Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Each type of construction has its special characteristics which cannot be compared with those of other building materials. The first building construction designs in the architectural curriculum are planned as masonry or timber buildings. On the basis of these two traditional and elementary building materials, students familiarize themselves with construction details and structural principles, which are also the basis of construction with "modern" materials such as steel, concrete and glass.
Basics Building Construction is clearly structured and focused, and explains the characteristics of these important construction materials. The book familiarizes the reader with the most common construction systems, their rules and applications, and enables architectural students to contemplate creative solutions that may also be outside the standardized solutions offered by the construction industry.
This compendium combines the successful individual volumes Timber Construction, Masonry Construction and Glass Construction of the BASICS series in one book, which has been expanded by the two new, hitherto unpublished, Steel Construction and Concrete Construction volumes.