AmberBook PA Flashcards
What is gross floor area?
In matters of code, gross floor area is measured from the inside face of exterior walls. In other matters of programming and analysis (programming, pre-design, schematic design, or cost estimating), gross floor area is measured from the outside face of the exterior walls. It is a value used in the denominator of economic efficiency proportion measures like “net-to-gross” (interior area, excluding corridors, lobbies, elevators, bathrooms, and stairs, divided by gross floor area). “Usable area,” is like net area, except that it includes corridors. “Rentable area” is like usable area, except that it includes bathrooms and lobbies. “Grossing factor,” is rentable area, divided by usable area. To make these concepts even more difficult to remember, their specific definition varies somewhat by region and industry, so you might have correctly heard one of these terms used in another way. Argh. Try not to stress and do your best based on these definitions. Having trouble remembering the order of these names? From largest to smallest floor area, use “Go RUN”. . . Gross, Rentable, Usable, Net.. . . Rentable and Usable are the tricky ones to keep straight, so remember that Rentable doesn’t include building volumes that are common to multiple tenants AND extend between floors (stairs and elevators).
Catchment areas
In a discussion of stormwater runoff, the catchment area is the region from which rainfall flows into a stream, culvert, catch basin, or roof drain.
Where is the most effective location for an outdoor noise barrier?
If you have a noise source (truck) and a receiver (person with ears on a balcony), the least effective place for an outdoor noise barrier is halfway between them. The most effective location is as near as possible to the noise source or as near as possible to the receiver. The image is from my book, Architectural Acoustics Illustrated (Wiley 2015)
What is a population pyramid?
To own the concept of the population pyramid, see this Hans Rosling video (already at the relevant time stamp). If you want to see more content by this recently-deceased Swedish physician, public health champion, and “person who thinks graphically like an architect,” go here. I can also highly recommend his books. For those of you who are pessimists, a warning that you will come away with a feeling that humanity is doing well. For those who like data, demographics, or the illustration of data in novel graphic formats, you’ll love his stuff.
“Ideal” structural parti for seismic design
Uniform loading of structural elements (stress connections from non-uniform loading– for instance, cantilevers– are weak points in an earthquake) Low, wide buildings (prevents overturning) Equal floor heights (means fewer stress connections) Symmetrical plan shape (minimizes torsion/twisting) Shear walls or bracing at the perimeter (more efficient at resisting torsion/twisting than shear walls in the core) Short spans (less stress on members and more columns provide redundancy if some are lost in an earthquake) Minimize openings in floors and roofs (more efficient diaphragms) Extend shear walls continuously from roof to foundation
Why avoid cantilevers, irregularly-shaped buildings, re-entrant corners (L- or T- shaped plans) when designing in seismic zones?
There are two reasons to avoid re-entrant corners (and other irregularly-shaped buildings) in your parti: First, like any irregular shape, they produce differential motions between different wings of the building, stressing the re-entrant corner (interior notch) Second, these shapes create torsion in the building that is difficult to predict
The problem with re-entrant corners in earthquakes
Each portion of the building twists out of phase with the other
Solutions for the reentrant corner problem in seismic design
Separation, strengthening, or stiff wall elements
Irregularly-loaded buildings and seismic failure
Failures in earthquakes from: Soft story problem (tall first story with slender columns and not much lateral bracing). This issue, top row, is the most common and causes the most death and destruction. Weight irregularity (More weight in the top floor, shown in red) Shear wall doesn’t extend full height of the building Shear wall not continuous over full height of the building One story weaker than the others Jutting building elevations (click here)
What is the difference between a Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (ESA)?
A Phase II ESA is more thorough than a Phase I ESA. Any property owner, regardless of fault, can be held liable for releases of hazardous materials from their land. However, if you purchased a property and can prove you performed appropriate environmental due diligence, but found no environmental red flags before the purchase, you are granted protections from that liability should toxic sludge be found later to be leaking from your land into the river. The Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) has become an established standard for this type of before-you-purchase-land environmental due diligence, and is used by the buyer and lender to both assess risk and protect from future litigation. A Phase I ESA includes site inspection by an environmental professional, a historical records review of the property, and interviews with owners, occupants, neighbors, and local government officials. If a Phase I ESA turns up a recognized environmental concern (REC), then the environmental professionals conducting it will recommend a Phase II Environmental Site Assessment (ESA). Unlike a Phase I ESA, a Phase II ESA is invasive, involving soil testing, groundwater sample testing and testing of building materials.
How many feet are in an acre?
43,560 square feet
Can foundations bear on loam?
Yes, loam can support a building. It is a combination of sand, silt and clay. Gravel, clay, shale, sand are okay; rock (bedrock, limestone, sandstone) is great for supporting foundations of heavy buildings. Organic soil and peat (dark brown or black and easily compressible) are not competent soils.
According to the building code, a courtroom has an occupancy classsification of _______ .
Assembly (A).
According to the building code, a bank has an occupancy of _______ .
Business (B) occupancy.
Can you build in a floodplane?
Provided you get your lowest floor above base flood elevation, most municipalities will allow you to build within the 100-year floodplain, but some disallow construction within the 25-year floodplain.
What is the building efficiency ratio of an office building with 100,000 sf, given that 20,000 sf is dedicated to elevators, physical plant equipment, restrooms, hallways, lobby, and the building management office?
80%
In your own words, what is net present value? Provide an example.
It is a way to translate future life-cycle costs of a material or system into today’s dollars. So that upfront cost can be better compared with future savings/costs
What is ASTM E 1527?
Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. Often required in commercial real estate before a bank loans money to develop a site, environmental engineers will attempt to determine if there is asbestos, lead paint, contaminated soil, etc. Phase I is a cursory evaluation, involving a walk-through, interviews with occupants, inspections of adjoining properties, and review of government records pertaining to the site. Was there a dry cleaner or gas station nearby that might have contaminated the soil? Does that pipe insulation look to be of an age that indicates it may have asbestos?
What is ASTM E 1903?
Phase II Environmental Site Assessment. A more in-depth analysis often required if Phase I turns up a red flag. In Phase II, soil samples are taken; pipe insulation sample is taken to a lab.
What is ASHRAE 55?
Thermal Comfort. Cited in LEED, this establishes ranges for temperature, humidity, airspeed, and thermal radiation as it relates to the clothing and activity of the occupants. It’s easier to achieve low energy use if you allow the building to get too warm or too cold, so requiring that it meets ASHRAE 55 keeps the energy modeler honest.
What is ASHRAE 62?
Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). Also cited in LEED. Establishes just how fresh “fresh air” must be, establishes required outside air ventilation rates, etc.
What is ASHRAE 90.1
Energy and Lighting. Also cited (and cited often) in LEED, this checks greenwashing by owners, architects, and energy consultants. It establishes minimum performance for Energy Use Intensity (EUI), which measures annual kBTUs-used per square foot of floor area. Recently, buildings are publishing their EUI, even in design publications and design awards announcements. Understanding EUI isn’t a big part of these exams, but is becoming important to the profession. For instance, a warehouse has a median EUI of about 25 kBTU/sf (not much lighting or equipment or need for occupant thermal comfort. . . and spread over a large space). An office or school is 50, a mall is 100, a grocery store or hospital is 200 (lots of equipment), and a fast food restaurant is 400 (lots of equipment in a small total floor area). The goal then is to get your building well under those industry averages to drive down societal energy use.
What is a Bioswale?
vegetated or mulched channels that convey stormwater away slowly enough to allow for water to seep into the soil, which removes pollutants before recharging groundwater: like an ecologically thoughtful version of a detention pond. To see an example, click here. (Bioretention ponds are vegetated and always wet, like an ecologically thoughtful version of a retention pond.
What restrictions is the local Zoning Code likely to place?
Building heights Floor-area-ratio (FAR) Lot building set-back distances (how close you can build to your front, back, and side lot lines) Parking space number minimums (and thankfully, more recently, parking space maximums) What type of occupancy or program is allowed (no gun shop next to elementary schools) How you must deal with your site’s water runoff (maximum gallon per hour allowed into the sewer) Building sign restrictions for businesses (height, size, number, type)
What is a covenant?
Covenants often restrict what future owners can do on the property.
What are the most important ADA accessibility requirements in a historic preservation setting?
- Main public entrance and primary public spaces accessibility 2. Restroom accessibility 3. Secondary space accessibility
What is the difference between Preservation Rehabilitation Restoration Reconstruction
Preservation: Maintains and repairs existing historic materials Rehabilitation: Alters or adds to meet today’s needs Restoration: Depicts a property at a particular period of time, removing evidence of other periods. Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. Reconstruction: Recreates non-surviving portions of a property
What is the Steepest slope for planted areas?
2:1
What is the Steepest slope for parking lots?
5% maxium (1% minimum for runoff)
Name the Road hierarchy
From smallest to largest: local, collector, arterial, expressway
What is a Riparian Zone?
the buffer areas adjacent to a water body. They are sometimes wet (after a rain or at high tide) and sometimes dry; often heavily vegetated; and important for flood and erosion control, wildlife habitat, and water quality.
What is the minimum slope for swales to prevent standing water?
1%: the minimum slope for swales to prevent standing water (1/100) 2%: maximum cross slope for ADA walkways (1/50) 5%: maximum slope before accessible ramps are required (1/20)
Required land slopes
What is Universal Design?
The theoretical framework behind ADA. . . The idea that buildings should be able to be used by all people, regardless of disability, age, or size—that accessibility it is not a design constraint for the benefit of a small minority, but rather that universal design is good design.
What are some ways that a building be more efficient?
Daylight availability (so electric light isn’t needed)
Summertime shading
central mechanical systems are more efficient than in room-systems (one fan and one compressor for multiple zones)
sharing heat from core to perimeter (variable refrigerant systems)
on-demand hot water heating (so that hot water needn’t be stored for later use)
radiant hydronic heating and cooling systems
small openings in cold and hot-arid climates, large openings in hot-humid climates, and southern glass and thermal mass (cold sunny climates).
What is the most efficient parking lot layout?
One-way, 75-degree angled parking.
How many accessible entrances are required?
50% of public entrances must be accessible.
For most small buildings, fire code requires two means of public egress, so, in that case, one must be accessible (the main entrance).
Larger buildings have more entrances, and 50% of those must be accessible.
When do we compact the soil?
When construction activities disturb the soil
When the soil is used as fill
Beneath footings, slabs, basement floors, driveways, sidewalks
What is the “unit-in-place” method to valuation?
We’ll assume it’s worth what it would cost to replace it (new) if it disappeared tomorrow.
Irregularly-shaped buildings and seismic failure
What is the Sales comparison (market) approach to valuing a property?
We’ll assume it’s worth what similar buildings sold for recently. This includes the comparables (“comps”) many homebuyers and lenders use to price one house based on what others in the neighborhood sold for in the last few months.
Income approach to valuation (also called income capitalization and also called residual income method)
Includes the anticipation of future benefits. Converts future income from the property into a present worth or current market value. What would the prudent investor be willing to pay now for the right to receive the future income stream from renting this office building?
If the property rents for $8,500 per month, and has a historical occupancy rate of 90%, and costs $900 per month in maintenance and $400 per month in owner-paid utilities, and $750 per month in city property taxes and $175 per month in property insurance premiums and $400 per month in the owner’s hourly time spent managing the property, and is in a Washington DC neighborhood likely to appreciate and the mortgage rates for investment properties currently sit at 3.85%. . . well, as an investor, I’m willing to pay no more than $1.1 million for that particular set of financials with that particular risk profile. So, by the “income approach,” the property has a valuation of $1.1 million.
What is a good Early-stage cost estimating technique:
Rough order of magnitude cost estimate
Might be off by as much as 2X
Used for a “napkin estimate” before design to determine feasibility. Used in Pre-design/programming (PA exam)
As we move through design phases we get more specific and have more confidence that our estimate is close to the final construction cost, eventually where we want to be within 5%
For later, SD, DD, and CD stages:
“Unit-rate cost estimating” . . . early-on, we’ll use estimates based on per square foot or per cubic foot estimates. Then later, as we know more about the project, our estimates will tally detailed units like “number of pipe bends” and “linear feet of conduit” and “estimated cost of labor to install 50,000 sf of EPDM roofing membrane.”
Contaminated soil remediation: When to use Soil Solidification/Stabilization?
A: To address inorganic and radioactive pollutants . . . like toxic heavy metals, pesticides, and fertilizers
Mixes a soil binder with the on-site dirt to make the soil more solid and stable
Polluted soil remediation: When do we use soil washing/soil flushing?
A: When the soil is contaminated by inorganic materials (toxic metals).
In soil flushing, we inject water into the soil (only if the soil type contains spaces large enough to move the water through). The soil flushing solution includes additives that help with contaminant solubility. The contaminants are then flushed out of the soil and down to the groundwater and the groundwater is extracted and treated at the surface.
In soil washing, we’ll excavate the soil out of the ground and wash off the contaminates, and then return the soil to the hole we dug. If you haven’t figured. out yet, the civil engineers who came up with all these remediation processes named them in an intuitive way, where you can figure out how to do them. . . you’ll however want to memorize when each of them is useful, so that will take some memorization of this series of cards.
Soil remediation: When do we use soil vapor extraction?
A: Soils contaminated by fuels and underground VOCs (but not useful for much else)
Wells dug into the soil pull contaminated vapor out with vacuum suction where it is filtered with activated carbon at the surface.
Contaminated soils: When do we use bioremediation?
A: Bioremediation can be used for VOCs, fuels, inorganics (toxic metals), and explosives.
In bioremediation, we inject helpful microbes into the soil that “eat” the contaminant, rendering it less harmful or inert altogether.
What does a vertical crack in a concrete foundation mean? A diagonal crack? A horizontal crack?
Vertical crack: Not a serious problem (typically). Caused by shrinkage as the concrete cures. Typically not one long crack, but may be several smaller hairline, cracks. They may have to be sealed to prevent leaks. Click here.
Diagonal crack: Often a problem. Caused by differential settlement. Click here
Horizontal crack: A big problem. Caused by shear failure. Click here. What is an example of shear failure? The foundation wall is no longer supported: Imagine the basement wall punches into the footing under load. . . or the ground bulges around the foundation wall as the footing displaces the soil it rests on. To see more, click here.
When does a project trigger an ADA compliance requirement?
New buildings require accessibility if: they are (1) places of public accommodation (businesses with a public-facing entrance like banks, hotels, restaurants, doctor’s offices, etc.) or (2) commercial spaces that need to be accessed by people with disabilities.
Renovated existing non-compliant buildings require accessibility if: (1) a primary function area is part of the alteration (the teller station of a bank, the lobby of a hotel, the dining room of a restaurant, or the waiting room of a doctor’s office). . . if making the room accessible will exceed 20% of the total cost of the building alteration, then the ADA requirement is considered “disproportionate” and you can cap your accessibility-related spending at 20%, provided you make ADA alterations in this reasonable order of priority until you hit 20% of your budget: entrance; route to the primary function area; at least one unisex restroom or one restroom for each sex serving the area; public telephones serving the area; drinking fountains serving the area; other elements.
To summarize, you don’t need to make the following accessible: a single-family house or townhouse; a warehouse not open to the public where no one who works there needs accommodations (though it’s still a good idea to make that warehouse accessible because once they hire someone who needs an accommodation or open to the public so shoppers can “skip the middleman,” they’ll need to make the building accessible!); a renovation of a hallway, janitor’s closet, employee lounge, locker room, storage room, mechanical room, etc.; when changing the height of the drinking fountain exceeds 20% of the cost of the renovation (but you’ll still need to use 20% of the renovation budget to widen the front door and build a ramp to it).
You’ll need to make your new or renovated building accessible in just about every other scenario. That includes parking lot spaces, sidewalks, restrooms, etc.
Standards for Preservation
- Use the property to maximize the retention of distinctive features.
- Retain the historic character
- Recognize the property as a physical record of its time
- Preserve past renovations that have acquired historic significance in their own right
- Repair historic features so that the new material, color, texture, and design match the old
- Preserve archaeological resources in place.
How do you repair masonry walls in historic structures?
Repair and replace only the deteriorated masonry; don’t replace the whole wall.
Match the brick or stone that was removed (this may be difficult to pull off). Replacing (only) damaged materials with matched replacement is a common theme in historic preservation guidelines.
Don’t clean old masonry unless necessary and then only clean it gently; cleaning can damage it. Don’t remove the paint on historically-painted masonry, but don’t paint historically-unpainted masonry.
Repoint mortar joints with evidence of deterioration (disintegrating mortar, mortar joint cracks, or loose bricks). Duplicate historic mortar joints in strength, composition, color, and texture when repointing is necessary. Finding the right mortar is not about using old-fashioned mortar, but rather ensuring that you use a softer mortar because old mortars were the lime-type. You don’t want a repointing mortar that cures harder than the old, soft, brick. Don’t repoint masonry with mortar of high Portland cement content because those cure too hard! Use Type O “high-lime” mortar because it will allow the bricks to expand and contract from thermal changes. High-lime mortar also binds to the old brick better and is self-healing. These soft, historic bricks spalled because of a renovation repoint with Portland cement mortar.
Detention ponds, retention ponds, bioswales, and cisterns
Detention ponds: hold stormwater for a while, then slowly drain out. They are dry between storms, control flooding, require large amounts of space, and can breed mosquitoes.
Retention ponds: hold stormwater and are always wet. These look like regular ponds (but uglier, if not designed correctly). They both control flooding and promote higher water quality because the soil below them filters out pollutants from the water. On occasion, they can provide for swimming and recreation, but can breed mosquitos and pose a drowning hazard. To see the difference between dry detention and wet retention ponds, see below.
The detention pond, dry because the. photo was taken between storms, is on the left; and the retention pond is on the right.
Bioswale: vegetated or mulched channels that convey stormwater away slowly enough to allow for water to seep into the soil, which removes pollutants before recharging groundwater: like an ecologically thoughtful version of a detention pond. To see an example, click here. (Bioretention ponds are vegetated and always wet, like an ecologically thoughtful version of a retention pond. To see an example, click here.)
Cisterns: Underground temporary storage container for roof or pavement runoff. No extra space required and no mosquitos. To see an image, click here.
Cisterns may be constructed of an array of large pipes. This one is shown uncovered, left, and later covered in what will be a parking lot, right.
Concrete and asphalt promote runoff and therefore erosion. We can solve this erosion problem by releasing the water slowly and both solve the erosion problem and clean the water by holding it for a while and allowing it to seep through the soil slowly for groundwater recharge. Green roofs and porous pavers also help recharge the onsite soil slowly, rather than run it off to the creek. Most municipalities require your medium-sized or large project to take care of its own stormwater on site. No longer do we simply redirect stormwater to the street and assume that the gutter and drain system will whisk the runoff problem away.
You are employing a cut-and-fill strategy, whereby the earth you are using as compacted fill behind a retaining wall will come from excavation for the building’s foundation. How much compacted soil will be available for the retaining wall?
Given:
230 bank cubic yards of earth will be removed for the foundation
After excavation that becomes 300 cubic yards of loose soil
The shrink factor for the soil is 10%
Answer: 207 cubic yards of compacted soil will be available for the retaining wall.
Loose soil is always more fluffy than bank soil, and compacted soil is always less fluffy than loose soil, but compacted soil may actually be less fluffy than bank soil (or may not be). Read that last sentence again until you own it.
compacted cubic yards=(100%-shrink %) x bank cubic yards
compacted cubic yards=(100%-10%) x 230 cubic yards
compacted cubic yards=207
BankLooseCompactedMaterialVolume VolumeswellVolumeswell or shrinkGranite1 cu yd1.7 cu yd70%1.4 cu yd40%Limestone1 cu yd1.6 cu yd60%1.35 cu yd35%Clay1 cu yd1.6 cu yd60%0.9 cu yd-10%Sand1 cu yd1.1 cu yd10%0.9 cu yd-10%
To watch me solve this series of cut-and-fill flash cards, click on this Amber Book : 40 Minutes of Competence video.
You are going to mount photovoltaic panels (solar panels that produce electricity) flush to this south-facing roof in Little Rock, Arkansas (35 degrees latitude, 92 degrees longitude). What should be the measure of angle A?
Answer: 35 degrees, an angle equal to the latitude value is most efficient for year-round solar collection. Think about it for a second in your head until you own it. . . the sun is lower in the sky for more of the year at higher latitudes (Alaska) and higher in the sky at lower latitudes (Hawaii).
What do we use climate zones for?
Climate zones are useful for energy and thermal comfort rules-of-thumb, for instance
How much insulation should we use under our foundation in Climate Zone 5?
Are Low-e windows really that helpful in Climate Zone 3?
Do we need a vapor barrier in Climate Zone 2?
In what climate zone is a Trombe Wall appropriate?
Is a heat pump efficient for heating in Climate Zone 6?
How much heating load in BTU/sf*yr should we expect for a commercial building in Climate Zone 4?
Where do you locate your building on a hill? At the bottom? Partway up? At the crest?
If you are building in the mountains, know that the valley will pool sinking cold air on still nights (good for hot-arid) and the top will have the most wind (good for hot humid). So locate your buildings on the following elevations based on climate:
Express this slope:
as a fraction
as a ratio
as a percentage
as an angle
as a fraction. . . 1/4
as a ratio. . . 1:4
as a percentage . . . 25% (note that if the slope is steeper than 45 degrees, the slope is more than 100%)
as an angle. . . 14 degrees. SOH CAH TOA tells us that Tan=opposite/adjacent so arctan [or inverse-tan or tan^-1] of 25/100 = 14 degrees. Be sure that your calculator is set to “degrees” rather than “radians.”
Identify common development patterns. In what type of cities can you find each of these?
Each of these describes the streets layout. . .
Grid/rectangular/chessboard: like Midtown New York
Radial/star: Major roads fan out from a central point, like Washington DC or Paris
Radial-ring: Concentric circles of bypass roads established to divert traffic around the dense center each time the city grows in girth, like Houston
Contour-forming: In steep terrain, roads follow lines of elevation, like rural mountain roads
Irregular/field: Roads every which way, most associated with organic (not centrally-planned) city growth, like Boston
Satellite: Smaller cities linked to a central megacity, like Shanghai
How far up a hill should you locate a small building in a cold climate
A: Approximately a quarter of the way up the hill.
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What are catch basins?
Catch basin: the box below an outdoor drain. It looks like this.
This catch basin, because it’s adjacent to a construction site, has a device to limit topsoil erosion. Water moves through. . . but soil stays on site.
Why the reflector “hat”? For transfer through conduction, convention, or radiation?
A: Radiation
This is kind of similar to how Low-E windows work, at least for half the low-E process. They reflect the sun’s heat, like this reflector redirects the flame’s heat, but unlike this reflector, low-E windows let (most of) the light through. That concept will probably never be intuitive to you, but own it none-the-less. Electromagnetic energy (radiation) can be blocked (shaded), allowed through (transmitted), or bounced back (reflected). . . and with the right film on a window, some of the frequencies (heat) can be reflected while other frequencies (light) are transmitted.
Required land slopes
