00 Structural design | Heinsberg
Structural design and analysis for new builds, conversions and refurbishment. An idea becomes a structure that stands, adds up and can actually be built.
3D visualisation from the design stage Heinsberg
01Load path
Structural engineering is the question of which way that is, and whether every element along the way has enough reserve. Pick an element to see where its load comes from and where it goes next.
Everything that arrives from outside starts here: the self weight of the structure, snow and wind. These loads are not the same everywhere. They depend on location, height and roof shape.
Passes on to Floor slab and walls
The slab carries itself, the floor build up and the imposed load of the room above. Its span direction decides which walls carry load and which are only partitions.
Passes on to Beam and walls
Where a wall is missing because a room has to stay open, a beam collects the slab load and carries it to the points where it can travel on. It is usually the reason an open plan works at all.
Passes on to Columns and walls
A column concentrates load onto a small area. It is slender but sensitive to buckling, so the section is decided not only by the force but also by the unrestrained length.
Passes on to Foundation
Loadbearing walls spread load along a line rather than into a point. Door and window openings interrupt that line and need a lintel to carry the load around the opening.
Passes on to Foundation
The foundation translates high pressure into low pressure. It spreads the collected load over enough area for the ground to take it without unacceptable settlement.
Passes on to Subsoil
In the end the ground carries everything. What it can take is not a decision for the engineer but a property of the plot. That is why the ground question belongs at the start of the design and not at the end.
Passes on to End of the load path
Schematic drawing of a load path in a building. It explains the principle and replaces no calculation for any particular building.
02Services
Six areas of work that overlap in practice. Which of them a project needs depends on the building and is agreed beforehand.
01
The structural calculation demonstrates that the structure carries the loads it is designed for. From it come the reinforcement drawings the site works to.
02
Before anything is calculated, something is decided. Structural design sets out how the building sheds its loads, which elements are needed for that, and which system can be built economically and practically.
03
From the concept through the checkable structural calculation to detailing fit for fabrication and erection, solutions are developed for steel structures in building and plant engineering.
04
An element has to do more than carry load. Heat, moisture and sound decide whether a build up works in the long run, which is why they are looked at together with the structure.
05
The concept becomes documents you can build and price from. That includes the detailed design as much as the bills of quantities used for tendering.
06
The site is where the design either arrives or does not. Supervision monitors the works against the construction drawings, coordinates the trades and documents how the building goes up.
Not every project needs every area. The scope is set individually for each building project.
03Existing buildings
In a new build the engineering starts with an empty sheet. In an existing building it starts with something already standing, and with the question of why it stands.
Masonry Kreis Heinsberg
What matters here is long experience not only in new construction but also in conversion and modernisation, including the cases where no record drawings survive or the ones that do are incomplete.
Old calculations are missing, unreadable, or describe a state the building left behind several conversions ago. What is missing is named as an assumption rather than quietly filled in.
Where records are missing the building replaces them. A measured survey, the visible elements, span directions and crack patterns say more about the structure than a drawing that no longer matches.
A wall removed, a new opening or an added storey changes the load path. The question is never only whether the new element carries, but also what now has to take more underneath it.
Whether an existing structure still has reserve can be calculated. That is exactly the difference between an opinion formed on site and a statement you can rely on.
Which statements can be made about an existing structure without opening it up, and which cannot, is said at the outset rather than left open.
04Structures
The services cover residential and commercial construction, new buildings as much as older buildings and conversions.
Single and multi family
Your single family house, apartment building or a scheme with several units. Usually the job where the floor plan and the structure are negotiated most closely with each other.
Building construction
Commercial projects with longer spans, higher imposed loads and a layout meant to change later without the structure having to follow every time.
Industrial and assembly
Alongside demanding building structures, special structures such as industrial buildings and congress centres are handled in house.
Buildings and plant
Steel structures in building and plant engineering, from the concept through the checkable calculation to detailing fit for erection.
Conversion and refurbishment
Refurbishment and conversion of existing buildings, including the cases where the old records are missing or no longer match what is standing.
05Experience
Good structural engineering goes unnoticed in a finished building. It only becomes visible where it is missing.
A good building is the result of successful cooperation between the client, the architect, the structural engineer and the contractors on site. The engineering eye for a sensible and economical structure is what decides the outcome.
The growing demands on structural concepts, slender and durable and economical at the same time, are met with a team of young and experienced, well trained staff.
That includes thorough advice on structural analysis and building physics, careful development of the structural concept, close attention to the site, and quick reactions to changes during construction.
The first two figures are the ones the practice publishes on its own website. They are reproduced here unchanged and are not rolled forward.
063D models
Four views of one planning project. A model shows early on where the openings sit, where loads come together and where a column would end up in the way.
Click to enlarge
Architectural visualisations from the design stage, not photographs of a finished building.
07Projects
Honesty lasts longest. So we show the stage where the structure is still open to view, and not only the finished facade.
Click to enlarge
Site photographs from our own project work. No client, address, period or contract value is claimed for any of them.
08How it works
Six steps that make sense in this order. How long it takes depends on the project and is not promised as a blanket figure.
You describe the project, the location and how far the design has come. After that it is clear which services are actually needed.
Architect drawings, any existing calculations, the ground investigation, and for existing buildings whatever still survives. What is missing is named before anything is calculated.
A first estimate of the elements. It shows early whether the design carries as drawn and where sections, spans or openings should still be changed.
Load assumptions, load transfer and design of the loadbearing elements, brought together into a calculation that can be checked.
General arrangement drawings, reinforcement drawings and details. Documents the site can build and price from.
Questions coming back from site, changes on the building and coordination with the trades. A quick answer matters more here than any document.
Independent checking and building control approval sit with the responsible authorities, not with the engineering office.
09Region
The office is in Heinsberg, at Ostpromenade 89, 52525 Heinsberg. The district of Heinsberg and the area next to it are where a site visit can be arranged at short notice.
For projects outside that area the task decides rather than the distance. Get in touch and we will settle it in the first conversation.
Towns and municipalities in the district of Heinsberg
Naming a town is a geographical statement about the district and not a claim about a project carried out there.
10Questions
What people usually want to know before making an enquiry.
As soon as loads are rearranged. For a new build always, and in an existing building whenever loadbearing elements are removed, opened up, added to or loaded more heavily. If in doubt, the question is answered faster than a wall can be put back that turned out to be carrying.
Anything that describes the building: floor plans, sections and elevations, and for existing buildings any calculations and conversion drawings you have. Photographs help too. If none of it exists, that is not an obstacle, only a different starting point.
That depends on the building, the scope and the effort involved, which is why no price is quoted here. You receive a fee proposal once it is clear which services the project needs.
No. Checking sits with an independent body, and that is the point of it. What is produced here is a calculation that can be checked, together with the documents needed for it.
Yes. In existing buildings that is the normal case. The building then provides the basis: a measured survey, the visible elements and the span directions. Where an assumption is necessary, it is named as an assumption.
Call and usually straight away. Enquiries sent through the form are answered by telephone, which is why the phone number is the only required field besides your name and your message.
11Contact
Describe the project in a few sentences. We call you back and work out which services make sense.
Mobile +49 170 2452 777
Office +49 2452 97 89 023
Email info@bauen-heinsberg.de
Address Ostpromenade 89, 52525 Heinsberg
This helps in the first conversation
