Structure is a fundamental, tangible or intangible notion referring to

the recognition, observation, nature,

and permanence of patterns and relationships of entities. This notion may itself
be an object, such as a built structure, or an attribute, such as the structure of
society. From a child's verbal description of a snowflake, to the detailed scientific
analysis of the properties of magnetic fields, the concept of structure is now
often an essential foundation of nearly every mode of inquiry and discovery
in science, philosophy, and art.
[1]
In early 20th-century and earlier
thought, form often plays a role comparable to that of structure in contemporary
thought. The neo-Kantianism of Ernst Cassirer (cf. his Philosophy of Symbolic
Forms, completed in 1929 and published in English translation in the 1950s) is
sometimes regarded as a precursor of the later shift
to structuralism andpoststructuralism.
[2]

The description of structure implicitly offers an account of what a system is
made of: a configuration of items, a collection of inter-related components or
services. A structure may be a hierarchy (a cascade of one-to-many
relationships), a network featuring many-to-many links, or a lattice featuring
connections between components that are neighbors in space.

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An arrangement of designed components that provides strength and stiffness to
a built artifact such as a building, bridge, dam, automobile, airplane, or missile.
The artifact itself is often referred to as a structure, even though its primary
function is not to support but, for example, to house people, contain water, or
transport goods. The primary requirements for structures are safety, strength,
economy, stiffness, durability, robustness, esthetics, and ductility. The safety of
the structure is paramount, and it is achieved by adhering to rules of design
contained in standards and codes, as well as in exercising strict quality control
over all phases of planning, design, and construction. The structure is designed
to be strong enough to support loads due to its own weight, to human activity,
and to the environment (such as wind, snow, earthquakes, ice, or floods). The
ability to support loads during its intended lifetime ensures that the rate of
failure is insignificant for practical purposes. The design should provide an
economical structure within the constraints of all other requirements. The
structure is designed to be stiff so that under everyday conditions of loading and
usage it will not deflect or vibrate to an extent that is annoying to the occupants
or detrimental to its function. The materials and details of construction have
durability, such that the structure will not corrode, deteriorate, or break under
the effects of weathering and normal usage during its lifetime. A structure
should be robust enough to withstand intentional or unintentional misuse (for
example, fire, gas explosion, or collision with a vehicle) without totally
collapsing. A structural design takes into consideration the community's esthetic
sensibilities. Ductility is necessary to absorb the energy imparted to the
structure from dynamic loads such as earthquakes and blasts. See
also Construction engineering; Engineering design.
Common structural materials are wood, masonry, steel, reinforced concrete,
aluminum, and fiber-reinforced composites. Structures are classified into the
categories of frames, plates, and shells, frequently incorporating combinations of
these. Frames consist of stick members arranged to form the skeleton on
which the remainder of the structure is placed. Plated structures include roof and
floor slabs, vertical shear walls in a multistory building, or girders in a bridge.
Shells are often used as water or gas containers, in roofs of arenas, or in
vehicles that transport gases and liquids. The connections between the various
elements of a structure are made by bolting, welding or riveting.


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In engineering and architecture, a structure is a body or assemblage of bodies in
space to form a system capable of supporting loads. Physical structures include
man-made and natural arrangements. Buildings, aircraft, soap films, skeletons,
anthills, beaver dams and salt domes are all examples of physical structures.
The effects of loads on physical structures are determined through structural
analysis. Structural engineering refers to engineering of physical structures.
Built structures are a subset of physical structures resulting from construction.
These are divided into buildings and nonbuilding structures, and make up
the infrastructure of a human society. Built structures are composed of structural
elements such as columns, beams and trusses. Built structures are broadly
divided by their varying design approaches and standards,
into categories including Building structures, Architectural structures, Civil
engineering structures and Mechanical structures.


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1 Types of structure
1.1 Physical structure
1.2 Biological structure
1.3 Chemical structure
1.4 Musical composition
1.5 Social structure
1.6 Data structure


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An architectural structure is a free-standing, immobile
outdoor constructed element. The structure may be temporary or permanent.
Structures include buildings (occupiedhabitable) and nonbuilding
structures (non-occupiednon-habitable).
1. Examples of building structures include houses, town halls, libraries,
and skyscrapers.
2. Examples of nonbuilding structures include bridges, monuments and
memorials, dams, windmills, and lookout towers.
Structure or building
Often the words architectural structure and buildings are confused, because in
many languages one word covers both. However, a building is a type of
architectural structure used for supporting and sheltering continuous occupancy
or habitation. Building structures (buildings) are therefore usually enclosed
and/or roofed structures. Nonbuilding structures (structures) may be open to the
environment, part of landscape design elements, and/or part
of infrastructure systems (transport, water, energy). Structures also may come
in three forms solid, shell, and, frame. Those may also be combined into a some
buildings.
Temporary structures
Some structures are temporary, built for ephemeral events such as trade
shows, conferences, or theatre, and often dismantled after use. Temporary
structures have fewer constraints relating to future use and durability, and often
comprise lightweight forms such as tents or reusable such as boxcars, which are
quicker to erect, take down, and use at another site or recycle.


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