This book is full of examples of what designers can do once they learn the basics. This book presents an overview of the structural design process for designers with limited backgrounds in engineering analysis and mathematics. Included is information on structural systems and materials, the development of the general form and basic elements of a specific system, and construction plans and details. Included are examples of eleven different structural systems, each with an explanation of the design and a sample set of construction plans and details.

James Ambrose is Editor of the Parker/Ambrose Series of Simplified Design Guides. He has practiced as an architect in California and Illinois, and as a structural engineer in Illinois. He was a professor of architecture at the University of Southern California.