-----------------1 Book R e V l e W S I f - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
NEW STRUCTURAL DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS AND AIDS FOR USING THEM,
In late 1995 and early 1996, several engineering societies
announced new or revised standard specifications for structural
design. Also, several publications, including those listed be-
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STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS FOR STRUCTURAL CONCRETE (ACI
By ACI Committee 301
American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich.; 1996;
43 pages.
The American Concrete Institute has made major revisions
in the Standard Specification for Structural Concrete (ACI
301). Nevertheless, as before, designers may adopt these spec-
ifications by reference for application to any building project
and may supplement them, if desired, by specification of in-
dividual project requirements. The document specifies mate-
rials for structural concrete, including reinforcement and ten-
dons. It also details methods of proportioning, mixing, placing,
and curing concrete. In addition, it covers formwork design
BUILDING CODE REQUIREMENTS FOR STRUCTURAL CONCRETE (ACI
(ACI 318R-95),
By ACI Committee 318
American Concrete Institute, Farmington Hills, Mich.; 1995;
369 pages.
The American Concrete Institute also has revised standard
ACI 318, which was applicable to reinforced concrete. ACI
318 now has a new title and it also has undergone changes in
format and technical content. The title of ACI 318-95 is now
Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete. The
code comprises a revision of the previous standard, Building
Code Requirements for Reinforced Concrete (ACI 318-89)
(Revised 1992) plus extensive text, including revisions, of
Building Code Requirements for Structural Plain Concrete
(ACI 318.1-89) (Revised 1992).
ACI 318-95 specifies minimum requirements for design
NOTES ON ACI 318-95 WITH DESIGN ApPLICATIONS,
Edited by S. J. Ghosh, David A. Fanella, and Basile G. Rab-
bat: Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.; 1996; 897
pages; $58.00.
To assist engineers and other designers in the proper appli-
120/ JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING / SEPTEMBER 1996
J. Archit. Eng. 1996.2:120-120.
low, have been disseminated to assist engineers, architects, and
construction contractors by providing commentary, design
aids, and interpretations of specifications.
301-96),
and construction. Furthermore, it deals with joint treatment,
embedded items, repair of defects, finishing of formed sur-
faces, and testing, evaluation, and acceptance of concrete.
The revision of ACI 301 includes changes in format as well
as technical changes. The older specification, ACI 301-89,
consisted of 18 chapters. Each chapter was organized in a gen-
eral specification format. In contrast, ACI 301-96 comprises
nine sections, each section organized in the Construction Spec-
ification Institute three-part format. Knowledge of this change
is important to specifiers of structural concrete, inasmuch as
references to the ACI 301-89 chapter numbers are not appli-
cable to ACI 301-96. The location of specific items in ACI
301-96 differs from that in older versions of ACI 301.
318-95) AND COMMENTARY
and construction of concrete structures. Written as a legal doc-
ument, it is intended to be adopted as part of a legal building
code. ACI 318 applies to plain, reinforced, cast-in-place, pre-
cast, and prestressed concrete, as well as to composite mem-
bers. It deals with drawings and specifications for structural
concrete, inspection, materials, concrete mixing and placing,
and durability requirements. It also specifies reinforcement de-
tails, formwork, construction joints, and embedded items. Fur-
thermore, it covers structural analysis and design, loads, slabs,
walls, footings, shells, and folded plates.
The code is accompanied by a commentary (ACI 318R-
95), which presents some of the considerations of ACI Com-
mittee 318 in developing ACI 318-95. The commentary cites
references to much of the research data utilized in preparation
of the code. The code and the commentary are presented in
different type faces in side-by-side format.
cation of ACI 318-95, the Portland Cement Association has
developed a new edition of its manual, Notes on ACI 318-95
with Design Applications. This manual can be a valuable aid
to all those concerned with design, construction, and regula-
tion of concrete structures.
 STRUCTURAL DESIGN GUIDE TO THE AISC (LRFD) SPECIFICATION FOR BUILDINGS, 2ND ED.,
By Edward S. Hoffman, Albert S. Gouwens, David P. Gustafson, and Paul F. Rice
Chapman & Hall, New York, N.Y.; 1996; 306 pages; $64.95.
Chapman & Hall has published a new edition of a structural
design guide to the American Institute of Steel Construction
Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Specification for
Structural Steel Buildings. LRFD is a method of designing
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STANDARD FOR LOAD AND RESISTANCE FACTOR DESIGN (LRFD) FOR ENGINEERED WOOD
CONSTRUCTION (AF&PAlASCE 16-95),
American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, N.Y.; 1996;
124 pages; $36.00.
LRFD also may now be used for design of wood structures.
Until now, wood design has been governed by the general
design provisions and recommended practices of the National
Design Specification for Wood Construction (NDS), originally
adopted in 1944. The American Forest & Paper Association
(AF&PA) and its predecessor organizations, the National For-
est Products Association and the National Lumber Manufac-
turers Association, updated this specification periodically. In
light of the growing use of LRFD for other structural mate-
rials, however, and to incorporate the best of current knowl-
edge of wood characteristics as well as to provide uniform
practice in design of engineered wood structures, the AF&PA
and the American Society of Civil Engineers jointly prepared
TENSIONED FABRIC STRUCTURES-A PRACTICAL INTRODUCTION,
Edited by R. E. Schaeffer: American Society of Civil Engi-
neers, New York, N.Y.; 1996; 119 pages; $23.00.
ASCE has also published a design aid for a developing
structural field, tensioned fabric structures. The fabrics, usually
fiberglass coated with PTFE (Teflon), silicon-coated fiberglass,
or vinyl-coated polyesters, are lightweight and water resistant
and require little maintenance. Compared with heavier struc-
tural materials, fabrics are more efficient in long-span con-
struction. Furthermore, they may require less costly supporting
construction and foundations. When used in building construc-
tion, fabrics have the additional advantage that they can serve
as part of the building enclosure (roof and walls).
The book, Tensioned Fabric Structures, discusses the basic
design principles, behavior, materials, and construction process
for this type of structure. The text indicates clearly that the
structural behavior of conventional structures differs from that
of tensioned fabric structures. Conventional structures depend
on internal rigidity (stiffness) as well as tensile, compressive,
and shear strength for load-carrying capacity and stability. In
contrast, tensioned fabrics, acting like cables or membranes,
possess little or no bending or shear stiffness. They rely on their
JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING / SEPTEMBER 1996/121
J. Archit. Eng. 1996.2:120-120.
structures so that neither strength nor serviceability limit states
are exceeded when the structures are subjected to combina-
tions of factored loads. Intended to help structural engineers
use LRFD to produce "more profitable routine designs," the
book offers analysis and design examples, valuable interpre-
tations of the specifications, and graphs that present solutions
to complex code formulas.
a Standard for Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD)
for Engineered Wood Construction (AF&PNASCE 16-95).
Appendices dealing with spaced columns, glued-laminated
timber (glulam), ponding, fasteners and connectors, and panel-
based assemblies are considered an integral part of the stan-
dard. The publication also includes a commentary that pro-
vides additional background information.
AF&PNASCE 16-95 incorporates chapters covering
LRFD of structural lumber, glulam, and wood structural-use
panels. The standard contains provisions applicable to tension,
compression, and flexural members and connections. Chapters
also deal with shear walls and diaphragms, timber poles and
piles, I-joists, structural composite timber, and trusses. For
most applications, design criteria in the standard establish rec-
ommended practice but they may not apply to nonroutine de-
signs for which additional judgment in application of data or
recommendations must be exercised.
form, internal prestress, and tensile strength for load-carrying
capacity and stability. Under loads, significant changes in ge-
ometry of the structure may occur. As a result, structural be-
havior tends to be highly nonlinear. If the structure is properly
designed, load capacity will tend to increase with slight in-
creases in deformation. The book therefore treats tensioned fab-
ric structures in two distinct phases: shape determination and
analysis under load. Shape determination requires design of a
structure whose shape is not known in advance, whereas
changes in prestress will change the shape of the structure.
Analysis requires solution of equations for the deformed con-
figuration, a shape that also is unknown in advance. Final chap-
ters of the book cover fabrication, erection, and connections.
The book offers experienced designers the opportunity to
develop a better understanding of this developing technology.
It provides novices with considerable introductory information
to assist them in entering this field.
Frederick S. Merritt, F. ASCE
Consulting Engineer
West Palm Beach, Fla.
 PARTNERING MANUAL FOR DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION,
By William C. Ronco and Jean S. Ronco
McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.; 1996; 312 pages; $50.00.
Partnering has become a buzzword in the construction in-
dustry. Proponents are sponsoring seminars and convention
discussions, and publishers are rushing partnering manuals
into print. The Ronco book is one of these. In this book, the
authors state that key professional societies, such as the As-
sociated General Contractors, American Institute of Architects,
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and American Council of Consulting Engineers, endorse part-
nering. Many federal, state, and local agencies require it for
large contracts. Corporations are using it in their corporate real
estate processes. What is surprising is that the authors and
many of these proponents define partnering differently.
According to the authors, for example, partnering is an or-
ganized effort to improve communications in design and con-
struction projects. In contrast, in Successful Partnering: Fun-
damentals for Project Owners and Contractors (Journal of
Architectural Engineering, Vol. 2, No.2, June, 1996, p. 82),
the authors, Schultzel and Unruh, define partnering as a work-
ing style, whereby a group of specific people on a one-to-one
and group-to-group basis build a culture in which they work
closely and openly with each other to accomplish the extraor-
dinary. Partnering is to business, these authors write, as cham-
pionship teaming is to sports. The latter definition is much
broader than the one proposed by the Roncos. The improved
communications they require is only one component, albeit an
essential one, of the team effort required by the latter defini-
tion.
BUILDING EVALUATION TECHNIQUES,
By George Baird et al.
McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.; 1996; 207 pages; $60.00.
The book was written by an international team of research-
ers, mostly architects, for building industry clients. It is in-
tended to improve their understanding of building evaluations
and to yield better building performance. The book, however,
also will be useful to building designers. One of the most
important functions of building designers is appraisal of the
results of their designs. The information gained from such
evaluations of building performance enables them to improve
subsequent designs.
The predecessor of this book originated with a conference
on Investment and Design, Their Effect on Your Assets
(IDEA), held in Wellington, New Zealand, in 1985. After this
meeting, a team from the Centre for Building Performance
Research (CBPR), based at Victoria University, Wellington,
New Zealand, prepared and disseminated a Building Evalua-
tion Techniques Resources Guide for Building Users. Its scope
as well as its circulation, however, was limited. Consequently,
the team decided to develop the Guide for a broader and more
international audience. The book by George Baird et al. re-
sulted.
Building evaluation, the book notes, is the systematic as-
sessment of building performance relative to defined objec-
tives and requirements. The assessment process provides a
122/ JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING / SEPTEMBER 1996
J. Archit. Eng. 1996.2:120-120.
Nevertheless, despite the differing concepts of partnering,
the steps proposed by the various proponents for effective part-
nering are generally similar. For example, the Roncos rec-
ommend that at the beginning of a project, key project team
members convene for a preconstruction workshop and for reg-
ularly scheduled follow-up workshops over the course of the
project. They may work with a facilitator to improve the qual-
ity and productivity of their discussions. At the preconstruction
workshop, three documents are prepared: goals statement,
communication procedures, and conflict resolution process. To
improve partnering impact and effectiveness, however, two ad-
ditional tasks are necessary: communications skill training and
direct involvement with the infrastructure of communications
on the jobsite. In particular, the Roncos suggest that project
communications can be strengthened by using groupware
computer software.
The Ronco book covers various common themes and vari-
ations in partnering practices. It deals with the benefits and
problems of partnering. It explains what partnering does and
why. It details the partnering documents, communication pro-
cedures, and conflict resolution. It discusses training and in-
frastructure. In addition, it presents several case studies and
concludes with an appendix in which a lawyer reviews part-
nering.
Frederick S. Merritt, F. ASCE
Consulting Engineer
West Palm Beach, Fla.
means for building industry clients to obtain, through con-
struction, buildings that will meet their expectations. A well-
conceived and well-directed evaluation program, the authors
contend, can be extraordinarily effective in producing higher
returns on investment in buildings, minimization of occupancy
costs, increased user satisfaction, and improved productivity
within the workplace.
The book discusses the various aspects of effective evalu-
ation of building performance. It covers basic principles and
theory. It also explains how to prepare evaluations that meet
specific objectives. In addition, it presents resource data useful
in planning of evaluations and selection of techniques. The
book is divided into three parts, dealing in succession with
evaluation processes, practices, and resources. Part 1 provides
guidance in design and management of evaluations. Part 2
discusses various evaluation systems, such as building quality
assessment (BQA), real estate norm (REN), and serviceability
tools and methods (STM). The last part offers a checklist that
provides a framework for comprehensive building evaluation.
The checklist is followed by a list of techniques that incor-
porates about 120 concepts, tools, and techniques that may be
used in evaluations. This part of the book also contains defi-
nitions of key building terms and a Bibliography.
The book is full of information that building industry clients
could use to obtain better buildings. But how many clients
will take the time and trouble to delve into about 200 pages
 of technical details of evaluation techniques? Building design-
ers, however, should find it worthwhile to take the trouble to
do so.
Frederick S. Merritt, F. ASCE
Consulting Engineer
West Palm Beach, Fla.
OTHER BOOKS OF INTEREST
J. O. Bickel et a\.: Tunnel Engineering Handbook; Chapman & Hall, New
York, N.Y.; 1996; 544 pages; $119.95.
D. P. Billington: The Innovators: The Engineering Pioneers Who Made
America Modem; John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, N.Y.; 1996;
245 pages; $24.95.
Downloaded from ascelibrary.org by Technische Universitat Munchen on 07/08/15. Copyright ASCE. For personal use only; all rights reserved.
J. Chen and W. T. Cooper: Architectural Perspective Grids: Three-Di-
mensional Design and Perspective Construction Simplified; McGraw-
Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.; 1996; 148 pages; $44.95 with DOS com-
puter disk.
A. P. Chrest et a\.: Parking Structures: Planning, Design, Construction,
Maintenance and Repair, 2nd ed.; Chapman & Hall, New York, N.Y.;
1996; 675 pages; $84.95.
Dewberry and Davis: Land Development Handbook: Planning, Engi-
neering. and Surveying; McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.; 1996;
1014 pages; $118.00.
D. A. Fanella and S. K. Ghosh: Simplified Design: Reinforced Concrete
Buildings of Moderate Size and Height. 2nd ed.; Portland Cement As-
sociation, Skokie, Ill.; 1993; 251 pages (paper cover); $30.00.
C. W. Griffin and R. Fricklas: The Manual of Law-Slope Roof Systems,
3rd Ed.; McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.; 1996; 609 pages; $59.00.
T. C. Jester: Twentieth-Century Building Materials: History and Conser-
vation; McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.; 1995; 352 pages; $50.00.
F. Kennedy: The Wiley Dictionary of Civil Engineering and Construction;
English-Spanish/Spanish-English; John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York,
N.Y.; 1996; 553 pages; $49.95.
JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING I SEPTEMBER 1996/123
J. Archit. Eng. 1996.2:120-120.
J. F. McPartland and B. J. McPartland: McGraw-Hilt's National Electri-
cal Code Handbook, 22nd Ed. (based on the 1996 National Electrical
Code); McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.; 1996; 1326 pages.
P. A. Nee: ISO 9000 in Construction; John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New
York, N.Y.; 1996; 215 pages; $44.95.
R. L. Peurifoy and G. D. Oberlender: Formworkfor Concrete Structures,
3rd Ed.; McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.; 1996; 488 pages; $55.00.
M. J. N. Priestley et al.: Seismic Design and Retrofit of Bridges; John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.; New York, N.Y.; 1996; 686 pages; $79.95.
V. K. Raina: Concrete Bridges: Inspection, Repair; Strengthening; Test-
ing; Load Capacity Evaluation; McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.;
1996; 493 pages; $80.00.
M. P. Rollings and R. S. Rollings: Geotechnical Materials in Construc-
tion; McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.; 1996; 525 pages; $60.00.
H. J. Rosen and T. Heineman: Architectural Materials for Construction;
McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, N.Y.; 1996; 319 pages; $55.00.
H. M. Rubenstein: A Guide to Site Planning and Landscaping Construc-
tion, 4th Ed.; John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, N.Y.; 1996; 412
pages; $59.95.
J. S. Russell: Constructor Prequalification: Choosing the Best Construc-
tor and Avoiding Constructor Failure; American Society of Civil En-
gineers, New York, N.Y.; 1996; 193 pages (paper cover); $30.00 (Mem-
bers $22.50).
Task Committee of Fasteners, ASCE Structural Division: Mechanical
Connections in Wood Structures, ASCE Manuals and Reports on En-
gineering Practice No. 84, American Society of Civil Engineers, New
York, N.Y. 10017; 1996; 231 pages (paper cover); $40.00; members
$30.00.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Design of Sheet Pile Walls, Technical
Engineering and Design Guides No. 15; American Society of Civil
Engineers, New York, N.Y.; 1996; 68 pages; $32.00 (paper cover)
(Members $24.00).
P. A. Vanderwerf and W. K. Munsell: Concrete Homebuilding Systems;
Portland Cement Association, Skokie, Ill.; 1996; 300 pages; $35.00.
A. R. Williams: A Practical Guide to Alterations and Extensions; Chap-
man & Hall; New York, N.Y.; 1995; 208 pages (paper cover).