Fifteen chapters. Every major structural system used in building construction today. One consistent, code-current framework tying them together, built on fully worked examples rather than description alone.
Most people entering construction meet these systems one at a time: a structures course here, a materials class there, a code reference pulled out only when something goes wrong. That scattershot path makes it hard to see how a foundation choice affects framing, how a material's carbon footprint compares to its structural performance, or why a detail that looks fine on paper fails in the field. Interns and early-career practitioners are often expected to already have this connected picture, long before anyone hands them one.
This handbook builds that picture in one place: from the regulatory and geotechnical groundwork through every major structural system — wood, mass timber, masonry, steel, cold-formed steel, and concrete — into building enclosure, glazing, cladding, interior systems, emerging construction methods, and project delivery. Each chapter is self-contained and built around the same format, so a reader can move to whatever system is in front of them without relearning how the book works.
Inside, readers will:
- Work through fully solved numerical examples for foundation sizing, structural member design, and enclosure performance, including cases where a first attempt fails and has to be revised, the way real design actually works
- Follow practice problems with complete worked answers for every major topic, so understanding can be checked before it's applied
- Compare structural materials on both performance and embodied-carbon terms, with carbon accounting worked directly alongside the structural calculations rather than set apart in its own chapter
- Recognize the code and standards logic behind height, area, fire-resistance, and energy-compliance requirements
- See how structural systems, enclosure control layers, and interior finishes interact, rather than treating each as a separate subject
- Get direct coverage of prefabrication, modular construction, and digital fabrication alongside traditional building systems
- Use a glossary, symbol list, and quick-reference design-data appendix to look up a term or value fast, long after the first read-through
Key topics include: building codes and the regulatory framework; site investigation and foundation systems; wood, mass timber, masonry, steel, cold-formed steel, and concrete construction; building enclosure design and moisture, air, and thermal control; glazing, fenestration, and cladding systems; interior acoustics, accessibility, and indoor air quality; prefabricated and modular construction; and project delivery, scheduling, and sustainability certification.
Written for students in construction-related technical and engineering programs, interns, and early-career designers, engineers, and contractors who have completed an introductory course in structures or statics and are comfortable with basic algebra and reading architectural or engineering drawings. No prior construction-technology coursework is assumed.
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