Building
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
Buildings and other structures are things built by people, that do not move, and are usually bigger than most humans.
The word building is mostly used for inside places where people live, work, or visit. Structure is more likely to be used for things like towers, bridges, and amphitheaters.
A building usually has walls and a roof. The walls stop things like wind and noise. Many buildings have windows because walls also stop light and people need light to see. Of course, they can also use light bulbs. The roof of a building keeps out things like rain and snow and other weather. Most buildings also have doors to let people in and out.
The inside of a building is called "indoors". Places not inside a building are called "outdoors".
Houses and offices are buildings. So are stores, hospitals, fire stations, schools, and lots of other places that are not outside.
Some buildings have a place where people can walk that is above the ground, whether other people can walk. These are called 'floors' or 'stories'. You have to use stairs or elevators, or something else that can make you move up and down, to visit a different floor. In big cities, some buildings can have many floors above other floors, and the buildings are very tall. Floors in buildings, especially big ones, usually have their own numbers. The numbers get bigger as you go up.
Sometimes buildings also have floors that are underneath the floor on the ground. These are called 'basements', 'cellars', or 'sublevels'. Sometimes they also have numbers which get bigger as you go down, but the numbers are different (they might have a letter in front).
In small buildings that have more than one floor, like some houses, the floor on top of you is called "upstairs" and the floor underneath you is called "downstairs".
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[edit] Materials made from
Buildings are made from many materials including:
- wood
- stone
- brick - oven baked clay
- mud brick - sun dried
- reinforced concrete
- straw bale
- mixture of the above.
[edit] Earthquake risks
Buildings are at risk of collapse when earthquakes strike.
An earthquake in Bam, Iran in 2003 killed 40,000 people.
It is not easy to build earthquake-proof structures.
[edit] Types of structures
[edit] Where people live or stay
[edit] Where people work
- Courthouses
- Education-related buildings: Study halls, dormitories, lecture halls
- Farming-related buildings: Barns, siloes
- Fire stations
- Forts
- Greenhouses
- Jails
- Observatories
- Office buildings
- Police stations
- Power plants
- Prisons
- Shops
- Skyscrapers
[edit] Cultural and entertainment structures
- Amphitheaters
- Aquariums
- Arenas
- Casinos
- Cemeteries
- Fountains
- Monuments
- Mausoleums
- Movie theaters
- Stadiums
- Statues
- Theatres
- Zoos
[edit] Transportation structures
- Airports
- Bridges
- Bus stations
- Ferry docks
- Lighthouses
- Railway lines
- Roads
- Sea ports
- Train stations
- Tunnels
