IMI Structural Masonry Design Seminars
Words: Russell Brown, David Sovinski/Public/News/20060203155618-1.jpg" width="300" height="200" border="0" alt="Working with structural masonry is getting easier, thanks to a technical design seminar series from IMI.">
Working with structural masonry is getting easier, thanks to a technical design seminar series from IMI.
"I learned how I can more effectively spend the client's money."
A compelling incentive for anyone involved in the building process — designer, contractor or owner. It is also the rationale behind the Structural Masonry Design Seminar series launched by the International Masonry Institute (IMI) in 2005.
The seminar series offers a number of core objectives, making it easier for designers to work with structural masonry. These include:
- Better understanding of applicable codes, including new strength design (International Building Code (IBC), Masonry Standards Joint Committee (MSJC)).
- Designing masonry walls for in-plane and out-of-plane loading.
- Exploring loading combinations and design for most critical cases.
- Firsthand experience using masonry design software.
The seminars are presented by Russell Brown, P.E., Ph.D., professor of civil engineering at Clemson University and chairman of the Flexure and Axial Loads Subcommittee of the MSJC (2005 code cycle). Brown is a founding member and fellow of The Masonry Society and co-author of the software distributed at the IMI seminar.
"Our overriding goal for the series," says IMI National Director of Market Development and Technical Services David Sovinski, "was to make designers more comfortable designing structural masonry by arming them with knowledge. Judging from the responses we have gotten from people at the seminars, we really are helping them to understand structural masonry. And that makes them much more likely to use it."
/Public/News/20060203155618-2.jpg" width="300" height="200" border="0" alt="Design and building professionals attending the IMI Structural Masonry Design seminars got a solid foundation in structural masonry, plus hands-on experience with custom software.">
Design and building professionals attending the IMI Structural Masonry Design seminars got a solid foundation in structural masonry, plus hands-on experience with custom software.
Sovinski says the hands-on approach of working with both design challenges and custom structural masonry software won rave reviews during the 2005 launch across the country, which included stops in Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Boston, as well as Indiana, Wisconsin and New York. Such educational programs are a core mission of IMI, which is a strategic alliance of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) and signatory contractors.
Audiences, made up of architects, structural engineers, contractors, building officials and engineering educators, found the sessions a practical way to cover the fundamentals of structural masonry. They also praised Brown's presentation skills and expertise, and appreciated the custom software provided, which include shear wall design capabilities and building code selection options.
Perhaps the highest praise came from one designer who said, "Masonry is not as confusing as I thought."
For 2006, IMI has already scheduled sessions in Wisconsin, Albany, New Jersey and Chicago, with many more anticipated. For more details, check www.imiweb.org or call 800-464-0988.