A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, and often window, usually standing permanently in one place,[ such as a house or factory.][ Buildings come in a variety of , , and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for numerous factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, monument, and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the concept, see Nonbuilding structure for contrast.
]
Buildings serve several societal needs – occupancy, primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical separation of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) from the outside (a place that may be harsh and harmful at times).
Buildings have been objects or canvasses of much architecture. In recent years, interest in sustainable planning and building practices has become an intentional part of the building design of many new buildings and other structures, usually green building
Definition
A building is 'a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place';
"there was a three-storey building on the corner"; "it was an imposing edifice". In the broadest interpretation a
fence or wall is a building.
[Building def. 2. Whitney, William Dwight, and Benjamin E. Smith. The Century dictionary and cyclopedia. vol. 1. New York: Century Co., 1901. 712. Print.] However, the word
structure is used more broadly than
building, to include natural and human-made formations
[Structure. def. 2. Merriam-Webster's dictionary of synonyms: a dictionary of discriminated synonyms with antonyms and analogous and contrasted words.. Springfield, Mass: Merriam-Webster, 1984. 787. Print.] and ones that do not have walls;
structure is more often used for a fence.
Russell Sturgis included that differs from
architecture in excluding all idea of artistic treatment; and it differs from
construction in the idea of excluding scientific or highly skillful treatment."
[Building. def 1. Sturgis, Russell. A dictionary of architecture and building: biographical, historical, and descriptive. vol. 1. New York: The Macmillan Co.; 1901. 2236. Print.]
Structural height in technical usage is the height to the highest architectural detail on the building from street level. Spires and masts may or may not be included in this height, depending on how they are classified. Spires and masts used as antennas are not generally included. The distinction between a low-rise and high-rise building is a matter of debate, but generally three stories or less is considered low-rise.[Paul Francis Wendt and Alan Robert Cerf (1979), Real estate investment analysis and taxation, McGraw-Hill, p. 210]
History
There is clear evidence of homebuilding from around 18,000 BC.
Buildings became common during the Neolithic period.
Types
Residential
Single-family residential buildings are most often called
or
. Multi-family residential buildings containing more than one dwelling unit are called
duplexes or
apartment buildings.
Condominiums are apartments that occupants
homeownership rather than
lease. Houses may be built in pairs (
semi-detached) or in terraces, where all but two of the houses have others on either side. Apartments may be built round
or as rectangular blocks surrounded by plots of ground. Houses built as single dwellings may later be divided into apartments or
, or converted to other uses (e.g., offices or shops).
, especially of the extended-stay variety (
), can be classed as residential.
Building types may range from huts to multimillion-dollar high-rise able to house thousands of people. Increasing settlement density in buildings (and smaller distances between buildings) is usually a response to high ground prices resulting from the desire of many people to live close to their places of employment or similar attractors.
Terms for residential buildings reflect such characteristics as function (e.g., holiday cottage (vacation home) or timeshare if occupied seasonally); size (cottage or great house); value (shack or mansion); manner of construction (log home or mobile home); architectural style (castle or Victorian house); and proximity to geographical features (earth shelter, stilt house, houseboat, or floating home). For residents in need of special care, or those society considers dangerous enough to deprive of freedom, there are institutions (, , psychiatric hospitals, and ) and group housing (barracks and dormitory).
Historically, many people lived in communal buildings called , smaller dwellings called , and houses combined with barns, sometimes called .
Common building materials include brick, concrete, stone, and combinations thereof. Buildings are defined to be substantial, permanent structures. Such forms as and are therefore considered but not buildings.
Commercial
A commercial building is one in which at least one
business is based and people do not live. Examples include
Retail store,
restaurant, and
.
Industrial
Industrial buildings are those in which
heavy industry is done, such as
manufacturing. These edifices include
and
factory.
Agricultural
Agricultural buildings are the
, such as
located on
.
Mixed use
Some buildings incorporate several or multiple different uses, most commonly commercial and residential.
Complex
Sometimes a group of inter-related (and possibly inter-connected) builds are referred to as a complex – for example a
housing complex,
educational complex,
hospital complex, etc.
Creation
The practice of designing, constructing, and operating buildings is most usually a collective effort of different groups of
and
Tradesperson. Depending on the size, complexity, and purpose of a particular building project, the project team may include:
-
A real estate developer who secures funding for the project;
-
One or more financial institutions or other investors that provide the funding
-
Local planning and code authorities
-
A surveyor who performs an ALTA/ACSM and construction surveys throughout the project;
-
Construction managers who coordinate the effort of different groups of project participants;
-
Licensed and engineers who provide building design and prepare construction documents;
-
The principal design Engineering disciplines which would normally include the following professionals: Civil, Structural, Mechanical building services or HVAC (heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning) Electrical Building Services, Plumbing and drainage. Also other possible design Engineer specialists may be involved such as Fire (prevention), Acoustic, façade engineers, building physics, Telecoms, AV (Audio Visual), BMS (Building Management Systems) Automatic controls etc. These design Engineers also prepare construction documents which are issued to specialist contractors to obtain a price for the works and to follow for the installations.
-
Landscape architects;
-
;
-
Other consultants;
-
Contractors who provide construction services and install building systems such as HVAC, Electrician, plumbing, decoration, fire protection, security and telecommunications;
-
Marketing or leasing agents;
-
Facility managers who are responsible for operating the building.
Regardless of their size or intended use, all buildings in the US must comply with , and other regulations such as , life safety codes and related standards.
Vehicles—such as trailers, Travel trailer, and passenger aircraft—are treated as "buildings" for life safety purposes.
Ownership and funding
Environmental impacts
Building services
Physical plant
Any building requires a certain general amount of internal infrastructure to function, which includes such elements like heating / cooling, power and telecommunications, water and wastewater etc. Especially in commercial buildings (such as offices or factories), these can be extremely intricate systems taking up large amounts of space (sometimes located in separate areas or double floors / false ceilings) and constitute a big part of the regular maintenance required.
Conveying systems
Systems for
transport of people within buildings:
Systems for transport of people between interconnected buildings:
Building damage
Buildings may be damaged during construction or during maintenance. They may be damaged by accidents
involving storms, explosions, subsidence caused by mining,
water withdrawal
or poor foundations
and landslides.
Buildings may suffer
fire damage and flooding.
They may become dilapidated through lack of proper maintenance, or alteration work improperly carried out.
See also
External links
