Muhammad Ahsan Khan

CE-119
SE-Section B
Civil Engineering Department
Batch 2009-2010
Submitted to: Miss Naeema Mughal

ARCHITEC
TURE

ASSIGNMENT ON SOME BUILDING

MATERIALS

[ASSIGNMENT ON SOME BUILDING

Architecture MATERIALS]

GLASS
Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline) solid material. Glasses are typically
brittle and optically transparent.
The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking
vessels, is soda-lime glass, made of about 75% silica (SiO2) plus Na2O, CaO,
and several minor additives.
Architectural glass is glass that is used as a building material. It is most
typically used as transparent glazing material in the building envelope,
including windows in the external walls. Glass is also used for internal
partitions and as an architectural feature.
Glass block, also known as glass brick, is an architectural element made from
glass used in areas where privacy or visual obscuration is desired while
admitting light, such as underground parking garages, washrooms, and
municipal swimming baths. Glass block was originally developed in the early
1900s to provide natural light in industrial factories.
Window glazings
The Crystal Cathedral in California
10,000 rectangular panes of glass.

was

constructed

using

over

Glass bifolding doors, glass floors, glass roofs, sliding glass walls, glass
balustrading to stairs and balconies. Self-cleaning glass, fire rated glass,
sound reduction glazing, heat insulating glass, opacity controlled glass, print
screened glass
Clear windows have been used since the invention of glass to cover small
openings in a building. They provided humans with the ability to both let
light into rooms while at the same time keeping inclement weather outside..
Very often additives are added to the mixture when making to produce glass
with shades of colors or various characteristics (such as bulletproof glass, or
light emittance).
The use of glass in architectural buildings has become very popular in the
modern culture. Glass "curtain walls" can be used to cover the entire facade
of a building, or it can be used to span over a wide roof structure in a "space
frame".
Muhammad Ahsan Khan | CE-119

[ASSIGNMENT ON SOME BUILDING

Architecture MATERIALS]

CEMENT
Cement and concrete might be synonymous as household terms, but are by
nature different: cement, an ultra-fine gray powder, binds sand and rocks
into a mass or matrix of concrete. Indeed, cement is the key ingredient of
concrete.
Concrete is the signature material in driveways, patios, basements, and a
host of other items. It is also the world's most widely used building material.
Architects in the Roman Empire used cement and concrete as a main
building material beginning in the reign of Nero, about 60 AD, to build
palaces like Nero's Golden House, temples like the Pantheon, and shopping
malls like Trajan's Market. By using cement, builders could create huge
domes and big open spaces with barrel vaults or groin vaults over them
The great Roman baths built about 27 B.C., the Coliseum, and the huge
Basilica of Constantine are examples of early Roman architecture in which
cement mortar was used.
Concrete is no longer plain, grey and boring, it is now thought of as a
beautiful decorative element. Decorative concrete is the use of concrete as
not simply a utilitarian medium for construction but as an aesthetic
enhancement to a structure, while still serving its function as an integral part
of the building itself such as floors, walls, driveways and patios
Concrete can also be cast into unique and detailed designs using urethane
form liner. These projects can be seen around the United States and the
world, usually on sound/retaining walls, building exteriors, and bridges.

WOOD
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for
hundreds of thousands of years as a construction material.
Wood was also used to make Churches in the past. The main problems with
wood structures are fire risk and durability. Wood is an aesthetically pleasing
material that never goes out of trend completely,
Wood has been an important construction material since humans began
building shelters, houses and boats. Nearly all boats were made out of wood
until the late 19th century, and wood remains in common use today in boat
construction.
Muhammad Ahsan Khan | CE-119

[ASSIGNMENT ON SOME BUILDING

Architecture MATERIALS]
New domestic housing in many parts of the world today is commonly made
from timber-framed construction. Engineered wood products are becoming a
bigger part of the construction industry. They may be used in both residential
and commercial buildings as structural and aesthetic materials.
In buildings made of other materials, wood will still be found as a supporting
material, especially in roof construction, in interior doors and their frames,
and as exterior cladding.
Wood is also commonly used as shuttering material to form the mould into
which concrete is poured during reinforced concrete construction.
Wood has always been used extensively for furniture, such as chairs and
beds. Also for tool handles and cutlery, such as chopsticks, toothpicks, and
other utensils, like the wooden spoon
Wood flooring, doors, windows, window frames, wooden trusses, cabinets,
etc.

METAL
Metal is used as structural framework for larger buildings such as
skyscrapers, or as an external surface covering. There are many types of
metals used for building. Steel is a metal alloy whose major component is
iron, and is the usual choice for metal structural building materials. It is
strong, flexible, and if refined well and/or treated lasts a long time.
Aluminium is usually used to make frames of glass doors and windows.
Aesthetically appealing metal stairs.
load-bearing steel exoskeleton of some sky scrapers are both aesthetically
appealing and use to transfer loads.
Metal trusses.
Decorative metal railings in stair cases or in balconies.

STONE
Natural stone has been used for centuries due to its elegance, unmatched
durability and timeless appeal.
Muhammad Ahsan Khan | CE-119

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Architecture MATERIALS]
Colomns, fountains, balustrade systems, door and window surrounds.
Rock-cut architecture is the practice of creating buildings and other physical
structures by carving natural rock.
Ancient monuments of rock cut architecture are widespread in several
regions of world. Some of the most ancient known examples are located on
several Mediterranean islands e.g. Malta (Hypogeum of al-Saflieni),
Sardinia (Anghelu Ruju, built in 3,000 - 1,500 BCE) and others.
Stones are used as aggregates in construction.
The three main uses of rock-cut architecture were temples (like those in
India), tombs (like those in Petra, Jordan) and cave dwelling.
Stone cladding.
Stone carving is an ancient activity where pieces of rough natural stone are
shaped by the controlled removal of stone.

TILE
A tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic,
stone, metal, or even glass. Ceramic tiles are one of the oldest and most
universally employed forms of architectural decoration.
Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other
objects such as tabletops.
They are also used in swimming pools.
Tiles are often used to form wall and floor coverings, and can range from
simple square tiles to complex mosaics.
Thinner tiles can be used on walls than on floors, which require thicker, more
durable surfaces.
In Islamic architecture tiles are mostly used in Mosque construction and also
in shrines.

Muhammad Ahsan Khan | CE-119

[ASSIGNMENT ON SOME BUILDING

Architecture MATERIALS]

BRICK
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually
laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest
lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history
Bricks are used for building and pavement.
It is used as a decorative surface on footpaths.
Bricks are used for lining furnaces.
Facades of some buildings are made with bricks which look aesthetically very
appealing.

SAND
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided
rock and mineral particles.
Sand is mixed with cement and sometimes lime to be used in masonry
construction.
Sand is the principal component in common glass.
Mixing sand with paint produces a textured finish for walls and ceilings or
non-slip floor surfaces.
Manufacturing of bricks and asphalt paving.

Muhammad Ahsan Khan | CE-119