THE TIMBER BUS SHELTER PROJECT

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ASSIGNMENT

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 2 (BLD 60703)

PROJECT 1 : SKELETAL CONSTRUCTION (TEMPORARY BUS SHELTER)
TUTOR: MR. EDWIN CHAN
GROUP MEMBERS:
NG KHENG SOON
LOONG BO LIN
SUKESHSHEF RAMACHANDRAM
TEO CHIA YEE
YEN WEI ZHENG
YONG MAN KIT

0318946
0321469
0327162
0324705
0320266
0319778

Content

01 Introduction
02. Design Development
02.1 Design concept
02.2 Proposed designs
02.3 Technical drawings
02.4 Design Consideration
03 Materials
04 Construction Details
05 Construction Process
06 Force Analysis
07 Conclusion
08 References

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INTRODUCTION

Introduction

This project is form by a group of five to six people, to construct a temporary bus shelter according to the max height
600mm, max base 400mm x 800mm which is able to accommodate 5-6 people with 1:5 scale.
The design of the bus shelter is a combination of pentagonal prism and ellipsoid.
Objective
1.
2.
3.
4.

To create an understanding of skeletal structure and its relevant structural components.

To understand how a skeletal structure reacts under loading.
To demonstrate a convincing understanding of how skeletal construction works.
To be able to manipulate skeletal construction to solve an oblique design problem.

DESIGN DERIVATIVE

Design Concept
FUNCTION

Tropical climate
-Hot and humid
-Rainfall during certain period, thunderstorms
can occurs

CONCEPT

Urban area
-Town
-One sided roadway

A bus stop is a designated place for

passengers to to board or alight from bus. It
provides shade and shelter from rain and sun.
It might also a place for people to take a
break.

The design of the bus stop is based on the

climate, settings and user. Our design
highlights on the portability and its ease of
installation, as it is removeable and could be
reinstalled. Lightweight materials and
removable joints are applied in the whole
design.

-5-8 people
-Height average: 175cm

Proposed Design
Option 1
Steel Structure - Half cylinder + Cuboid

This shelter design makes the seating part of its structure.

Reasons for rejection

The design is challenging to construct due to the bending,

organic design.

Option 2
Timber Structure - Pentagonal prism + Ellipsoid

The structure of the proposed shelter design involves a lot of

flexing and bending of timber.

Reasons for rejection

The construction of the roof is too challenging to complete

manually.

Steels are also more expensive and require higher

maintenance as compared to timber, making it less ideal
option for a temporary bus shelter.

Proposed Design
Out of option 1 and 2, we decided to stick with the timber frame system with vertical columns and a pitched roof. We
continued to further explore the form as well as the structures load distribution abilities.

Technical Drawings

Floor Plan

Roof Plan

NTS

NTS

Technical Drawings

Left Elevation

Right Elevation

NTS

NTS

Technical Drawings

Front Elevation

Rear Elevation

NTS

NTS

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS

Weather Resistance
The materials are able to withstand the uplift of strong wind and rain falls. The extended part of the roof is to give
shades under the sun and to allow rain to run smoothly without entering the structure. [Ref. 2]

Gable roof allows the rainwater to fall along the

sides of the roof which leads rainwater to flow
outwards.

Three points are pinned on the roofs to make sure

the structure is able to stand still with lateral
forces brought by wind or rain.

Access

The users may enter the bus shelter from either front or rear of the structure. It is designed to allow users enter easily and
give non-obstructed views of approaching buses.

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MATERIALS

Timber As Building Material

Timber is a natural building material that offers superior performance and environmental advantages. It is a versatile,
sustainable, attractive and cost effective building material that combines beauty, performance and environmental
advantage.
// Environmental
-

renewable, sustainable resource that store carbon dioxide

the manufacture process of wood products requires smaller amounts of energy and it can be reused or recycled
low embodied energy

//Design Advantages
-

have aesthetic appeal

versatile and can be used in various contemporary uses and applications

// Product Performance
-

provides acoustic, thermal and strength performance

in a fire situation, timber performs in a measurable, predictable way allowing designers the ability to create strong, durable, fire
resistant timber constructions

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Material Selection
Metal sheet roofing
Timber purlin
Timber roofing rafter
Timber ridge beam
Timber kingpost
Timber roof joist
Timber strut

Timber decking rim joist

Plywood decking
Timber decking beam

Timber roof beam

Timber column

Concrete foundation

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CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

Joint & Details

Mortise and tenon joint
-simple but strong joint
allows wooden joists to
lock it in place
Dovetail scarf joint
-used for the construction
of the roof joist, this strong
joint secures its form.
Nailing
-simple nailing secures
non-structural
wooden
decking unto floor joists

Ground rim joist/beam with

L brackets and screws
which carry the fraction of
the load.

Gaps between plywood

decking to prevent
buckling

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CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

Model Making Progression

FLOOR

Wooden joist are

measured and marked
for assembly.

Joists are cut into

correct sizes and filed
for neatness.

Joists are nailed and

secured using L
brackets.

Wood decking is nailed

to the joist structure.

Decking is secured and

nailed onto the
superstructure.

FOUNDATION

Formwork is created
and tested.

Cement and sand mix

are added with water to
form concrete.

Concrete is poured in
and left to set for 2
days.

The formwork is then

pried open and the
concrete footing is
complete.

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Model Making Progression

ROOF

Joists are constructed

and nailed to build the
main frame.

Kingpost are attached

to the joists with L
brackets.

Rafters are added by

using metal plates.

The main skeletal

structure is assembled
and bolted together.

It is attached to the
column by using L
brackets.

It provides a sitting area for the bus

shelter.

The roofing sheets are

then added onto the roof
rafters.

SEAT

A bench is constructed
using wood.

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TEST RESULT

Forces Studies
Load Distribution
There are two different forces found in our temporary bus shelter : [Ref. 1]
a)Dead loads
Roof top and the columns are the stationary loads. Dead loads is the force transferred to the structure throughout the
lifespan.
Roof top is primarily due to self weight of the structure which is fixed permanently and it has weight of different
materials.
b)Live loads
The bench is known as a moving load in the structure. Although it is installed by the columns but its easy to uninstall
and change the position of the installation. The decking is designed to carry live loads or concentrated loads
whichever produce greater stresses in the part.

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Forces Diagram
Diagram 7.1 and 7.3 show the elevation of the bus stop with the directions of the loads of the structure

Diagram 7.1
Right elevation view with arrows representing
loads

Dead loads

Diagram 7.2
Rear elevation view with arrows representing loads

Live loads

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Test Result

In real, the bus stop should withstand a number of 5 people in

the structure, which is the average 60kg per person, in total
300kg, so the structure should be stable and can withstand
heavy loads.

Structure status: Completed

Test subject: 600ml water
Unit: 6
Weight: 600g
Analysis: Structure seems stable and able to withstand heavy
loads as well as stand upright.

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CONCLUSION

Conclusion
This project had given us an anxiety into the fundamental understanding of skeleton structure and its relevant
structural components. Throughout this project, we had gained a fair amount of knowledge on the ability to apply the
skeleton construction and its joints to actual construction.
As this project focuses more on the skeletal construction as compared to the design aesthetics, we decided to set a
theme for our bus shelter to suit the given requirements. Our designs evolved and progressed a fair amount of times, as
we noticed several weaknesses and limitation along the way. We also took the convenience of the temporary bus
shelter into consideration, which included the ease of assembling and disassembling the bus shelter.
The seating for the users of the temporary bus shelter was placed according to the human anthropometry research and
studies. The drainage of rainfall and ventilation were also considered.
Merging cosmetics and construction, we produced a bus shelter that renders the potential of the fabrication of both
appearance and load and force construction apposite.

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REFERENCES

References
Sheerly, Ivor H. 1995, Building Technology. 5th edition. Basingstoke, Hants: MacMillan
Zannos, Alexander. 1987, Form and Structure in Architecture: The Role of Statistical Function. Von Nostrand Reinhold Company,
New York
@. (2010). TYPES OF LOADS ON STRUCTURE. Retrieved October 03, 2016, from http://theconstructor.org/structuralengg/analysis/types-of-loads-on-structure/1698/
By Brice Cochran in Masonry/Concrete to Timber, Post and Beam Joints, Steel to Wood Connections, Timber Frame Joints 0. (n.d.).
Timber Frame Joints - Timber Frame HQ. Retrieved October 03, 2016, from http://timberframehq.com/construction-details/joints/
Advantages and Disadvantages of Gable Roofs. (2015). Retrieved October 03, 2016, from http://www.milohomes.com/advantages
-and-disadvantages-of-gable-roofs/
Geoff's Woodwork . (n.d.). Retrieved October 03, 2016, from http://www.geoffswoodwork.co.uk/joints.htm
Publications, I. O. (n.d.). How to Build a Timber Frame - DIY - MOTHER EARTH NEWS. Retrieved October 03, 2016, from http://www.
motherearthnews.com/diy/buildings/timber-frame-zv0z1512zsgre

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