Skeleton frame
A skeleton frame is a framed structure often used for the construction of multi-storey buildings. It incorporates a network, or system, of columns and connecting beams which support the building’s interior floors and exterior walls and carries all loads to the foundations.
Skeleton frames can be constructed from timber, concrete or structural steel components, with the building envelope formed by glazing, brick, cladding and so on hung on the outside.
The skeleton frame was introduced in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, and allowed for the rapid erection of buildings, such as the early skyscrapers. It enabled interior floor layouts to be free of immovable walls, making them more flexible spaces, and meant that different materials could be used for the facades. This had the effect of reducing the importance of masonry from something that was a structural element to having a more decorative role.
|
| Framework of Flatiron Building. Circa 1901. |
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Braced frame structure.
- Concept structural design of buildings.
- Concrete frame.
- Gusset.
- Multi-storey building.
- Portal frame.
- Shell and core.
- Skyscraper.
- Steel frame.
- Structural principles.
- Structural steelwork.
- Structural steelwork: a quality perspective.
- Timber frame.
- Tube structural system.
- Types of frame.
Featured articles and news
CLC SOP recommendations updated
Organisation revises actions around dealing with COVID-19.
CIOB, NFCC, RIBA, RICS call for changes ahead of Building Safety Bill.
Options for carbon neutral homes
Developments in the Future Homes Standard.
An American chimney feature with a colourful past.
Homes based on need, not ability to pay.
Historic England adds 216 entries to the 'at risk' register.
Post-pandemic transport predictions
Will cycling and walking provisions be preserved?
Assembly point levels range from relative to ultimate.
Anticipating a brighter outlook
Signs are pointing to a recovery for the construction industry.
Campaigning to change perceptions about American Brutalism.
Sprinkler head configurations can prioritise people or property.
Report from The Carbon Project reveals shortcomings and recommendations.
Advice on how to join the electrotechnical profession.