There is disclosed a novel precast building structure system for a polygonal building, preferably a twelve-sided building structure. In particular, the precast structures are constituted by four basic units namely, a system of central core elements, a floor panel system constituted by essentially identical precast concrete floor elements, a plurality of like numbered wall elements which may have openings of various kinds for doors, windows, etc., and a plurality of roof panel elements corresponding in number to the number of wall panels and floor panels but staggered in relation to the wall panels and juxtaposed over the floor panels. The wall panels rest on the piers and are secured via weld plates and at spaced points to the ends of the floor panels. The floor panels and the roof panels incorporate a unique T-beam construction which in conjunction with the integrally cast complementary pairs of triangularly shaped floor and/or roof panel portions, is reinforced with steel. The roof panels include a beam portion and an integrally cast pair of angled flange portions, the angle being proportional to the pitch of the roof and the number of sides (which determine the included angle between adjacent wall panels) of the building. The individual floor panels, roof panels, and wall panels have incorporated conventional inset securement or fastening members such as concrete anchored weld plates so that the entire structure, constituted by the stacked core elements, piers or pillars, the floor panels, the wall panels and roof panels, is welded into an integral monolithic unit.
This is a division of application Ser. No. 767,590 filed Feb. 10, 1977, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,705.
There are a number of polygonal building structure systems known in the art with particular reference being made to those found in the Patent Office classification Class 52, Subclass 82. A number of these polygonal buildings are formed of prefabricated elements, usually wood or metal, with various forms of interfitting edges and joints for the prefabricated elements, see for example Vachon U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,355 and Preissler U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,200. Precast modular elements, for assembling concrete building structures and the like, are usually rectangular elements which seek to utilize the economic advantages of factory-made buildings and to minimize the time and mechanical operations and expense required for erection and other on-site work. See, for example, Lafferty U.S. Pat. No. 2,222,037. These structures may also utilize prestressing of precast sections, typically floor and roof panels, such as is disclosed in Dobell U.S. Pat. No. 2,776,471 and Ali-Oglu U.S. Pat. No. 3,562,979. These prior precast systems generally result in buildings which are boxy in appearance and otherwise generally unattractive.
The object of the present invention is to provide improvements in precast polygonal buildings and methods of constructing same. The present precast polygonal building structure reduces construction time to approximately twelve hours on-site erection time for a dwelling-type structure and thereby minimizes the costly on-site job labor. Moreover, it reduces delays in planning and scheduling and extends the construction seasons to all year round. By being constructed of concrete and/or other low cost castable cementious type building materials, the material has high durability, is fire resistant and essentially maintenance free. A wide variety of finish materials may be incorporated into the design and the control of the quality as well as performance for the building structure is assured. The internal layout of the building is open since the roof and floor panel elements are integrally beamed panel members. A built-in insulation may be incorporated in the wall panels for lowering energy consumption and the geometry of the roof structure is highly conductive to solar energy application.
The above and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from the following specification when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
A method for erecting the supporting wall of a domed structure is disclosed in which a peripheral foundation for the wall is formed conforming in plan generally to the periphery of the structure and has hollow box columns positioned thereon at predetermined points. The lower ends of the columns are secured to the foundation at a plurality of points with temporary moment connections for the purpose of resisting load moments during the erection procedure. Wall panels are secured to the columns to close the sides of the structure and a supporting ring formed of a plurality of pre-cast segments is secured to the top of the columns. After the ring is completed and supported the temporary moment connections at the lower ends of the columns are released to leave only pin connections at the column bases whereby the entire wall structure acts as a complete structural unit. The dome, typically an air-supported fabric dome, is erected on the ring with its structural elements, namely cables, secured to the ring.
A residential structure preferably has an N-sided polygonal footprint which has a central vertical axis. Inner walls separate a central common area from a number of outer individual residential units, each such unit occupying a sector of the footprint along an associated side thereof. Advantageously, the central common area includes a pool in a courtyard.
