2723

8What is your impression of the information given in the text? Express your ideas in 3–4 sentences.

9In a paragraph of 70–100 words, and using your own words, as far as possible, summarize what the text tells us about mortars.

10Find and present additional information on any type of mortars you like.

WORD LIST

21

“Gently suggest material qualities rather than draw them in a literal manner.” Matthew Frederick (architect)

Unit 5

GLASS

Figure 5.1. Glazed Facade (Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge)

(§1) The term glass refers to materials, usually blends of metallic oxides, predominantly silica, which do not crystallise when cooled from the liquid to the solid state. It is the non-crystalline or amorphous structure of glass that gives rise to its transparency. Glass made from sand, lime and soda ash has been known in Egypt for 5000 years, although it probably originated in Assyria and Phoenicia. The earliest man-made glass was used to glaze stone beads, later to make glass beads (circa 2500 BC), but it was not until about 1500 BC that it was used to make hollow vessels.

(§2) For many centuries glass was worked by drawing the molten material from a furnace. The glass was then rolled out or pressed into appropriate moulds and finally fashioned by cutting and grinding. Around 300 BC the technique of glass blowing evolved in Assyria, and the Romans developed this further by blowing glass into moulds. Medieval glass produced in the Rhineland contained potash from the burning of wood rather than soda ash. Together with an increase in lime content this gave rise to a less durable product which has caused the subsequent deterioration of some church glass from that period.

22

(§3) The various colours within glass derived from the addition of metallic compounds to the melt. Blue was obtained by the addition of cobalt, whilst copper produced blue or red and iron or chromium produced green. In the fifteenth century white opaque glass was produced by the addition of tin or arsenic, and by the seventeenth century ruby red glass was made by the addition of gold chloride. Clear glass could only be obtained by using antimony or manganese as a decolouriser to remove the green colouration caused by iron impurities within the sand.

(§4) By the late twentieth century, with the advent of fully glazed facades, as illustrated by the Faculty of Law building at the University of Cambridge (Fig. 5.1), the construction industry had become a major consumer of new glass, and a proactive force in the development of new products.

(§5) The glass products fall into principal two types: non-sheet products and sheet products.

(§6) One of the non-sheet product examples is glass blocks. Glass blocks for non-load-bearing walls and partitions are manufactured by casting two half-blocks at 1050 °C, joining them together at 800 °C, followed by annealing at 560 °C. The standard blocks (Fig. 5.2.a) are 115, 190, 240 and 300 mm square with thicknesses of 80 and 100 mm, although rectangular and circular blocks are also available. Walls may be curved as illustrated in (Fig. 5.2.b). The variety of patterns, offering differing degrees of privacy, include clear, frosted, Flemish, reeded, and crystal designs with colours ranging from blue, green and grey to pink and gold. Blocks with solar reflective glass or incorporating white glass fibres offer additional solar control; colour may be added to either the edge coating or the glass itself. Special blocks are also available to form corners and ends also for ventilation.

23

has a slightly greater mirror effect than ordinary float glass, with a faint blue tint.

Figure 5.3. Screen printed glass facade (John Lewis Department Store, Leicester)

(§11) White or coloured ceramic frit is screen printed onto clear or tinted float glass, which is then toughened and heat soaked, causing the ceramic enamel to fuse permanently into the glass surface. Standard patterns or individual designs may be created, giving the required level of solar transmission and privacy. Screen printed glass, which is colourfast and abrasion-resistant, is usually installed with the printed side as the inner face of conventional glazing (Fig. 5.3).

Assignments:

1Present phonetic reading of §1–2.

2Explain the words in bold from the text and make up sentences of your own. Use English-English dictionaries to help you.

3Suggest the Russian equivalents:

Silica, man-made glass, stone beads, appropriate mould, potash, subsequent deterioration, copper, tin, decolouriser, a non-sheet product, rectangular and circular blocks, float glass, antique appearance, invisible hard coating, ultra-violet light, to wash the surface, unsightly streaks or spots, clear or tinted float glass, the required level of solar transmission.

25

4 Give the English equivalents:

Печь; прозрачность; придавать форму; изнашивание; стекло; отжиг; потребитель; реставрация; эмаль; пятно; застекление; примесь; марганец; сурьма; полый сосуд; кварц; стеклянный блок; прямоугольный; стойкий к истиранию; содержание извести; придавать форму; рисунок; медь; олово.

5Read the text again and answer the questions that follow (1–6):

1.What is the definition of the word “glass”?

2.What components is glass made of?

3.What is the manufacturing process of glass blocks?

4.How was the medieval glass produced?

5.What is the role of metallic compounds in glass manufacturing?

6.What new information have you known about self-cleaning glass?

6Match the information given to the paragraphs in the text:

Float Glass Parameters;

The Process of Making Glass;

Screen Printed Glass;

The Definition of the Term Glass;

The Addition of Metallic Compounds.

7 Give a literary translation of §9, 10.

8 You’ve misheard the information. Make it more exact, putting questions:

Example: A: Blue was obtained by the addition of cobalt, whilst copper produced blue or red and iron or chromium produced green.

B:How can the green colourbe produced?

1.Sheet products are manufactured in the form of float glass.

2.By the late twentieth century, with the advent of fully glazed facades the construction industry had become a major consumer of new glass, and a proactive force in the development of new products.

26

3.Glass made from sand, lime and soda ash has been known in Egypt for 5000 years, although it probably originated in Assyria and Phoenicia.

4.Blocks with solar reflective glass or incorporating white glass fibres offer additional solar control.

5.Self-cleaning glass has a slightly greater mirror effect than ordinary float glass, with a faint blue tint.

9What is your impression of the information given in the text? Express your ideas in 3–4 sentences.

10In a paragraph of 70–100 words, and using your own words, as far as possible, summarize what the text tells us about the staircases.

11Find and present additional information on one of the given type of glass: screen-printed glass, decorative coloured glass, Georgian wired glass, toughened glass, heat-strengthened glass, laminated glass, fire-resistant glass and solar control glasses.

WORD LIST

27

28

“Always place fire stairs at opposite ends of the buildings you design, even in the earliest stages of the design process.” Matthew Frederick (architect)

Unit 6

STAIRS

Read the text:

(§1) Buildings have stairs so that people can gain access to the upper floors. Stairs should be designed so that they are convenient for the majority of people to use.

(§2) The staircases can be built out of timber, reinforced concrete, steel or stone. Fig. 6.1 illustrates many of the important parts of a staircase.

Figure 6.1. Staircase Parts

(§3) Timber staircase usually consists of two strings, treads and risers, a balustrade and a handrail. Reinforced concrete staircases are increasingly popular. They are usually cast in situ on formwork. The treads and risers are cast in one piece so they do not have strings. Steel staircases are normally used for fire escapes or for external access. A typical metal staircase has metal strings with steel treads fixed to metal brackets, steel staircases usually do not have risers.

29

(§4) The first principle in staircase design is that a person should be able to move comfortably from one step to another. The design must be conform to the typical step pattern of an average person.

(§5) As the going increases, then the riser height decreases. The reverse is also true. Increased riser height means a decreased tread length. The goal is to find the compromise between tread length and riser height using a standard formula. Formula for calculating stair dimensions: the going plus the height of two risers must be:

Maximum of 700 mm;

Minimum of 550 mm.

To ensure that stairs are not steeper than 42° the relationship between the riser and the going must be based on the measurements below. Each riser in a flight of stairs must be the same height. Each tread must be the same length. The total number of risers depends on the height of the vertical rise of each flight.

Riser and Going Dimensions

(§6) As timber staircases are most traditional, here the steps of how to put a timber staircase together from the timber pieces are described:

1.Glue the treads and rises.

2.Insert the treads and risers in the grooves in the strings. Lightly nail them together.

Insert and glue two wedges in each tread to strengthen the joint. Press the structure together with a cramp iron.

3.If the staircase is more than 1 metre wide, then a support called a carriage fixed to the floor at each end: this is a piece of timber with brackets fixed on alternate sides to support the middle of each tread.

4.Fix a 75 × 75 mm newel post at the top and bottom of both strings. Make a slot in all the newel posts for the strings and adjacent treads and risers.

30