roof structure.
• Span.
• Stiffness.
• Structural design.
• Structural engineer.
• Structural principles.
• Structural systems for offices.
• Structural vibration.
• Structure definition.
• Structures at the end of their design life.
• Substructure.
• Superstructure.
• Types of structural load.
• Wind load.