This key text addresses the topic of lightweight claddings in buildings and is a useful guide and reference resource.

Written by well-known specialists in the field, this fourth edition of an established text has been revised throughout to incorporate the latest environmental issues, the use of wood and terracotta in cladding, and use of new materials, particularly the new moulded materials. Two new chapters cover wood and terracotta in cladding. The main types of cladding systems are described in detail and methods of production, performance characteristics, applications and methods of assembly are explained clearly.

Illustrated throughout with photographs and numerous line drawings, this is an essential overview of the subject for both the student and the practising architect.

Every building is composed of parts, or components, that may be organized in various ways.

For example, there are different ways to configure walls so that they perform their primary functions - bearing, dividing, and sheltering - in an optimal manner.

This book presents the most common load-bearing systems, such as plate, massive, and skeleton construction, and describes their impact on the structure as a whole. It explains how spaces can be vertically or horizontally connected and assembled into larger wholes. The individual elements, such as floor slabs, roofs, openings, and foundations, are described together with their functions and the various possibilities for connecting them.

The book goes beyond the wealth of possible detail to demonstrate the basic principles of detailing. Numerous specially prepared drawings set forth the principles of components and then illustrate them with reference to realized projects.