Integrated Buildings & Structures

I was recently asked to design a brick weave pattern wall similar to the attached picture.  It looks like it is a simple enough brick beam and column design with the brick weave pattern being infill.  However, once I started looking into the calculations this design became much more complicated than I thought.  Has anyone ever designed a wall like this before?  Is it possible to construct this wall as a double wythe or are the beam and column elements actually concrete and wrapped in brick?  Finally, is there a way to reinforce the brick weave pattern so that it can handle the out of plane wind load or someone kicking the wall?

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Pietre Hamblin-Hatchell EI, A.M.ASCE
Chavez-Grieves Consulting Engineers
Albuquerque NM
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You need to make a few things clear: is it a load bearing wall? If yes, what is the load per running meter? Then, what is the total height of the wall. Generally such walls are not made load bearing, they are used as fillers to provide good ventilation.
Since there are openings all over, you may not need to worry about the wind pressure.
You can easily provide vertical as well as horizontal bars to strengthen it.
If the brick size is bigger than 4.5 inches in width, the wall will have better stability.

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Peter Singh M.ASCE
Managing Director
Kingdom Designers
Birganj
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In a wall like this, in my experience, the brick is simply an aesthetic treatment, and the loads are resisted by another structural system such as steel or reinforced concrete.  A brick wall of the height you are showing in the sketch (based on the size of the people relative to the wall) would be difficult to achieve if the brick is the actually structural system.  I have seen triple wythe brick walls in historic buildings that approximate the height you have, but those are solid walls and likely do not meet the current code requirements for lateral loads.

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Andrew Holmes P.E., L.S., M.ASCE
Consulting Engineer
Melbourne FL
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-15-2017 06:09
From: Peter Singh
Subject: Brick Weave Design

You need to make a few things clear: is it a load bearing wall? If yes, what is the load per running meter? Then, what is the total height of the wall. Generally such walls are not made load bearing, they are used as fillers to provide good ventilation.
Since there are openings all over, you may not need to worry about the wind pressure.
You can easily provide vertical as well as horizontal bars to strengthen it.
If the brick size is bigger than 4.5 inches in width, the wall will have better stability.

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Peter Singh M.ASCE
Managing Director
Kingdom Designers
Birganj
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Where is it?  Earthquake zone??  Looks VERY DIFFICULT to me.

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Ralph Hueston Kratz S.E., M.ASCE
RHK Structural Engineer
Richmond CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-15-2017 06:09
From: Peter Singh
Subject: Brick Weave Design

You need to make a few things clear: is it a load bearing wall? If yes, what is the load per running meter? Then, what is the total height of the wall. Generally such walls are not made load bearing, they are used as fillers to provide good ventilation.
Since there are openings all over, you may not need to worry about the wind pressure.
You can easily provide vertical as well as horizontal bars to strengthen it.
If the brick size is bigger than 4.5 inches in width, the wall will have better stability.

------------------------------
Peter Singh M.ASCE
Managing Director
Kingdom Designers
Birganj
------------------------------

​This building is going to be in New Mexico.

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Pietre Hamblin-Hatchell EI, A.M.ASCE
Chavez-Grieves Consulting Engineers
Albuquerque NM
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Original Message:
Sent: 06-20-2017 04:54
From: Ralph Kratz
Subject: Brick Weave Design

Where is it?  Earthquake zone??  Looks VERY DIFFICULT to me.

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Ralph Hueston Kratz S.E., M.ASCE
RHK Structural Engineer
Richmond CA
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It's a big wall for that sort of thing. Joint reinf in the horizontal bands and an adhesive mortar is the stacked brise soleil areas. The horizontal have to act as out of plane buckling stiffeners as the buckling stiffness of the open coursing is any body's guess.  You'll be depending mostly on self wt friction and adhesion in the brise panels. I recall there are several adhesive materials on the market. Read the specs to find one compatible with the application and materials. Ordinary m or s mortars might work but getting them to reliably adhere might be an issue. Good workmanship and procedure is important no doubt. Always comes down to the mason.

You'll want a concrete or vitrified brick to avoid delamination at the mortar line.  Keep people (kids) off and way from it. It will likely see a shear type punch-through failure if something solid bumps into it. High speed winds (if coastal) and wind borne debris could be an issue. The wall gets hot in the sun so be mindful of expansion detailing and points of constraint. Weathering starts at the top so it will need a coping of some sort. There is not much toughness to rely on.

Recently looked at  school in East Africa where the architect proposed a two-story brise on a dorm.  No steel and no QC on the materials. Suggested a one-story brise with a garden on each side.

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C Michael Donoghue P.E., M.ASCE
Principal
Maritech Engr. ,Inc.
Austin TX
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