Research and evaluation techniques

  1. Meet with owner and users
  1. Comparative analysis
  1. Observe current facility

SOLVE Building types, spatial requirements, and adjacency criteria for user activities

  1. Bubble diagrams
  1. matrixes
  1. comparative analysis
  1. schedule

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Codes and regulations as they influence program

  1. Clearances
  1. Occupancy classifications
  1. Type of construction
  1. Fire & Life safety
  1. Health requirements

Assess individual user needs relative to human activities

Human factors

  1. Behavior patterns
  2. objectives
  3. organization (hierarchy)
  4. demographics
  5. social forces
  6. attitudes
  7. customs
  8. security
  9. convenience
  10. Ergonomics

Assess individual user needs relative to human comfort

Comfort factors

  1. Light levels – climate/region, task, glare, etc
  1. Temperature – activity level
  1. Humidity
  1. Acoustics – activity type, variety of uses

Assess individual user needs relative to human health

Health issues

  1. Mold
  1. VOC off-gassing
  1. “Sick building syndrome”
  1. Psychological effects (disorientation, glare, daylight deprevation)

Topographical conditions

  1. Registered surveyor or engineer must survey
  1. Affects buildable area of site, cost of construction

Hydrological and geological conditions

Soils report

Soils report

  1. Bearing capacity, depth to bedrock, water table, expansive nature, soil type, moisture content
  1. affects the foundation and structural system, drainage, and building form

Climatic conditions

Wind

  1. affects structural requirements, building orientation, types of spaces

Solar Orientation

  1. Affects daylighting strategies, mechanical design

Temperature and Humidity

  1. Affects ventilation requirements, building envelope, mechanical systems

Precipitation

  1. Affects roof slope, drainage strategies

Flora and Fauna – affect location and size of buildable area

  1. Wildlife corridors
  1. Wetlands
  1. Endangered species
  1. Lakes and streambeds (Dept. of Fish and Game)

Existing built environment

  1. Buildings – determine architectural context, access to light/views, urban context
  1. Infrastructure – affects energy design, sustainability strategies
  1. Archaeological sites – affect buildable area and location on site

Sustainability

Green design

Green design

  1. Reduce exposure to noxious chemicals
  1. Conserve non-renewable energy and scarce materials
  1. Minimize life-cycle ecological impact of energy and materials
  1. Protect and restore local air, water, soils, flora and fauna
  1. Support pedestrians, bicyclists, mass-transit, and other alternatives to fossil fuels

Sustainability

Financial benefits

Financial benefits

  1. Energy savings
  1. Last longer
  1. Higher quality
  1. Greater occupant satisfaction and productivity
  1. Rebate incentives
  1. Pays for itself in just a few years

Sustainability

Community benefits

Community benefits

  1. Increased sensitivity to resource use
  1. Sensitivity to pedestrian and mass transit opportunities
  1. Local materials equals local economic investment

Determine which laws, codes, regulations, and standards apply

Local codes, regulations, and standards

  1. California codes, regulations, and standards (CBC 101.17)
  1. Federal codes, regulations, and standards
  1. Community standards (HOAs)

California codes, regulations, and standards

  1. Title 24CBCCHBC
  2. Ca Energy Code
  3. Mandatory Measures
  4. Compliance Approaches
  5. Prescriptive – meet various specific requirements for each building component
  6. Performance – …”use no more source energy from depletable sources than the energy budget, calculated according to section 141”
  7. Agencies with codes
  8. AGR (Dept. of Food & Agriculture) – Dairies & Meat Inspection facilities
  9. BOC (Board of Corrections) – Local detention facilities (enforced by Board of Corrections)
  10. BSC (Ca Bldg Standards Commission) – State buildings, incl. UC and CalState, where no state agency has authority to adopt building standards (enforced by BSC)
  11. CEC (Ca Energy Commission) – ALL occupancies (enforced by local jurisdiction)
  12. DHS (Dept of Health Services) – organized camps; lab animal quarters; public swimming pools; radiation protection; commissaries serving mobile food prep. Vehicles; wild animal quarantine
  13. DWR (Dept of Water Resources) – single family residences w/ grey water landscape irrigation (enforced by local jurisdiction)
  14. HCD (Dept of Housing & Community Dev.) – Hotels, motels, lodging houses, apartment houses, dwellings, dormitories, condominiums,

Essential services

Building Types

Building Types

  1. Fire Station
  1. Police Station
  1. EmergencyOperationsCenter
  1. Ca Highway Patrol Office
  1. Sheriff’s Office
  1. EmergencyCommunicationDispatchCenter

Requirements for Essential Services bldgs

  1. Construction Observation/Administration Required
  2. Periodic Review of Construction by Arch, Civil, or structural in general responsible charge (make a report)
  3. Continuous inspection by qualified inspector (can be architect of record)
  4. Structural design factor 1.5
  5. Soils/geological report required
  6. “Shall be designed…minimize fire hazards and resist… earthquakes, gravity & winds”
  7. To be carefully reviewed by approval agency and carefully and completely inspected during construction
  8. Communications, Main transformers, switching equipment, emergency backup generators, etc. must be adequately strapped and restrained to stay in service after an emergency

Laws and Acts

  1. CEQA
  1. California Coastal Commission
  1. Fish & Game (lakes and streambeds)
  1. CCR Title 24
  1. California Code of Regulations (CCR)

Federal codes, regulations, and standards

  1. There is no federal building code
  2. Federal government regulates building of its own facilities (federal land, military installations, etc.)
  3. Federal can preempt states if required (EPA, OSHA)
  4. Can require standards for federal aid, assistance, and insurance
  5. Agencies/Acts
  6. US Fish and Wildlife
  7. US Army Corp of Engineers (any project involving locating structures, excavating, or discharging dredged or fill material into United States waters)
  8. EPA/NEPA
  9. ADA/ANSI 117
  10. Endangered Species Act
  11. Wetlands and Clean Water Act
  12. Wild and Scenic Rivers
  13. Clean Air Act
  14. OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Act

Assess and apply specific provisions of relevant laws, codes, regulations, and standards

Local requirements

Requirements

  1. General Plan – City’s comprehensive declaration of purposes, policies, and programs for development of a city (maps, diagrams and text) to set forth objectives, principles, and standards
  1. Specific Plan – Strategies and policies for a more narrowly defined particular geographic area within a city
  1. Building regulations –
  1. Zoning ordinance – type/density of land use
  1. Conditional Use Permit – allows case-by-case exception to the allowed use of a property

Assess and apply specific provisions of relevant laws, codes, regulations, and standards

review and approval processes

  1. Review and approval
  1. Plan check – generally will check for code compliance to fire and life safety requirements, accessibility, and other local regulations
  1. Design review
  1. Environmental Review (see below)

State requirements, review and approval processes

Environmental review

  1. Goal: Protection of land, water, air, and life (also efficiency, national security, preservation of aesthetics and recreation, community stability, and sustainability)
  2. CEQA
  3. Planning
  4. Project proposal prepared
  5. Lead agent identified – usually local planning
  6. May hold “scooping” meetings to determine requirements
  7. Application
  8. File permit application forms with supporting docs
  9. Agency determines completeness w/in 30 days
  10. Accepted as complete (1 year to prepare and certify an EIR, 180 days for negative declaration, 60 days to determine if exempt)
  11. Review
  12. Determine whether exempt or non-exempt
  13. Initial Study – determine whether negative declaration or negative declaration with mitigating measures will be issued – if not, proceed with EIR
  14. Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
  15. Notice of Preparation sent to responsible agencies
  16. Draft EIR prepared with recommendations from responsible agencies
  17. Lead agency files Notice of Completion of the EIR and gives public notice of the availability of the draft EIR
  18. Public review period
  19. Lead agency prepares Final EIR including responses to comments on draft EIR
  20. Findings are made on feasibility and avoiding significant environmental impacts, and decision is made

Federal requirements, review and approval processes

  1. On federal projects (federal land, and certain resources such as air, water quality, wildlife, and navigable waters) – environmental review goes through NEPA
  1. NEPA process similar to CEQA, only not mandatory, only required to consider the recommendations