Maria Cristina Ramos de Carvalho (1) Flávio Antônio dos Santos (2) Humberto Ramos Roman (3)
ABSTRACT
The use of structural masonry has to some extent been hampered by its long history as a craft based material and its disappearance for structural use was being predicted. The fact that this has not happened is a result of the inherent advantages of brickwork. However, to use structural brickwork effectively, the architectural conception and design must contribute to improve constructibility and reduce costs of buildings providing, at the same time, better technical solutions. Wall-layout for a particular building evolve from functional requirements and site conditions. A balance on functional requirements and structural behaviour should be found by architects and engineers. This work attempts to consider some basic principles of structural design and material properties of bricks and brickwork to carry out the architectural design of a complete building in structural masonry. It is shown that a clear understanding of the constructive system together with the flexibility offered by the material in terms of building layout can contribute to a better use of structural masonry.
Key words: structural masonry, architectural design, brickwork, structural design, constructive system, constructibility.
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