BOULTON HOUSE, CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND

This is a residential building containing bedrooms for students. The building structure consists of 18 precast concrete H-frames around the perimeter and 9 interior cast-in-place concrete columns, all supporting a heavy deep concrete slab at each floor level. The building foundations are piled, all precast columns being positioned in 2 ft deep pockets in ground beams sitting on the piles. There are precast concrete infill panels between but set behind the H-frames, and these panels overlap on the columns each side. Infill panels are also used at right angles to the H-frames, having the same height as the spandrel of the H-frames.

All infill panels on the east and west sides as well as corner panels and the large wall panels on the north and south sides incorporate insulation.

The ground floor is set back from the perimeter and enclosed by a cavity brick wall. Inside, the ground floor has a suspended ceiling below the slab soffit, the void containing services which then pass upwards through holes in the floor slabs.

Internal columns are mostly at about 11 ft centres; they are omitted at one place where the slab has to span about 22 ft. Each floor slab carries the loads at that level, including the partition walls between bedrooms. Horizontal forces are taken by frame action.

Precast elements were made in wooden forms using white aggregates and white cement. The spandrel of the H-frame has its top sloped back towards the building so that rainwater can be led back behind the columns.

Vocabulary:

infill panel ['InfIl "pxnl] – панель стенового заполнения

spandrel ['spxndrql] n. – пазуха свода

incorporate [In'k²pqreIt] v. – включать

slab soffit ["slxb 'sPfIt] – нижняя поверхность плиты

omit [qu'mIt] v. – пропускать, не включать

overlap ["quvq'lxp] v. – перекрывать, заходить один за другой

towards [tq'w²dz] prep. – к, около, по отношению к

cavity brick wall ['kxvItI "brIk 'w²l] – cтена из пустотелого кирпича

Answer the following questions:

1. What does the building structure consist of?

2. What kind of foundation does the building have?

3. Which panels incorporate insulation?

4. What does the ground floor structure feature?

5. Where are the internal columns omitted?

6. Why does the spandrel of the H-frame have its top sloped back towards the building?

View of the building

Typical floor plan

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