Buildings & Civil Structures
Learn how homes, buildings and civil structures work — structure, enclosure, services, construction and failure modes — visually and interactively.
HOMS Building Atlas
Explore buildings and civil structures — layer by layer. Peel an exterior wall apart, follow the water, and find out what each layer does, how it fails, and why it matters when you buy.
Open the Atlas→Choose a construction example
Explore an illustrative model. These examples do not establish any property's construction, condition or structural capacity.
Detached house
Gable-roof example
A two-storey BC wood-frame house, from footings to shingles.
Explore this example →BuildingsWood-frame mid-rise
2009–present example
Five wood-frame storeys over a concrete podium.
Explore this example →BuildingsConcrete high-rise
Structural study
Twelve storeys of slabs and columns around a shear-wall core.
Explore this example →BuildingsBraced steel building
Structural study
Five storeys with wide-flange members, braces and base connections.
Explore this example →Civil structuresSteel girder bridge
Structural study
A single-span bridge with plate girders, bearings and abutments.
Explore this example →Civil structuresConcrete retaining wall
Structural study
A cantilever wall with selected reinforcement and drainage.
Explore this example →Assembly detailsWall corner
Wall junction example
One wall corner with its framing, membranes and flashing.
Explore this example →Lessons
- 01How a wall keeps water out✓Cladding is not waterproof, and it was never supposed to be. What actually keeps a BC wall dry is the gap behind it.
- 02Why your wall is colder than the label says✓The insulation in a wall is rated on its own. The wall is not. The difference is the wood right next to it.
- 03Where buildings actually leak✓Learn how water management and control-layer continuity work where assemblies meet.
How to read the Atlas
Every element in the model answers six questions: what it is, what it does, what it connects to, what can go wrong, how you would notice, and why it matters to an owner. Technical statements are labelled fact, best practice orcode requirement — and never blurred together.
About Academy content. The Building Atlas is general education about how buildings are assembled. It is not design, engineering, or code-compliance advice. Archetypes are illustrative teaching composites, not any specific property, and code references are pointers for further reading — not a substitute for the current BC Building Code or your authority having jurisdiction. Performance overlays are conceptual illustrations, not engineering analyses.
HOMS Real Estate Services Corp. is a technology, intelligence and multidisciplinary services company and is not a licensed real estate brokerage.Licensed real estate trading services are provided by Moji Dargahi, licensed real estate professional with Royal Pacific Realty Corp.HOMS is not an engineering firm: analysis outputs are preliminary screening estimates for informational purposes and are not sealed engineering documents. Tool outputs are estimates for informational purposes only and do not constitute an appraisal, recommendation, financial advice or legal advice.