Amogh N P
✦ In loving memory of Amogh N P — Architect · Designer · Visionary ✦
B.Arch Curriculum · Semester 3

Design of Structures I

How to size reinforced-concrete members by the Limit State Method of IS 456:2000. Five design problems an architect must understand — footings, columns, beams, slabs and the dog-legged staircase — each with the governing formula, a worked example and a live calculator you can drive. The calculation layer between why structures stand (Concept of Building Structures) and how RCC is detailed (Building Materials & Construction II).

5Units
5Calculators
2Credits
FreeForever
Start with Unit I All student courses
Where this course sits. It is the calculation layer of RCC — between Concept of Building Structures (the theory of why structures stand and fall) and Building Materials & Construction II (how RCC is detailed and built). Here you learn to size the members.
Unit III · The flexure core

Design of Beams

How a reinforced-concrete beam resists bending. The limit-state stress block (with its 0.36 and 0.42 constants), the limiting moment of resistance Mu,lim = K fck b d² that separates singly- from doubly-reinforced design, and the tension-steel formula. Worked for a rectangular section and built into a live calculator.

Stress blockMu,limSingly vs doublyTension steel AstLive calculator
Open the lesson

The syllabus

Five members, five design problems.

Transcribed from the official B.Arch syllabus. All 5 units are live as full interactive lessons — each with original diagrams, a worked example, a live calculator and a self-assessment quiz.

1

Unit 1 — Design of Footings

Live

Types of foundations — shallow (isolated, combined, strip, raft) and deep (pile). The limit-state design of an isolated axially-loaded rectangular footing: sizing the plan area from the safe bearing capacity, one-way and two-way (punching) shear, and bending reinforcement.

CO1CO6
2

Unit 2 — Design of Columns

Live

Types of columns — by shape, by reinforcement (tied and spiral), by slenderness (short and long) and by loading. The design of a short axially-loaded rectangular, square and circular column, with reinforcement limits and the minimum-eccentricity condition.

CO2CO6
3

Unit 3 — Design of Beams

Live

Types of beams — simply supported and continuous, singly and doubly reinforced. The limit-state stress block, the limiting moment of resistance, and the design of a rectangular beam for flexure.

CO3CO6
4

Unit 4 — Design of Slabs

Live

Types of slabs — one-way and two-way, simply supported. Behaviour and load paths, the span/depth control on thickness, and the design of a one-way slab for flexure with main and distribution steel.

CO4CO6
5

Unit 5 — Design of Staircases

Live

Types of staircases — straight, dog-legged, open-well, spiral. The comfort rules of riser and tread, the geometry of a dog-legged stair, the loads on the inclined waist slab, and its design.

CO5CO6

Course outcomes

What you should be able to do after completing all five units (CO1–CO6, from the syllabus).

1
Understand

Describe and design various types of footings, including shallow and deep foundations, and size an isolated footing.

2
Apply

Design different types of columns — axially loaded rectangular, square and circular short columns.

3
Apply

Apply limit-state design to beams — singly and doubly reinforced, simply supported and continuous.

4
Analyse

Design one-way and two-way slabs and understand their behaviour and applications.

5
Create

Design a dog-legged staircase and understand its structural requirements.

6
Create

Design basic structural elements and validate concepts through worked examples and calculators.

Each unit carries a live calculator that implements the IS 456:2000 limit-state formulae, validated against the worked examples in the cited textbooks. The diagrams are original Studio Matrx work. These are teaching aids to build intuition — not a substitute for a qualified structural engineer on a real project.

Image credits

Every photograph is a verified Creative-Commons or Public-Domain work from Wikimedia Commons, used with attribution. The hand-drawn diagrams are original Studio Matrx work.

Learn to size the structure.

Footings, columns, beams, slabs and stairs — each with the formula, a worked example and a calculator you can drive. Read the five units, then test yourself.

Open Unit I Back to Students

Studio Matrx is a tribute to Amogh N P. The curriculum is free, forever.