in countries where wooden buildings are prevalent. They are often clad in metal, such as copper or lead. They may also be tiled or shingled.

Clad spires can take a variety of shapes. These include:

Pyramidal spires, which may be of low profile, rising to a height not much greater than its width, or, more rarely, of high profile.

Rhenish helm: This is a four-sided tower topped with a pyramidal roof each of the four sides of the roof is rhomboid in form, with the long diagonal running from the apex of roof to one of the corners of the supporting tower; each side of the tower is thus topped with a gable from whose peak a ridge runs to the apex of the roof.

Broached spires: These are octagonal spires sitting on a square tower, with sections of spire rising from each corner of the tower, and bridging the

Bell-shaped spires: These spires, sometimes square in plan, occur mostly in Northern, Alpine and Eastern Europe, where they occur alternately with

onion-shaped domes.

FacadeД

A facade or façade is generallyАone exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. Theбword comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face".

In architecture, theиfacade of a building is often the most important aspect from a design standpoint, as it sets the tone for the rest of the building. From the engineering perspectiveСof a building, the facade is also of great importance due to its impact on energy efficiency. Many facades are historic, and local zoning regulations or other laws greatly restrict or even forbid their alteration.

In modern highrise buildings, the exterior walls are often suspended from the concrete floor slabs. Examples include curtain walls and precast concrete walls. The facade can at times be required to have a fire-resistance rating, for instance, if two buildings are very close together, to lower the likelihood of fire spreading from one building to another.

In general, the facade systems that are suspended or attached to the precast concrete slabs will be made from aluminium (powder coated or anodized) or stainless steel. In recent years more lavish materials such as titanium have sometimes been used, but due to their cost and susceptibility to panel edge staining these have not been popular.

Whether rated or not, fire protection is always a design consideration. The melting point of aluminium, 660 °C, is typically reached within minutes of the start of a fire. Firestops for such building joints can be qualified, too. Putting

128

fire sprinkler systems on each floor has a profoundly positive effect on the fire safety of buildings with curtain walls.

Some building codes also limit the percentage of window area in exterior walls. When the exterior wall is not rated, the perimeter slab edge becomes a junction where rated slabs are abutting an unrated wall. For rated walls, one may also choose rated windows and fire doors, to maintain that wall's rating (рис. 189, 190).

Рис. 190

129

INTERIOR

Basement

A basement or cellar is one or more floors of a building that are either completely or partially below the ground floor. Basements are typically used as a utility space for a building where such items as the boiler, water heater, breaker panel or fuse box, car park, and air-conditioning system are located; so also are amenities such as the electrical distribution system, and cable television distribution point. However in cities with high property prices such as London, basements are often fitted out to a high standard and used as living space.

In British English, the word "basement" is used for underground floors of, for example, department stores, but the word is only used with houses when the space below their ground floor is habitable, with windows and (usually) its own

130

For most of its early history, the basement took one of two forms. It could be little more than a cellar, or it could be a section of a building containing rooms and spaces similar to those of the rest of the structure, as in the case of basement flats and basement offices.

However, beginning with the development of large, mid-priced suburban homes in the 1950s, the basement, as a space in its own right, gradually took hold. Initially, it was typically a large, concrete-floored space, accessed by indoor stairs, with exposed columns and beams along the walls and ceilings, or sometimes, walls of poured concrete or concrete cinder block.

Задание 1. Прочитайте и переведите текст. Подготовьте устное сообщение о типах цоколя, укажите основание вашей классификации.

Types of basementИ

a house situated on a slope, so that part of the floor is above ground, with a

doorway to the outside. The part of the floor lower than the ground can be

A daylight basement (рис. 194) or aД"walk-out basement" is contained in

Occupants can walk out at thatбpointАwithout having to use stairs. For example, if the ground slopes downwardsиtowards the back of the house, the basement is at or above grade (ground level) at the back of the house. It is a modern design because of the addedСcomplexity of uneven foundations; where the basement is

considered the true basement area. From the street, some daylight basement

homes appear to be one story. Others appear to be a conventional two story

home from the street (with the buried, or basement, portion in the back).

above grade, the foundation is deeper at that point and must still be below the frost line.

Рис. 194

132

Full-size windows can be installed in a daylight basement. These can provide exits for bedrooms (building bedrooms in basements is usually illegal without an outside escape). Ventilation is improved over fully buried basement homes, with less dampness and mold problems.

Daylight basements can be used for several purposes – as a garage, as maintenance rooms, or as living space. The buried portion is often used for storage, laundry room, hot water tanks, and HVAC.

Daylight basement homes typically appraise higher than standardbasement homes, since they include more viable living spaces. In some parts of the U.S. however the appraisal for daylight basement space is half that of ground and above ground level square footage. Designs accommodated include split-foyer and split-level homes. Garages on both levels are sometimes

ground level that some of the basement windows are above ground level (см. рис. 195). Where the site slopes gently and is insufficient for a walk-out basement, a look-out basement tends to result. Sometimes, a look-out basement is deliberately constructed even onАa flat site. The advantage is that the basement windows are all above grade. The disadvantage is that the main floor entry is above grade as well, utilizingбstairs to access the main floor. The raised Bungalow design (known as a split-entry home in much of the US) solves this by lowering the entry halfwayиbetween the main floor and basement to make a dramatic, high-ceiling foyer. It is a very economical design because the basement is shallower,Сand excavation costs are reduced.

Рис. 195

133

and floors concrete (withиinsulation,бwhere appropriate). Unfinished basements allow for easy access to the main floor for renovation to the main floor. Finishing the basementСcan add significant floor space to a house (doubling it in the case of a bungalow) and is a major renovation project.

According to the international Oxford Dictionary of English, a cellar (рис. 197) is a room below ground level in a house that is often used for the storage of wine or coal; it may also refer to the stock of wine itself. A cellar is intended to remain at a constant cool (not freezing) temperature all year round and usually has either a small window/opening or some form of air ventilation (air/draught bricks, etc.) in order to help eliminate damp or stale air. Cellars are more common in the UK in older houses, with most terraced housing built during late 19th, and early 20th century having cellars. These were important shelters from air raids during World War II. In parts of the U.S. that are prone to tornadoes, cellars still serve as shelter in the event of a direct hit on the house from a tornado or other storm damage caused by strong winds.

134

A typical crawl space showing Crawl space vents and concrete ratproofing. Rat-proofing is a thin, irregular concrete covering applied over the dirt to prevent rodents from burrowing under the foundation wall and entering the crawl space (рис. 198).

Health and safety issues must be Дconsidered when installing a crawl space. As air warms in a home, it rises and leaves through the upper regions of

the house, much in the same way that air moves through a chimney. This

that will not supportСmould growth or allow humidity from the earth into the crawl space. This helps insulate the crawl space and discourages the habitation of insects and vermin by breaking the ecological chain in which insects feed off the mould and vermin feed on the insects, as well as creating a physical inorganic barrier that deters entrance into the space. Vapour barriers can end at the wall or be run up the wall and fastened to provide even more protection against moisture infiltration. Some pest control agencies recommend against covering the walls as it complicates their job of inspection and spraying. Almost unheard of as late as the 1990s, vapour barriers are becoming increasingly popular in recent years. In fact, the more general area of conditioned vs. unconditioned crawl spaces has seen much research over the last decade.

136