Construction elements

Vertical member carrying roof and floor loads down to the foundations. Works in compression, with one major risk: buckling (slenderness must be controlled).

Horizontal bending member carrying floors or roofs between supports. The I-shape concentrates material in the flanges, where bending demand is highest.

Triangulated girder spanning long distances with very little steel: each member works in pure tension or compression only. The typical roof structure of warehouses, schools and churches.

Small profile laid on trusses or rafters, parallel to the ridge, directly supporting the roof sheeting. The most repeated member of a frame: optimizing it strongly impacts the budget.

The wall equivalent of a purlin: horizontal profile fixed to columns supporting wall cladding sheets. Loaded mostly by wind (pressure/suction) and its self-weight.

Diagonals turning a deformable frame into a rigid triangle: they resist horizontal forces (wind, seismic) and carry them to the foundations. Without bracing, a pin-jointed building collapses sideways.

Frame made of two columns and a rafter joined by moment connections: the portal resists in-plane horizontal forces alone, without bracing crosses. The go-to solution for modern warehouses.

Horizontal lattice hidden in the roof plane: it collects wind hitting the gable and transfers it to the vertical bracing of the side walls. The most often forgotten member... until the first storm.