Direct Design Software for Masonry Structures Lesson

Presenter: Jason Thompson
Date Presented: December 10, 2020

The perpetual evolution of design and construction requirements adopted by building codes presents an ongoing challenge to designers and code officials as they strive to keep pace with these changes. In response, the National Concrete Masonry Association developed and released the Direct Design Software as a simple, intuitive resource to quickly generate code-compliant designs of structural masonry buildings. The Direct Design Software combines the analyses for both the masonry resistance and loading criteria, into one platform, thereby streamlining the design process, reducing design time, and generating more efficient structural drawings. While the Direct Design Software can generate a complete structural analysis in minutes, it is also completely transparent in its processes, allowing users to drill into any aspect of the design output they choose. This easy-to-learn software has the ability to generate complete structural designs or shop drawings simply by inputting the dimensions of the building and openings; greatly simplifying life for the designer and allowing the contractor to explore more cost-effective design solutions. Contractors, architects, engineers, building officials, and anyone engaged in checking or generating a complete, code-compliant structural design of concrete masonry construction won’t want to miss this seminar.

Learning Objectives:

• Software inputs, modeling criteria, design basis, and interpreting the analysis results.
• Proper structural design of concrete masonry construction, reinforcement detailing, and architectural configuration using prescriptively defined design methodology.
• Code-compliant building layout and detailing using TMS 402 and International Building Code provisions.
• Understanding of loading requirements and load distribution for wind, seismic, dead, live, and snow loads.