Tuesday, February 17, 2015

            Today was an especially interesting tour because we covered the architectural structures of buildings that I have been in multiple times. However, I have never paid much attention to the structural design of these buildings, especially Huff Hall and the Armory, and therefore I was shown a differing perspective of these everyday buildings. We started off in the main gym of Huff Hall. As soon as we entered, I couldn’t help but notice the overwhelming smell of athletic equipment. Professor Hinders began by pointing out the various beams that supported the huge ceiling of the gym. The first of many architectural features was the presence of trusses that spanned the width of the ceiling. These trusses helped to transfer the force exerted by the weight of the ceiling horizontally to girders, which then were able to apply this force vertically onto columns. As Professor Hinders explained, vertical force is much more manageable than force directed horizontally. He proceeded to demonstrate this by illustrating that a person can withstand force directed vertically upon their head much better than force directed horizontally at their chest by softly pushing Julia.

Once we all understood the concepts governing the structural framework of Huff Hall, we continued our tour by taking an underground tunnel to the Armory. Having never been in one of the university’s many tunnels, to say I was excited would be an understatement. I was thrilled that I was finally getting to explore one of these legendary tunnels; however, I was slightly disappointed to find that the door to enter the Armory was locked, so we were forced to turn around. After we entered through the front door of the Armory like commoners, we continued to the main track where a small group of athletes were practicing. It was interesting to notice that the trusses of the Armory were all connected at the top of the ceiling by pins. Like Huff Hall, the Armory ceiling was supported by a series of columns; however, the trusses and ceiling in general were much more arched than that of Huff. I was also amazed that only one side of track was secured in place by large iron beams, whereas the opposite side lacked such an unmoving design. I also thought it was extremely interesting that by walking on the hallway that was overhanging the track, a person’s exerted force was transferred across the beams to the beams actually above the overhang. I would have assumed that the force would be exerted downward, and this force transfer almost seemed to defy the laws of nature.

After leaving the Armory, our class trekked over to the football practice field. This building combined aspects of both Huff Hall and the Armory. However, unlike these previous structures, the practice field’s arched ceiling was supported by a truss that ran the length of the field, in order to allow such a high ceiling. Also unlike the buildings visited previously on our tour, the columns which supported the structure were hidden in the cement wall rather than being displayed transparently. It was pretty cool being in the practice field, this being the first time I’ve been.