Product Review

Concise but comprehensive, Jonathan Ochshorn's Structural Elements for Architects and Builders explains how to design and analyze columns, beams, tension members and their connections. The material is organized into a single, self-sufficient volume, including all necessary data for the preliminary design and analysis of these structural elements in wood, steel, and reinforced concrete. Every chapter contains insights developed by the author and generally not found elsewhere. Appendices included at the end of each chapter contain numerous tables and graphs, based on material contained in industry publications, but reorganized and formatted especially for this text to improve clarity and simplicity, without sacrificing comprehensiveness. Procedures for design and analysis are based on the latest editions of the National Design Specification for Wood Construction (AF&PA and AWC), the Steel Construction Manual (AISC), Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete (ACI), and Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures (ASCE/SEI). This thoroughly revised and expanded second edition of Structural Elements includes an introduction to statics and strength of materials, an examination of loads, and new sections on material properties and construction systems within the chapters on wood, steel, and reinforced concrete design. This permits a more comprehensive overview of the various design and analysis procedures for each of the major structural materials used in modern buildings. Free structural calculators (search online for: Ochshorn calculators) have been created for many examples in the book, enabling architects and builders to quickly find preliminary answers to structural design questions commonly encountered in school or in practice.