Archinect - News

Poorly designed, even for the 1970s

2021-08-29T13:14:00-04:00

The Champlain Towers South design violated building codes at the time of original construction. On the northern side, under the portion of the tower that collapsed, the columns were too narrow to accommodate all of the vertical and horizontal rebar called for in the plans while maintaining clearance required by the code. The pool deck had narrow columns and inadequate load bearing capacity, engineers consulted by the Herald found. Only columns beneath the surviving structure were fully compliant

A team consisting of Sarah Blaskey, Aaron Leibowitz and Ben Conarck worked with four engineers and a general contractor to analyze the "Anatomy of Collapse" and explain the failure of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, FL. One key factor in the collapse appears to have been "punching shear" failure in the first-floor slab.

Brazilian architect Márcio Sequeira's latest Mola Structural Kit makes understanding the structural behavior of buildings fun

2019-06-17T11:19:00-04:00

Before launching the Mola Structural Kit 1 in 2014, Brazilian architect Márcio Sequeira spent ten years developing the Molar design model before it hit the market. He initially came up with the Mola Structural Model while he was a postgraduate student in architecture school. Since then, Mola has not only become Brazil's most successful crowdfunded campaign, it has found its way into classrooms and major universities across like MIT, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), and Technical University Madrid (UPM). In 2016, Sequeira and his team launched a second campaign, Mola 2. The goal was to help fund the production of additional products and expand the line.

Mola Structural Kit 1 launched in 2014 and Kit 2 launched in 2016. Image © Mola Structural Model

Now the company releases its latest model, the Mola Structural Kit 3. According to the Mola team, the kits are used as"a learning tool with a modular construction system that allows those interested in architecture to easil...

The toy-like Mola Structural Kit allows architects to experiment with structural engineering

2016-11-29T14:02:00-05:00

How can architects determine if their designs are structurally sound? Aside from consulting with a professional structural engineering firm, the Mola Structural Kit offers a playful way to test out the strength and durability of various designs. The company has unveiled the second edition of the kit, which has been designed to be compatible with the first. Here's a video that explains it all: