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Architectural Design And Building Systems: A Comprehensive Guide to Structural, Mechanical and Environmental Integration
Paperback
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Aug 13 2026
Pages: 516
Weight: 2.61
Height: 1.04 Width: 8.50 Depth: 11.00
Language: English
Have you ever designed a structural system that your mechanical engineer could not route ductwork through? Sized an HVAC system before the envelope performance was determined? Chosen a curtain wall without knowing how it would affect heating load, structural deflection, or acoustic performance? These are not rare mistakes. They are the predictable consequence of learning - and practising - building systems in isolation.
Most architecture and architectural engineering programmes teach the same way: one systems course at a time. Each course is rigorous within its own boundary. What it cannot teach is what happens at the boundary between systems - how the depth of a concrete flat plate determines the available ceiling height, which determines the maximum duct depth, which determines the floor-to-floor height, which determines the total building height for a given programme.
Architectural Design and Building Systems was written to close that gap. Across 15 chapters, four parts, and 514 pages, every major building system is developed from first principles - structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, acoustic, and environmental - with the same rigour, the same code citations, and the same insistence on showing how each system creates constraints and opportunities for the others. The thermal envelope chapter feeds directly into the HVAC chapter. The structural loads chapter anticipates the foundation chapter. The final chapter presents a complete multi-system coordination section drawing - structure, ductwork, piping, conduit, and ceiling in the same vertical slice of a real building.
What this book covers:
- The complete structural sequence: ASCE 7-22 loads and LRFD combinations, lateral force-resisting systems (shear walls, moment frames, braced frames), seismic and wind analysis, ACI 318-19 concrete beam and column design, AISC 360-22 steel and composite beam design, NDS 2024 wood beam design, spread footing, mat, pile, and drilled shaft foundation design.
- The building envelope as a technical system: R-value and U-factor assembly calculations, thermal bridging and continuous insulation, ASHRAE 90.1-2022 climate zone requirements, fenestration performance (U-factor, SHGC, visible transmittance), vapour control and dew point analysis, curtain wall systems, roof assemblies, and energy code compliance paths.
- Environmental systems from principles to sizing: HVAC load calculation, ASHRAE 62.1-2022 ventilation, VAV and VRF system design, equal-friction duct sizing, psychrometrics, NFPA 13 sprinkler hydraulics, NEC Article 220 electrical load calculations, and ASHRAE 90.1-2022 lighting power density.
- Integration in practice: the ceiling plenum coordination problem, BIM and clash detection, the multi-system conflict matrix, and a complete coordination section drawing showing all building systems in the same space.
This book is designed for upper-level undergraduate students in architecture and architectural engineering; for early-career practitioners who were trained in silos and want to close the gaps; and for ARE 5.0 candidates who need current, code-grounded technical depth across structural, environmental, and life-safety systems.
Stop learning systems in isolation. Open this book and begin understanding the building as the coordinated whole it actually is - where every decision in one system creates a constraint or an opportunity in the next. Get your copy today.
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