Popular Ideas and Designs

Aggregate is a granular material that acts as a basis and infills in concrete for the used in construction. It generally separated into fine aggregates and coarse aggregates. Normally fine aggregate particles that less than 4.75mm in diameter. Natural sand, such as river sand, sea sand, valley sand and artificial sand ground from hard rock can be the fine aggregate. While coarse aggregate particles require diameter size larger than 4.75mm are usually obtained from a crushed stone. The material that used up as coarse aggregate is normally gravel and pebbles.

Introduction

A mixture like an asphalt and concrete uses these aggregate as the additives. All these aggregate serves as reinforcement and also add strength towards a composite material. Concrete mix usually contains 60% to 80% of aggregate. If it is not added when doing a cement mixture, the mixture would not solidify and thus cannot be used. Bigger aggregates or coarse aggregates usually help in maintaining the strength of the concrete but reduces the amount of cement used and also the cost of the concrete mix too. The strength of gravel aggregates in concrete is higher compared to pebble concrete but the process of getting it from crushed stone make its prices higher than the pebble materials.

Infrastructure refers to the necessary facility that ensures normal social and economic activities of the country or region. It is usually a prior system that allows better living condition and development of society. Infrastructure has a so-called 'multiplier effect' which is total social demand and national income that can bring several times the investment amount.

Introduction

The infrastructure is an important basis for a country or region to allow its economy to sustain stable development in the long run. Type of infrastructure includes transportation, communication, water supply, power supply, public amenities, scientific research, environmental protection, etc. Establishing a good infrastructure often takes a long time and huge investment so a careful planning and hiring expert is a must to complete the project.

Doors and windows are an important part of the building as an openable barrier. The requirement for doors and windows is usually low thermal conductivity, sound insulation, waterproof, fire resistant, etc. Currently, the new requirement is energy saving where the cold areas are separated and lesser energy consume on cooling or heating. Another is the important part of the architectural design of a building so their shape, size, and color will have a big impact on the overall view of the building.

Introduction

The type of doors and windows are louver, frame, ironmongery, sliding, overhang, awning, French etc. The casement doors and windows are one of those common types which the framework are usually wood, steel, aluminium, glass, or combination of any of these materials. The material for shutter can be timber, plywood, glass, block or any material that should meet the minimum requirement of the industrialization of buildings which is sturdy, durable, flexible to open, tightly closed and easy to repair and clean.

Landscape design generally refers to the planning and design of landscapes and gardens for a building project or a household or any places that you wish to preserve the nature and at the same time provide an eyeful scenery. Landscape design and landscape architecture have many similarities which sometimes the difference is minor on specification or detail only.

Introduction

Landscape architectures usually work out by landscape architect which has to be certified. While for a design that works on smaller residential projects, or development usually a landscape designer would be sufficient. Landscape design mainly uses on: urban landscape design(city square, commercial street, office environment, etc), residential landscape design, parking areas, urban park, tourist resort, cultural heritage, etc. For a landscape architecture it would usually cover more scope such as steep slopes, retaining walls, irrigation systems, stormwater management, outdoor structures, driveways, and anything that able to ensure the well being of a project or development whether is before, after or ongoing.

Ceilings are the top surfaces covering product of a building's interior. They are usually used to conceal the roof structure and the pipe or wire under it. For certain type of ceilings, it can even provide the function of sound insulation, energy efficiency, and fire resistance.

Introduction

Despite the fact that functionality is important, people still need their house or space looks nice. For an architect or designer, ceilings are one of the vital design for a home or space as it represents the perfect balance between the other decorative element. There can be many types of ceiling design, it can be decorated with fresco painting, mosaic tiles, surface treatments, chandeliers, light tube, ceiling fans, skylights, air conditioners, etc.

Applications

The most common type of ceiling is the dropped ceiling which suspended from structural elements above. This type of ceilings is commonly used in airports, stations, office buildings, shopping malls, subway stations, and residential buildings. Other types of ceiling include of the cathedral ceiling, concave ceiling or barrel-shaped ceiling, stretched ceiling, coffered ceiling etc. In the past, traditional houses were mostly made up of straw mats, banquets, and wooden boards. With the advancement of technology, more modern ceiling materials like gypsum board, light steel keel, splint, aluminum strip ceiling, stained glass, PVC ceiling, new plastic steel plate ceiling, etc have been introduced.

Timber or so-called lumber is usually a trimmed block of wood that process into beams and planks of a building or structure. furniture are usually separate to two main type which is hardwood that usually used for decorative purposes and the other is softwood that often uses as the structural material. These two names are usually misleading because hardwood is not necessarily hard and softwood are not necessarily soft and they are usually distinguished through botanically in terms of their reproduction. Hardwood are usually tend to be denser and therefore sturdier meanwhile softwood are lesser in dense and therefore easier to cut. So in general, the denser of a wood than the easier it will split if you pound a nail into it. Thus in order to nail it the right way, you will have to drill a screw hole or bolt hole. However, softwood or structural lumber which is much softer and lighter able to accepts nail easily without splitting it and thus making it a good material for general construction.

TIle is a hard-wearing building material due to its firm in strength, small in weight, resistant to pressure and wear, and can be protected from moisture. Tile are usually use as floor decorative for room or buildings while thinner tile will be usually used on walls rather than on floors because walls require more durable surfaces rather than resist impacts. These tiles are usually made up of marble and granite, ceramic, clay and etc. Although other popular flooring and wall materials like laminate, wood, luxury vinyl, etc are being widely used, floor tiles are still the first choice for many consumers because tiles have a solid texture, easy in cleaning, heat-resistant, wear-resistant, chemical resistant, watertight that makes it high versatility and very durable.

In construction, waterproofing is the important solutions to prevent the damaging effect of water on the building fabric and the usability of buildings. Water infiltration will cause damages such as insect infestation, growing of molds and in worst cases building failures Whether it is tunnels, bridges, dams, roads, buildings or houses we live in today, waterproofing plays an important role in the construction and preservation of it.

Introduction

The materials use for waterproofing are mainly coils, polyurethanes, epoxy flooring, acrylic waterproof coating, bituminous waterproofing, etc. Waterproofing of home space or room is also widely practiced in residential nowadays. An area like the roof, toilets, balconies, exterior walls, kitchens, basements, swimming pools and material like steel are famous for waterproofing and moisture-proof treatment in order to increase its lifespan and usability.

Roof waterproofing method is often seen in the residential house and industrial building. The method used is usually waterproofing membrane or coating. Sometimes this two method name is interchangeable as different manufacturer different product introduction. A membrane is a flexible sheet-like structure that as a protective or boundary between the structure and the elements from water and chemical damage or the environmental damage. The method is usually durable, long-term and flexible. One of the common material is the polyurethane membrane. Polyurethane is an extremely versatile elastomer used in many kinds of application. Due to its resistance to water, oil, and grease, the polyurethane waterproofing is widely used in roofing, basement, indoor carpark, wall, etc. Whereas the coating is more like a thin layer of paint that applied to the surface of structure or product. This layer usually acts as UV protection, reflective and also help keep the structure cool down. Often this coating would require constant maintenance around 1 to 2 years and subject to wear faster in a harsh environment. Of course, nowadays waterproofing comes in different brand and mixture and some coating even perform better than the membrane. Some even combine them to use it together.

Construction chemicals are the chemical formulations between cement, concrete, and other building material to bind them together at the time or before the time of construction. These construction chemicals are widely used in the construction of residential, commercial industries, commercial building, and infrastructure. The Asia Pacific region own the largest market share for construction chemical products, follow up is Europe and North America. Since the reform and opening up of China, the country construction industry has developed unprecedentedly and construction market is vigorously in demand. The increase in demand and functionality building has pushed forward the need of new building materials like construction chemical to counter the demand.

Flooring is commonly referred to as permanent floor covering, a proper flooring system comprises of a good supportive subfloor including sprung, floating and raised flooring. These are installed to ensure proper structural strength can be provided for the floor covering, for instance, concrete subfloor or plywood subfloor.

Industrialized Building System (IBS) is a common phrase used in Malaysia to describe the construction of a building by assembling the building component that builds from a factory. So in general IBS and Prefabricated or in short Prefab building are referring the same thing.

Introduction

Prefabricated buildings have been gradually promoted by developed countries such as Europe and the United States in the late 1940s. Other countries such as Western Europe and Northern Europe, as well as North America, Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong, are also well known for its advanced in the prefabricated building. With the rapid urbanization of China, the prefabricated building is also their current top choice for their housing and industry development. Often prefab building offers smaller price tags, environmentally friendly and faster finish built.

Wall acts as a load carrier for slab, roof, beam and other forms of weight units. At the same time, it offers privacy, security, and shelter against foreign matters. Wall can also be a non-load bearing divider, or a partition that separate spaces and create “rooms” in the building. Wall can be used as a defensive barrier in the countryside, either as a permanent structure or temporary erection for a structure either in outdoor or indoor use. External wall usually acts as the shear wall in which load-bearing strength is required, they play the role as superstructure’s basic while block water, dirt as well as unwanted temperature and noise. The acoustic and thermal insulation features can be enhanced through additional infill materials such as polystyrene foam, mineral wool, glass fiber or others.

A roof is a necessity to a building, it covers up the building’s top and it acts as protection that shields up internal property and people in it. It safeguards them from rain, sunlight’s UV, wind, dust and other foreign substances. Covering is supported by roof structure and framing, it can also create another space for activities, such as a roof garden. Maximizing the roofing space is now getting more common in Malaysia.