European building construction illustrated

by Francis DK Ching, Mark Mulville

European building construction illustrated: The realization of a design intention requires a knowledge of how building materials are assembled in construction and how the resulting construction responds to user needs, contextual fit and environmental forces.’
Francis DK Ching, 2013
First published in 1975, and now just about to go into its fifth edition, Building Construction Illustrated is an established classic in the US.

Francis DK Ching’s clear graphic signature style marks it out as the most accessible visual guide to the basics of building construction.

European building construction illustrated: Building on the strengths of Ching’s US edition, this first edition of European Building Construction Illustrated aims to focus on the construction methods most commonly used in Europe.

Some methods used in Europe are similar to those used in North America with simple terminological differences,

while others are significantly different in form and application or indeed are governed by regulations that alter the decision-making process, due to impacts on quality, cost and time.

It would not be possible to detail the wide variety of construction methods used throughout Europe – which have been heavily influenced by diverse traditions, availability of local materials and climatic conditions – in a single volume.

To that end this publication gives an overview of mainstream construction methods in the region while outlining emerging construction methods as driven by the sustainability agenda.