The second edition has been expanded to include commercial buildings. This now covers, in a single textbook, all the basic forms of construction studied on professional courses. The book takes as its theme the process of choice: what the expert has to know and how he/she might think through the decisions to be made about the design, production, maintenance and disposal of buildings. It is written with the conviction that by focusing on the process of choice, the range of theory and knowledge that is useful to practice becomes explicit, making the link between knowledge and practice, and between understanding and experience. Students will find here explanations of how environments, structural behaviour, production know-how, cost and social concerns such as sustainability can be taken into account in the choice of construction.

Contents
Part 1 Analysis.

· The Framework for Understanding.

· Building Purpose and Performance.

· Common Forms - Specific Solutions.

· Construction Variables.

· Defining Conditions.

· The Resource Base.

· Design Concept.

· Appearance.

· Analysis of Physical Behaviour.

· Physical Behaviour Creating Environments.

· Physical Behaviour Under Load.

· Physical Behaviour Over Time.

· Manufacture and Assembly.

· Cost.

· Sustainability - Social Concern.

Part 2 Choice - HOUSE CONSTRUCTION.

· Applying the Framework to Housing.

· Floors.

· Roofs.

· Walls.

· Foundations.

· Services.

Part 3 Choice - COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION.

· Applying the framework to commercial buildings.

· Common forms and emerging technologies.

· Interface design.

· Structural skeletal frames.

· Roof structures

· Loadbearing structural walls.

· Structure below ground.

· External enclosure to structural frames.

· Internal enclosure.

· Services - scope and space.

· Guide to Further Reading.

Index.