Product Description

The second edition of Construction Technology: analysis & choice has been expanded to include commercial buildings.  This now covers, in a single textbook, all the basic forms of construction studied on professional courses.

The book takes as its theme the process of choice: what the expert has to know and how he/she might think through the decisions to be made about the design, production, maintenance and disposal of buildings.

It is written with the conviction that by focusing on the process of choice, the range of theory and knowledge that is useful to practice becomes explicit, making the link between knowledge and practice, and between understanding and experience.

The new edition has been updated throughout with extensive additions to Chapter13: Manufacture and Assembly; and to Chapter 15: Sustainability. An entire new section – Part III: Commercial Buildings has been added, covering all the main elements of commercial construction,

Students will find here explanations of how environments, structural behaviour, production know–how, cost and social concerns such as sustainability can be taken into account in the choice of construction. They will also gain a clear understanding of the construction details and specifications adopted for both housing and commercial buildings in the UK at the beginning of the 21st century.

• Provides a framework to think through proposed solutions
• Sets the choice of solution in both time and place, and in the context of sustainability
• Focuses on key questions: will the proposal fail; and can it be built
• Considers a building’s response to loading, environmental conditions and time
• Looks at the production process as manufacture and assembly 

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #209972 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

Review
′I am impressed by the format and quality of the illustrations of this book and the logical progression of the subject matter′ Building Engineer September 2005

From the Back Cover

This book takes as its theme the process of choice: what the expert has to know and how decisions about the design, production, maintenance and disposal of buildings may be thought through.

It is written with the conviction that by focusing on the process of choice, the range of theory and knowledge that is needed in practice becomes explicit, making the link between knowledge and practice, and between understanding and experience.

Part 1 – Analysis looks at the main ares that have to be considered to check that the proposed construction will perform and can be built. The key question is: What if I do it like this? the answer comes from an understanding of how a building works and how it is built.

Part 2 – Choice puts the analysis into practice, focusing on making a final choice. The context used is the housing need for the UK at the beginning of the 21st century. The chapters identify some alternative forms of house construction and run through the analysis to lead to some commonly adopted details and specifications.

• Establishes a comprehensive framework introducing all the key factors that determine the success of a construction solution.


• Explains how environments, structural behavior, production know–how, cost and social concerns – such as sustainability – can be taken into account in the choice of construction.


• Provides an understanding of the construction details and specification adopted for housing in the UK.