Following the LoadHow every load finds its way to the ground, and where architects break the chain.ArchitectureFollow one load from where it lands to where it stops.1Load arrives on a surfaceSelf weight, people, furniture, snow, or wind on a facade.2The deck spansSlab or joists carry it sideways to the nearest supporting line.3Beams collectBeams gather the deck reactions and span between columns orwalls.4Columns or walls take it downLoads accumulate storey by storey; the lowest column is thebusiest.5Foundations spread itThe load is spread until the ground can carry the pressure.Educational reference. A continuous path is necessary but notsufficient; a structural engineer's design governs.Following the Loadlearnposters.com
Following the Load — printable design wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Following the Load, step by step

Follow one load from where it lands to where it stops.

  1. Load arrives on a surfaceSelf weight, people, furniture, snow, or wind on a facade.
  2. The deck spansSlab or joists carry it sideways to the nearest supporting line.
  3. Beams collectBeams gather the deck reactions and span between columns or walls.
  4. Columns or walls take it downLoads accumulate storey by storey; the lowest column is the busiest.
  5. Foundations spread itThe load is spread until the ground can carry the pressure.

Educational reference. A continuous path is necessary but not sufficient; a structural engineer's design governs.

Questions about the Following the Load poster

What’s on the Following the Load poster?
5 numbered steps. Follow one load from where it lands to where it stops. Load arrives on a surface — Self weight, people, furniture, snow, or wind on a facade.; The deck spans — Slab or joists carry it sideways to the nearest supporting line.; Beams collect — Beams gather the deck reactions and span between columns or walls.; Columns or walls take it down — Loads accumulate storey by storey; the lowest column…; Foundations spread it — The load is spread until the ground can carry the pressure.. Educational reference. A continuous path is necessary but not sufficient; a structural engineer's design governs.
Who is the Following the Load poster for?
Following the Load belongs to the Architecture section rather than to a school year, because design is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning structure can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Following the Load poster?
Trace it on your section. If a load has nowhere to go, the plan is wrong. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Following the Load belongs on the wall where that design work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Following the Load?
Arches, Vaults and Domes, How a Beam Works and Cantilevers sit alongside Following the Load in the Architecture section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Arches, Vaults and DomesHow a Beam WorksCantilevers
Is the Following the Load poster free to download and print?
Yes. Following the Load downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Architecture section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Following the Load poster print at?
Following the Load is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Following the Load loses nothing.Printing guide

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