This project report contains the design of a low-cost structural model of a residential structure in the City of Phoenix, AZ. The structural unit will be part of a residential area in Ahwatukee Foothills Village located just south of South Mountain. The residential structure is 3600 square feet and consists of three bedrooms (including the master bedroom), two bathrooms (including the master bathroom), a 2-car garage, laundry room, kitchen, dining room, and a living room. There are two elevation options (A & B) for the roof framing plan. Elevation A includes a straight forward truss package consisting of two truss designs with no hip or girder trusses. Elevation B includes a more complex truss package which includes girder trusses, hip trusses, and corner jacks. Within both elevations, the trusses run perpendicular to the ridge of the structure as displayed in the Architectural Floor Plan (see Figure 4) with the exception of the hip trusses and corner jacks in Elevation B.

The design objective is to meet all safety specifications while minimizing the total cost of members and member connections. The design also aims to streamline the construction time and resources by using standard member cross section dimensions. This residential building report is carried out in accordance with the City of Phoenix standards and follows the ASCE7-10 code for the dead and live load combinations and wind pressures. This report also references the National Design Specifications (NDS) 2005 for the column design. HT Consulting Group is excited to create a safe and sustainable development for the residents within Ahwatukee Foothills Village.

The Barrett creative project in residential structural design serves as the culmination of my most meaningful undergraduate experiences and interests. I previously interned for D.R. Horton, a home builder, and spent a significant amount of time on the development sites and in the engineering management office. This experience sparked a curiosity in the design of wood frames for homes and the residential industry as a whole. Since then, I have also had the opportunity to intern for Felten Group, an architecture, engineering, and forensics firm specializing in residential work. A residential roof structure is designed following the American Society of Civil Engineer's Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures design code, in addition to the National Design Standards for Wood Construction manual. Although the sub discipline of wooden structural design can often be disregarded as the simplest type of analysis, I believe that it is a key component of an education in structural engineering. Like all aspects of civil engineering, the design of a house is composed of many interconnected systems, which include the balance of structural integrity and cost, functionality and aesthetics, and light and space. For my creative project, I took these ideas into account when designing both the floor plan and roof structure of the house using Revit and RISA, respectively. Well-rounded engineers are not only technically competent, but they also understand the social dimensions of a problem and how all the systems work together. The project focuses on creating a cohesive representation of a structure as a whole and how the individual frames, trusses, and beams interact with one another using RISA, a structural analysis program. With RISA's 3D interface, I have a better understanding of how more complex structures behave, which I have not gained from my 2D perspective in classes. RISA is used to calculate support reactions and the deflections of the trusses, which are checked against the bearing capacities of the supports and deflection design criteria to ensure a safe design. Concepts such as tributary area, truss connections, and the behavior of girder systems are also explored through the process.