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Column Design Alternatives
Virtual mockups for visualization and evaluation
Posted on August 1, 2023 @ 5:42PM

The virtual mockups in these videos explore alternative approaches to how beam and column materials and forms could be composed in a project we are working on now. One option looks at a relatively traditional cluster of four wood posts supporting dovetailed beams intersecting above, with a base element below. The next is a more minimal solution with four steel angle sections replacing both the wood posts and base. The third option is both more minimal yet and more sculptural, with a rotating array of flat steel plates instead of steel angles. The final option is a more complex 'tripod' approach supporting a flight of three beams above. The second video illustrates all of the steel options (2, 3, and 4) done using Corten steel or chemically treated steel that would eliminate maintenance issues and potentially tie visually to other Corten steel elements in the project.

Option 1 - Wood Posts | Option 2 - Carbon Steel Angles | Option 3 - Carbon Steel Flat Plates | Option 4 - Carbon Steel Pipe Tripod

Option 1 - Wood Posts | Option 2 - Corten Steel Angles | Option 3 - Corten Steel Flat Plates | Option 4 - Corten Steel Pipe Tripod

Author: Sam Rodell

Sam has practiced as an award winning architect for forty years, and has also built many of his clients' projects.  He is licensed throughout most of the western USA and Canada, and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) which expedites registration in other states and provinces. He was the first Certified Passive House Consultant architect in eastern Washington and northern Idaho.