Aboriginal Gathering Place
Fourth-year civil capstone — developed and compared reinforced-concrete and structural-steel schemes for a community gathering place, recommending a steel solution for the large column-free Multi-Purpose Room.
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Summary
Overview
A fourth-year civil engineering capstone: the structural concept design for a community Aboriginal Gathering Place. I led the structural discipline, taking the building through concept design and setting out the framing to suit the architectural layout.
The challenge
The Multi-Purpose Room had to be a fully open, column-free space. That clear span drove the structural strategy and set the two concepts apart.
Two concepts
- Reinforced concrete — a 250 × 250 mm column grid on wall lines, 200 × 300 mm beams (deeper 275 × 425 mm over the long spans), and a 150–175 mm RC slab using one- and two-way action.
- Structural steel — a 250UC72.9 column grid with 410UB53.7 primary beams and a lighter 120 mm composite slab on profiled steel decking, with long-span framing over the Multi-Purpose Room. Load path: deck → secondary beams → primary beams / trusses → columns → footings.
Recommendation
Structural steel was recommended — it delivers the required column-free room, a lighter structure and lower foundation loads, and faster construction through prefabrication. Final selection to be confirmed at detailed design with structural analysis, geotechnical input, and embodied-carbon comparison.
Key learnings
Developed two viable structural schemes and sized the primary framing.
Resolved a large column-free clear span with an efficient framing strategy.
Weighed sustainability, buildability, and architectural coordination to pick a preferred concept.