Journal articles on the topic 'Reinforced concrete staircases'

Staircases in reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures have suffered severe damages in past earthquakes, despite being regarded as the main means of egress during emergencies. To make sure that staircases perform as safe passages in strong earthquakes, the performance of RC stair structures should be scrutinized under major earthquakes. In this research at first, staircases were simulated as shell elements in RC frames and analyzed under gravity loads in order to find the maximum forces and moments. In the second step, the influence of staircases on the structural behavior of RC frame structures under seismic loads was studied. The results showed that stairs act as a K-type bracing system. Furthermore, a parametric study was carried out and relations for calculating force and moment in stairs slabs that had been determined under gravity loads, were modified. In addition, affected areas of structure interacting with the stairs in an earthquake were distinguished.

Staircases in Reinforced Concrete (RC) frame structures suffered severe damages in recent earthquakes although they are regarded as critically important passages during emergencies. Staircases act as the first line of defense in earthquakes, and therefore they first yield and fail. Then they lose the action of safe passages so that the anticipated seismic performance objectives cannot be satisfied. To make sure that staircases work as safe passages in strong earthquakes, the current Chinese code for seismic design of buildings claims special requirements on the design of staircases. At first, the influence of staircases on the structural behavior of a typical RC frame structure is studied by the comparison of internal force in the structural members considering and neglecting the effect of staircases under frequent earthquakes. Besides, the effect of staircases on the yielding and failing mechanism of the frame structure is investigated through static elasto-plastic analyses. From this study the reason of the damages suffered by cast-in-site staircases in RC frame structures under earthquakes can be understood.

Reinforced concrete coupled walls are cantilevered shear walls joined by coupling beams and are used in high-rise apartment for many years. Rectangular openings are the most common shape of openings used in shear wall in order to provide doors, windows, entrance to car park areas and elevators or staircases. Behavior of coupling beams affect the strength of coupled walls. This research suggests adding haunches to the corners of rectangular openings and form octagonal openings as a method to increase the strength of coupling beams. The experimental results of shear wall with single band of rectangular and octagonal openings are compared in terms of behavior of coupling beams under cyclic load. The results demonstrate that the coupling beams in shear wall with octagonal openings are stronger than coupling beams in shear wall with rectangular openings.

The paper discusses the main prerequisites for the development of parking lots. The main problems are estimated, the solution of which is the construction of multi-level intercept parking lots. The urgency of the problem is associated with the increasing gas pollution in the city, an increase in the number of accidents, a decrease in the speed of delivery of goods and the availability of parking spaces in the city center. The parking lot is considered, which provides its functions all year round regardless of weather conditions. At the same time, design solutions and materials were selected to minimize financial costs. The use of steel as the main material for supporting structures makes it possible to reduce the cost of construction. Structural columns, vertical ties and beams are made from it. Floor slabs should be made of reinforced concrete on fixed formwork from galvanized corrugated sheet of various grades. When using sheets with a high corrugation, it is possible to create a ceiling without secondary beams. Staircases, stairways and elevator shafts should also be made from reinforced concrete or from concrete blocks in order to achieve the required fire resistance limit corresponding to that required for parking lot. The appearance of the multi-level intercept parking lot meets modern aesthetic requirements and also has a positive effect on the minds of motorists, appearing as part of a comfortable living environment.

Staircase is a very important structural element found in mostly buildings of more than a floor. The properties of materials and designs used in constructing this structural element are very important. This study addresses the development of ultra-lightweight concrete. How ultra-lightweight concrete can effectively work in helicoidal structure. The flexural strength of this staircase was analysed on a finite element software SCAD. The designed lightweight aggregates concrete is targeted to be used in staircase of a structure having the shape of helicoid. In the concrete, chopped basalt fiber portion was added to each concrete mixture specimen reinforced as reinforcement. The basalt fiber percentages used are 0, 0.45, 0.9, 1.2 and 1.6. The developed lightweight expanded clay basalt fiber concrete showed significant increase in the flexural strength. The loads applied on this helicoidal concrete staircase in SCAD were derived from the laboratory experiments conducted on the concrete specimens on the 28 days curing period. This combination of values exceeds, to the researchers' knowledge, the performance of all other lightweight building materials. Furthermore, the developed lightweight concrete possesses excellent durability properties.

This Forensic project has been proposed to investigate the reinforced concrete structure defect at library. There were found 65 points cracks and 20 points spalling in library such as only at reinforced concrete beam and slab part in first floor. The total of cracks which crack width less than 0.25 mm is 63 points and the crack width between 0.25 mm to 5.00 mm is 2 points only. These cracks had categorized as fine cracks because the crack width not more than 5 mm. There was 21 samples Rebound Hammer test was random measured the existing concrete compressive strength of critical structures which six samples at beams, six samples at slabs, six samples at columns and three samples at staircase in library. The Rebound Hammer test shown that average mid-point strength at beam is 33 N/mm2, slab is 25 N/mm², column is 38 N/mm2 and staircase is 37 N/mm2 . Based on the Eurocode 2, the minimum grade concrete required is 25N/mm2 to do the design for reinforced concrete structures, which all the existing concrete strength were achieved the minimum concrete strength. Finally, the Orion software are used to analysis and determine the size of steel reinforcement, the design found the required bar size of steel reinforcement at the middle span or continuous support is 2T16 & 2T25 or 2T20 & 2T25 but the existing steel reinforcement is 2T12 and 2T20 which the existing steel reinforcement could not be sustained the big loading that applied on the library.

The stair is the vertical transport hinge among stories, it becomes a very important component. the stair is seriously damaged in Wenchuan earthquake, and it failed to perform the role for person escaping in case of emergency. a reinforced concrete frame structure with plate stairs as an example, the finite analysis is used. Calculation result shows that plate stairs have a great influence on earthquake resistant behavior of the structure. Designing without the plate staircase in consideration would lead to structural weakness in some columns and cause seriously damage under earthquake and affect the safety of structure.

The primary focus of this research is to analyze and design a multi-storey building (3D-dimensional reinforce concrete frame), the designing of building begins with making the plan of specific building which include the position of rooms, kitchen, toilet etc. the design should be such that it is up to mark of customer requirements and comport nowadays vastu shastra is also kept in mind while designing. The second step is to design the reinforced concrete part which includes designing of slabs, columns, beams, staircase and footing these designing’s were done manually and all the calculations were done according ACT code and the outcomes were compared using STAAD PRO. I design an office building which is made of reinforced concrete frames and the building has three floors with 12 offices on each floor which sum up to 36 offices and the maximum area of a floor is (21.9*40.9) m2. To complete the architectural design, I AutoCAD program and for analyzing and designing the structure of building I used software known as STAAD Pro v8iSSS.and after both the designing I got the results as the map of a building which is architectural and structural safe. For designing the structural plan and architectural design one requires high imagination power as well as theoretical knowledge and also keen knowledge of science of structural engineering and should know the recent design codes, laws and before designing he should have adequate experience and mind set to reach conclusion. STAAD PRO is a very user friendly software it is and easy to understand and operate. We can input the material properties, load value, dimensions and we can also draw the frame within the software and after taking all the data it analyze the whole structure and design the member with reinforced detail for concrete frame and all the designs are done under specified criteria. These criteria are implemented to keep careful balance between economy and safety.

Multi-storey reinforced concrete frame buildings are widespread in Russia. Most of these buildings have braced frame system, where the main load-bearing elements are columns, beams and hollow floor slabs, and the spatial rigidity is provided by additional diaphragms, staircase and elevator section. Such buildings are easy to design and build and are quite multifunctional in purpose. The article on the basis of the authors’ experience in the survey examines the main defects in such buildings. The causes of typical defects can be divided into objective, technological and operational reasons. Usually, the cause of survey can be structural damage discovered by the building owner that is why often the survey is conducted during the emergency condition, which can be avoided, if inspections and monitoring of the structures technical state are regular. Also there is a necessity of improving the design methods of new buildings and strengthening of existing ones.

The concrete structures deterioration in the last few decades required effective methods for evaluating and maintaining the structure condition. Currently, assessing the performance and safety of reinforced concrete (RC) structures relies on routine-based visual inspection (VI). However, there are another non-destructive test (NDT) technique that can provide a more accurate assessment of the structures. Thus, in this study, a footbridge located in Liverpool, UK is chosen as a case study and has NDT techniques used for assessment. The main objective of this research is to determine the condition of structural bridge components and investigate its level of defect and deterioration using non-destructive tests. The methodologies involved are visual inspection, and NDT techniques include the rebound hammer, cover meter, Moisture Content & Depth of Carbonation Testing, Chloride Testing and Half Cell Test. The framework, when implemented with the best selection of NDT techniques, helps in determining the level of defect and deterioration of the structural bridge components and next recommendation regarding the condition of the bridge. The involved bridge structural components include column, deck, wall and staircase. Findings from the visual inspection show that there were many defects and deteriorations found at the structural bridge components, which includes crack, spalling, and delamination and rusting. Further, NDT techniques that were carried out at the selected bridge structural part shows that some of the components exhibited a moderate risk of corrosion and acceptable concrete surface quality. In general, further maintenance is needed specifically to some critical structural components of the bridge.

Shear wall is the structural component provided in midrise and tall buildings to resist earthquake and wind forces. These walls are continuous from foundation to top of buildings. Many times the wall around lift and staircase shaft of a building is designed as a shear wall. Generally these are of reinforced concrete but may be of masonry, wood, steel etc. As these walls have to resist heavy lateral forces these are of heavy sections and have a dense reinforcement at lower part which results substantial amount of closely spaced transverse reinforcement causing reinforcement congestion in boundary element creating problem of construction and placing. Heavy reinforcement and large thickness is required at lower stage and in boundary element of these walls. Displacement capacity of RC structures is generally depends on the deformation capacity of the concrete. If large displacement capacity is to be attained, steel is provided in concrete to enhance concrete behavior, particularly compressive strain capacity. To achieve these goals and maintaining size of cross section in control, heavy reinforcement ratio is required to maintain which creates problem of reinforcement congestion. To overcome this problem of reinforcement congestion a small amount of ductile material like steel fibres may be added to concrete. Many researchers had tried to investigate the behavior of RC shear wall with different composites to improve its performance but very few had tried with concrete with steel fibres. Use of composite materials steel fibers in concrete found beneficial in many structural elements is tried in this research for shear wall. In this paper finite element analysis of shear wall model has been carried out to study and compare the behavior of normal concrete shear wall and steel fiber reinforced concrete shear wall with and without opening using ETABS software to know improvement in behaviour when subjected to lateral load by adding steel fibers in concrete.

With the development of China's construction field, prefabricated building structure has gradually become a very common building structure in the current construction engineering by virtue of its many advantages in the actual construction field. Combined with the engineering practice, this paper summarizes the hoisting technology of precast composite slab and precast staircase in prefabricated building structure. This paper focuses on the optimization design of laminated plate support under the conditions of wood formwork and aluminum formwork system and the key and difficult points in the construction process, and puts forward a set of practical and feasible construction methods for prefabricated components. This paper focuses on the analysis of the design concept, materials, structural form, manufacturing technology, hoisting and installation, and construction technology of M-type light steel concrete composite slab. This paper discusses and summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of M-type light steel reinforced concrete composite slab at present, and analyzes its development and application prospects. At the same time, in order to determine the reasonable type of laminated plate, the material budget analysis of assembled laminated plates with different structural forms is carried out. The conclusions are as follows: PK prestressed concrete composite slab has great advantages in the whole material budget cost, which is suitable for all kinds of span buildings. One way steel truss slab and YH prestressed concrete composite slab are suitable for small span buildings.

Introduction: Brutal?The word “brutal” has associations with cruelty, inhumanity, and aggression. Within the field of architecture, however, the term “Brutalism” refers to a post-World War II Modernist style, deriving from the French phrase betón brut, which means raw concrete (Clement 18). Core traits of Brutalism include functionalist design, daring geometry, overbearing scale, and the blatant exposure of structural materials, chiefly concrete and steel (Meades 1).The emergence of Brutalism coincided with chronic housing shortages in European countries ravaged by World War II (Power 5) and government-sponsored slum clearance in the UK (Power 190; Baker). Brutalism’s promise to accommodate an astonishing number of civilians within a minimal area through high-rise configurations and elevated walkways was alluring to architects and city planners (High Rise Dreams). Concrete was the material of choice due to its affordability, durability, and versatility; it also allowed buildings to be erected quickly (Allen and Iano 622).The Brutalist style was used for cultural centres, such as the Perth Concert Hall in Western Australia, educational institutions such as the Yale School of Architecture, and government buildings such as the Secretariat Building in Chandigarh, India. However, as pioneering Brutalist architect Alison Smithson explained, the style achieved full expression by “thinking on a much bigger scale somehow than if you only got [sic] one house to do” (Smithson and Smithson, Conversation 40). Brutalism, therefore, lent itself to the design of large residential complexes. It was consequently used worldwide for public housing developments, that is, residences built by a government authority with the aim of providing affordable housing. Notable examples include the Western City Gate in Belgrade, Serbia, and Habitat 67 in Montreal, Canada.Brutalist architecture polarised opinion and continues to do so to this day. On the one hand, protected cultural heritage status has been awarded to some Brutalist buildings (Carter; Glancey) and the style remains extremely influential, for example in the recent award-winning work of architect Zaha Hadid (Niesewand). On the other hand, the public housing projects associated with Brutalism are widely perceived as failures (The Great British Housing Disaster). Many Brutalist objects currently at risk of demolition are social housing estates, such as the Smithsons’ Robin Hood Gardens in London, UK. Whether the blame for the demise of such housing developments lies with architects, inhabitants, or local government has been widely debated. In the UK and USA, local authorities had relocated families of predominantly lower socio-economic status into the newly completed developments, but were unable or unwilling to finance subsequent maintenance and security costs (Hanley 115; R. Carroll; The Pruitt-Igoe Myth). Consequently, the residents became fearful of criminal activity in staircases and corridors that lacked “defensible space” (Newman 9), which undermined a vision of “streets in the sky” (Moran 615).In spite of its later problems, Brutalism’s architects had intended to develop a style that expressed 1950s contemporary living in an authentic manner. To them, this meant exposing building materials in their “raw” state and creating an aesthetic for an age of science, machine mass production, and consumerism (Stadler 264; 267; Smithson and Smithson, But Today 44). Corporeal sensations did not feature in this “machine” aesthetic (Dalrymple). Exceptionally, acclaimed Brutalist architect Ernö Goldfinger discussed how “visual sensation,” “sound and touch with smell,” and “the physical touch of the walls of a narrow passage” contributed to “sensations of space” within architecture (Goldfinger 48). However, the effects of residing within Brutalist objects may not have quite conformed to predictions, since Goldfinger moved out of his Brutalist construction, Balfron Tower, after two months, to live in a terraced house (Hanley 112).An abstract perspective that favours theorisation over subjective experiences characterises discourse on Brutalist social housing developments to this day (Singh). There are limited data on the everyday lived experience of residents of Brutalist social housing estates, both then and now (for exceptions, see Hanley; The Pruitt-Igoe Myth; Cooper et al.).Yet, our bodily interaction with the objects around us shapes our lived experience. On a broader physical scale, this includes the structures within which we live and work. The importance of the interaction between architecture and embodied being is increasingly recognised. Today, architecture is described in corporeal terms—for example, as a “skin” that surrounds and protects its human inhabitants (Manan and Smith 37; Armstrong 77). Biological processes are also inspiring new architectural approaches, such as synthetic building materials with life-like biochemical properties (Armstrong 79), and structures that exhibit emergent behaviour in response to human presence, like a living system (Biloria 76).In this article, we employ an autoethnographic perspective to explore the corporeal effects of Brutalist buildings, thereby revealing a new dimension to the anthropological significance of these controversial structures. We trace how they shape the physicality of the bodies interacting within them. Our approach is one step towards considering the historically under-appreciated subjective, corporeal experience elicited in interaction with Brutalist objects.Method: An Autoethnographic ApproachAutoethnography is a form of self-narrative research that connects the researcher’s personal experience to wider cultural understandings (Ellis 31; Johnson). It can be analytical (Anderson 374) or emotionally evocative (Denzin 426).We investigated two Brutalist residential estates in London, UK:(i) The Barbican Estate: This was devised to redevelop London’s severely bombed post-WWII Cripplegate area, combining private residences for middle class professionals with an assortment of amenities including a concert hall, library, conservatory, and school. It was designed by architects Chamberlin, Powell, and Bon. Opened in 1982, the Estate polarised opinion on its aesthetic qualities but has enjoyed success with residents and visitors. The development now comprises extremely expensive housing (Brophy). It was Grade II-listed in 2001 (Glancey), indicating a status of architectural preservation that restricts alterations to significant buildings.(ii) Trellick Tower: This was built to replace dilapidated 19th-century housing in the North Kensington area. It was designed by Hungarian-born architect Ernő Goldfinger to be a social housing development and was completed in 1972. During the 1980s and 1990s, it became known as the “Tower of Terror” due to its high level of crime (Hanley 113). Nevertheless, Trellick Tower was granted Grade II listed status in 1998 (Carter), and subsequent improvements have increased its desirability as a residence (R. Carroll).We explored the grounds, communal spaces, and one dwelling within each structure, independently recording our corporeal impressions and sensations in detailed notes, which formed the basis of longhand journals written afterwards. Our analysis was developed through co-constructed autoethnographic reflection (emerald and Carpenter 748).For reasons of space, one full journal entry is presented for each Brutalist structure, with an excerpt from each remaining journal presented in the subsequent analysis. To identify quotations from our journals, we use the codes R- and N- to refer to RB’s and NC’s journals, respectively; we use -B and -T to refer to the Barbican Estate and Trellick Tower, respectively.The Barbican Estate: Autoethnographic JournalAn intricate concrete world emerges almost without warning from the throng of glass office blocks and commercial buildings that make up the City of London's Square Mile. The Barbican Estate comprises a multitude of low-rise buildings, a glass conservatory, and three enormous high-rise towers. Each modular building component is finished in the same coarse concrete with burnished brick underfoot, whilst the entire structure is elevated above ground level by enormous concrete stilts. Plants hang from residential balconies over glimmering pools in a manner evocative of concrete Hanging Gardens of Babylon.Figure 1. Barbican Estate Figure 2. Cromwell Tower from below, Barbican Estate. Figure 3: The stairwell, Cromwell Tower, Barbican Estate. Figure 4. Lift button pods, Cromwell Tower, Barbican Estate.R’s journalMy first footsteps upon the Barbican Estate are elevated two storeys above the street below, and already an eerie calm settles on me. The noise of traffic and the bustle of pedestrians have seemingly been left far behind, and a path of polished brown brick has replaced the paving slabs of the city's pavement. I am made more aware of the sound of my shoes upon the ground as I take each step through the serenity.Running my hands along the walkway's concrete sides as we proceed further into the estate I feel its coarseness, and look up to imagine the same sensation touching the uppermost balcony of the towers. As we travel, the cold nature and relentless employ of concrete takes over and quickly becomes the norm.Our route takes us through the Barbican's central Arts building and into the Conservatory, a space full of plant-life and water features. The noise of rushing water comes as a shock, and I'm reminded just how hauntingly peaceful the atmosphere of the outside estate has been. As we leave the conservatory, the hush returns and we follow another walkway, this time allowing a balcony-like view over the edge of the estate. I'm quickly absorbed by a sensation I can liken only to peering down at the ground from a concrete cloud as we observe the pedestrians and traffic below.Turning back, we follow the walkways and begin our approach to Cromwell Tower, a jagged structure scraping the sky ahead of us and growing menacingly larger with every step. The estate has up till now seemed devoid of wind, but even so a cold begins to prickle my neck and I increase my speed toward the door.A high-ceilinged foyer greets us as we enter and continue to the lifts. As we push the button and wait, I am suddenly aware that carpet has replaced bricks beneath my feet. A homely sensation spreads, my breathing slows, and for a brief moment I begin to relax.We travel at heart-racing speed upwards to the 32nd floor to observe the view from the Tower's fire escape stairwell. A brief glance over the stair's railing as we enter reveals over 30 storeys of stair casing in a hard-edged, triangular configuration. My mind reels, I take a second glance and fail once again to achieve focus on the speck of ground at the bottom far below. After appreciating the eastward view from the adjacent window that encompasses almost the entirety of Central London, we make our way to a 23rd floor apartment.Entering the dwelling, we explore from room to room before reaching the balcony of the apartment's main living space. Looking sheepishly from the ledge, nothing short of a genuine concrete fortress stretches out beneath us in all directions. The spirit and commotion of London as I know it seems yet more distant as we gaze at the now miniaturized buildings. An impression of self-satisfied confidence dawns on me. The fortress where we stand offers security, elevation, sanctuary and I'm furnished with the power to view London's chaos at such a distance that it's almost silent.As we leave the apartment, I am shadowed by the same inherent air of tranquillity, pressing yet another futuristic lift access button, plummeting silently back towards the ground, and padding across the foyer's soft carpet to pursue our exit route through the estate's sky-suspended walkways, back to the bustle of regular London civilization.Trellick Tower: Autoethnographic JournalThe concrete majesty of Trellick Tower is visible from Westbourne Park, the nearest Tube station. The Tower dominates the skyline, soaring above its neighbouring estate, cafes, and shops. As one nears the Tower, the south face becomes visible, revealing the suspended corridors that join the service tower to the main body of flats. Light of all shades and colours pours from its tightly stacked dwellings, which stretch up into the sky. Figure 5. Trellick Tower, South face. Figure 6. Balcony in a 27th-floor flat, Trellick Tower.N’s journalOutside the tower, I sense danger and experience a heightened sense of awareness. A thorny frame of metal poles holds up the tower’s facade, each pole poised as if to slip down and impale me as I enter the building.At first, the tower is too big for comprehension; the scale is unnatural, gigantic. I feel small and quite squashable in comparison. Swathes of unmarked concrete surround the tower, walls that are just too high to see over. Who or what are they hiding? I feel uncertain about what is around me.It takes some time to reach the 27th floor, even though the lift only stops on every 3rd floor. I feel the forces of acceleration exert their pressure on me as we rise. The lift is very quiet.Looking through the windows on the 27th-floor walkway that connects the lift tower to the main building, I realise how high up I am. I can see fog. The city moves and modulates beneath me. It is so far away, and I can’t reach it. I’m suspended, isolated, cut off in the air, as if floating in space.The buildings underneath appear tiny in comparison to me, but I know I’m tiny compared to this building. It’s a dichotomy, an internal tension, and feels quite unreal.The sound of the wind in the corridors is a constant whine.In the flat, the large kitchen window above the sink opens directly onto the narrow, low-ceilinged corridor, on the other side of which, through a second window, I again see London far beneath. People pass by here to reach their front doors, moving so close to the kitchen window that you could touch them while you’re washing up, if it weren’t for the glass. Eye contact is possible with a neighbour, or a stranger. I am close to that which I’m normally separated from, but at the same time I’m far from what I could normally access.On the balcony, I have a strong sensation of vertigo. We are so high up that we cannot be seen by the city and we cannot see others. I feel physically cut off from the world and realise that I’m dependent on the lift or endlessly spiralling stairs to reach it again.Materials: sharp edges, rough concrete, is abrasive to my skin, not warm or welcoming. Sharp little stones are embedded in some places. I mind not to brush close against them.Behind the tower is a mysterious dark maze of sharp turns that I can’t see around, and dark, narrow walkways that confine me to straight movements on sloping ramps.“Relentless Employ of Concrete:” Body versus Stone and HeightThe “relentless employ of concrete” (R-B) in the Barbican Estate and Trellick Tower determined our physical interactions with these Brutalist objects. Our attention was first directed towards texture: rough, abrasive, sharp, frictive. Raw concrete’s potential to damage skin, should one fall or brush too hard against it, made our bodies vulnerable. Simultaneously, the ubiquitous grey colour and the constant cold anaesthetised our senses.As we continued to explore, the constant presence of concrete, metal gratings, wire, and reinforced glass affected our real and imagined corporeal potentialities. Bodies are powerless against these materials, such that, in these buildings, you can only go where you are allowed to go by design, and there are no other options.Conversely, the strength of concrete also has a corporeal manifestation through a sense of increased physical security. To R, standing within the “concrete fortress” of the Barbican Estate, the object offered “security, elevation, sanctuary,” and even “power” (R-B).The heights of the Barbican’s towers (123 metres) and Trellick Tower (93 metres) were physically overwhelming when first encountered. We both felt that these menacing, jagged towers dominated our bodies.Excerpt from R’s journal (Trellick Tower)Gaining access to the apartment, we begin to explore from room to room. As we proceed through to the main living area we spot the balcony and I am suddenly aware that, in a short space of time, I had abandoned the knowledge that some 26 floors lay below me. My balance is again shaken and I dig my heels into the laminate flooring, as if to achieve some imaginary extra purchase.What are the consequences of extreme height on the body? Certainly, there is the possibility of a lethal fall and those with vertigo or who fear heights would feel uncomfortable. We discovered that height also affects physical instantiation in many other ways, both empowering and destabilising.Distance from ground-level bustle contributed to a profound silence and sense of calm. Areas of intermediate height, such as elevated communal walkways, enhanced our sensory abilities by granting the advantage of observation from above.Extreme heights, however, limited our ability to sense the outside world, placing objects beyond our range of visual focus, and setting up a “bizarre segregation” (R-T) between our physical presence and that of the rest of the world. Height also limited potentialities of movement: no longer self-sufficient, we depended on a working lift to regain access to the ground and the rest of the city. In the lift itself, our bodies passively endured a cycle of opposing forces as we plummeted up or down numerous storeys in mere seconds.At both locations, N noticed how extreme height altered her relative body size: for example, “London looks really small. I have become huge compared to the tiny city” (N-B). As such, the building’s lift could be likened to a cake or potion from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. This illustrates how the heuristics that we use to discern visual perspective and object size, which are determined by the environment in which we live (Segall et al.), can be undermined by the unusual scales and distances found in Brutalist structures.Excerpt from N’s journal (Barbican Estate)Warning: These buildings give you AFTER-EFFECTS. On the way home, the size of other buildings seems tiny, perspectives feel strange; all the scales seem to have been re-scaled. I had to become re-used to the sensation of travelling on public trains, after travelling in the tower lifts.We both experienced perceptual after-effects from the disproportional perspectives of Brutalist spaces. Brutalist structures thus have the power to affect physical sensations even when the body is no longer in direct interaction with them!“Challenge to Privacy:” Intersubjective Ideals in Brutalist DesignAs embodied beings, our corporeal manifestations are the primary transducers of our interactions with other people, who in turn contribute to our own body schema construction (Joas). Architects of Brutalist habitats aimed to create residential utopias, but we found that the impact of their designs on intersubjective corporeality were often incoherent and contradictory. Brutalist structures positioned us at two extremes in relation to the bodies of others, forcing either an uncomfortable intersection of personal space or, conversely, excessive separation.The confined spaces of the lifts, and ubiquitous narrow, low-ceilinged corridors produced uncomfortable overlaps in the personal space of the individuals present. We were fascinated by the design of the flat in Trellick Tower, where the large kitchen window opened out directly onto the narrow 27th-floor corridor, as described in N’s journal. This enforced a physical “challenge to privacy” (R-T), although the original aim may have been to promote a sense of community in the “streets in the sky” (Moran 615). The inter-slotting of hundreds of flats in Trellick Tower led to “a multitude of different cooking aromas from neighbouring flats” (R-T) and hence a direct sensing of the closeness of other people’s corporeal activities, such as eating.By contrast, enormous heights and scales constantly placed other people out of sight, out of hearing, and out of reach. Sharp-angled walkways and blind alleys rendered other bodies invisible even when they were near. In the Barbican Estate, huge concrete columns, behind which one could hide, instilled a sense of unease.We also considered the intersubjective interaction between the Brutalist architect-designer and the inhabitant. The elements of futuristic design—such as the “spaceship”-like pods for lift buttons in Cromwell Tower (N-B)—reconstruct the inhabitant’s physicality as alien relative to the Brutalist building, and by extension, to the city that commissioned it.ReflectionsThe strength of the autoethnographic approach is also its limitation (Chang 54); it is an individual’s subjective perspective, and as such we cannot experience or represent the full range of corporeal effects of Brutalist designs. Corporeal experience is informed by myriad factors, including age, body size, and ability or disability. Since we only visited these structures, rather than lived in them, we could have experienced heightened sensations that would become normalised through familiarity over time. Class dynamics, including previous residences and, importantly, the amount of choice that one has over where one lives, would also affect this experience. For a full perspective, further data on the everyday lived experiences of residents from a range of different backgrounds are necessary.R’s reflectionDespite researching Brutalist architecture for years, I was unprepared for the true corporeal experience of exploring these buildings. Reading back through my journals, I'm struck by an evident conflict between stylistic admiration and physical uneasiness. I feel I have gained a sympathetic perspective on the notion of residing in the structures day-to-day.Nevertheless, analysing Brutalist objects through a corporeal perspective helped to further our understanding of the experience of living within them in a way that abstract thought could never have done. Our reflections also emphasise the tension between the physical and the psychological, whereby corporeal struggle intertwines with an abstract, aesthetic admiration of the Brutalist objects.N’s reflectionIt was a wonderful experience to explore these extraordinary buildings with an inward focus on my own physical sensations and an outward focus on my body’s interaction with others. On re-reading my journals, I was surprised by the negativity that pervaded my descriptions. How does physical discomfort and alienation translate into cognitive pleasure, or delight?ConclusionBrutalist objects shape corporeality in fundamental and sometimes contradictory ways. The range of visual and somatosensory experiences is narrowed by the ubiquitous use of raw concrete and metal. Materials that damage skin combine with lethal heights to emphasise corporeal vulnerability. The body’s movements and sensations of the external world are alternately limited or extended by extreme heights and scales, which also dominate the human frame and undermine normal heuristics of perception. Simultaneously, the structures endow a sense of physical stability, security, and even power. By positioning multiple corporealities in extremes of overlap or segregation, Brutalist objects constitute a unique challenge to both physical privacy and intersubjective potentiality.Recognising these effects on embodied being enhances our current understanding of the impact of Brutalist residences on corporeal sensation. This can inform the future design of residential estates. Our autoethnographic findings are also in line with the suggestion that Brutalist structures can be “appreciated as challenging, enlivening environments” exactly because they demand “physical and perceptual exertion” (Sroat). Instead of being demolished, Brutalist objects that are no longer considered appropriate as residences could be repurposed for creative, cultural, or academic use, where their challenging corporeal effects could contribute to a stimulating or even thrilling environment.ReferencesAllen, Edward, and Joseph Iano. Fundamentals of Building Construction: Materials and Methods. 6th ed. 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