Why do humans build houses? What can we learn about architecture from beavers and ants?

All animals build homes to protect themselves. Architectural engineering is the study of the art of designing and constructing safe and comfortable buildings.

 

All animals build “homes” with their own hands. Beavers, called craftsmen, gather materials from their surroundings to build dams and create their cozy “home” inside. Ants work together individually to build elaborate, cozy “homes” in mazes. Humans, too, have built ‘houses’ to protect themselves from environmental elements such as rain, wind, cold, etc. and external threats such as animals. ‘Houses’ have existed since the beginning of humanity as an integral part of our clothing, food, and shelter, which are essential conditions for human survival. My major is architecture, which is the study of building a house, a discipline that began with the dawn of humanity.
My interest in architecture stems from the overwhelming feeling I had in front of the metropolis of Manhattan, New York City. During my freshman year of high school, I visited the East Coast of the United States and stayed in Manhattan for a day. While my classmates were excitedly taking pictures with foreigners and gawking at the dazzling billboards of Times Square, I stood in the middle of the street, staring blankly at the sky as if time had stopped. Whether it was the way the light poured down from the narrowed sky surrounded by skyscrapers that made it feel sacred, or the way the skyscrapers created a tense sense of urgency, as if they could come crashing down at any moment, my young mind was overwhelmed and in shock. I can’t forget the thrill of going up to the observation deck above the Empire State Building and looking around the island of Manhattan. I thought about how happy I would be if I could create the city and the buildings that house so many people. This was a big inspiration for me to pursue architecture in the future.
The architecture department at Seoul National University in South Korea is divided into two majors: architecture and architectural engineering. While architecture is an artistic field that mainly deals with architectural design and architectural history theory, architectural engineering, my major, is a technical field that deals with four areas: building structure, built environment, building equipment, and building construction, with the goal of training architectural engineers.
I can explain each of the four areas of architectural engineering by imagining that I am building a small house. After the design plans are completed by an architect who has studied architecture, we will investigate the land on which the house will be built. We’ll do some basic research, such as the nature of the soil, whether there is groundwater, etc. Once all of this earthwork is complete, we’ll build the structure, such as columns and beams. This is where a subfield of architectural engineering comes into play: structural engineering.
Structural engineering is the study of the safety of steel, concrete, and other materials used to build a structure, the skeleton of a building. It involves designing a building safely by comparing the mechanics of forces learned in middle and high school physics classes with the consequences of those forces. For example, calculating the weight of people, the weight of furniture, the load of a building, and the force of wind to design a building safely, or designing an earthquake-resistant building against forces from natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes.
Once the structural work is done, the house is completed by fleshing out the bones of the house. Insulation is installed to minimize energy loss, exterior and interior walls are constructed, finishing materials such as glass are installed, and the house is brought to life by installing air conditioning and water supply systems. This is where the two subfields of architectural engineering come into play: built environment and building systems.
First, the built environment field studies the indoor and outdoor environments of buildings. The indoor environment field studies acoustics, light, temperature, humidity, and ventilation that affect the interior of a building, and studies to enrich the quality of life, such as “how to spend cool and comfortable indoors in the hot summer?” and “how to spend warm and cozy in the cold winter?” The outdoor environment field studies how to relate renewable energy such as solar and wind power to buildings to harmonize human culture and nature.
Second, the field of building facilities is responsible for everything that is installed in buildings to improve the indoor living environment and function of buildings, and to maintain the hygiene and health of human beings. Examples include air ventilation, cooling, heating, water supply, drainage, electrical installations, transportation, gas, kitchens, and many more. Today’s building facilities are receiving a lot of attention, with the goal of protecting the built environment, preserving nature, and improving the quality of human life.
From the initial planning and design stage to the completion of a building, the last subdiscipline of our department, building construction, is applied to ensure that everything flows smoothly and that the building is completed.
The field of architectural construction is the study of all technical and economic acts from architectural planning to completion in pursuit of the rationality of building functions, rationality of use, and economy. In other words, if architectural structure pursues the stability of buildings, human comfort in the built environment, and human convenience in building facilities, architectural construction is the actual birth of these into the world based on architectural design. Architectural construction is the management and supervision of comprehensive technology, including knowledge in all fields, especially aesthetic, structural, and economic knowledge, and material, mechanical, electrical, and chemical knowledge.