f Jonathan Ochshorn - ARCH 262/562 Assign #1
image ARCH 262/562 Bldg. Tech. Mat'ls & Methods
Assignment #1, Fall 2005
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Assign #1: Building code - occupancy and construction type
Assigned: Aug. 31, 2005; due: Sept. 12, 2005

Not a group project. Each student must do project individually.

Create a schematic site plan for an office building and parking lot on a rectangular 300' x 900' site with a 50'-wide, north-south, public right-of-way on the long (900') side facing west. The total gross building area should be 202,500 square feet, if possible. Note that the actual road within the right-of-way is only 25-feet wide, and must be connected to the parking area with a 20'-wide drive.

The total building area may be one or more stories, consistent with zoning and building code regulations. Check International Building Code (online instructions) to find occupancy classification, maximum areas and heights, and occupant load. Assume that the ground floor is 16-feet high, and that all additional floors are 13' high. Thus, a 2-story building would have a height of 29', a 3-story building would have a height of 42', etc.

Three zoning regulations will apply: 1) Assume 15' minimum setbacks on all sides, in which no building or parking space may be located; 2) Provide uncovered, surface, off-street parking at the rate of 1 space for every 4 occupants, where occupant load for "business areas" can be found in Table 1004.1.2. For this schematic site plan, assume that each parking space requires 300 sq. ft. including all necessary aisles, and that parking cannot be located within 15' minimum setback, or closer than 25' from the building itself. Use dimensioning modules of 65 feet for configuring parking areas, representing the nominal width of a double-loaded aisle of parking.

Design the project using the least expensive construction type that satisfies building code and zoning requirements from the following choices: Types III-A, III-B, V-A, or V-B. Assume that construction becomes more expensive as fire-resistive requirements increase.

Format:

  • Site plan: Use an "engineering" scale of 1" = 100'-0" on 8-1/2"x11" paper, oriented vertically, with "north" up. Show property lines, public right-of-way (on west side of property), road, outline of building (with number of stories, occupancy classification, and construction type indicated), and outline of parking area, along with it's connection to the road within the public right-of-way.

  • Calculations: Show all calculations in a clear and comprehensive format on 8-1/2"x11" paper. Specifically, the documentation should be in three distinct parts:
    • Part 1 computes the proposed building area per floor, the total building area, the number of occupants based on total building area, the number of required parking spaces based on occupant load, the area of parking space provided, the building height, and the number of parking spaces provided, assuming 300 sq. ft. per space.
    • Part 2 shows the occupancy classification and construction type used, the tabular limits on height and area, the increases in height and area permitted (with the corresponding reasons from IBC or zoning), and the permitted building height (with reasons given).
    • Part 3 compares the results of parts 1 and 2 and draws appropriate conclusions
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    I'm not interested in the process that you went through to generate a final answer, but only in the documentation that supports your final design solution.

Handout:See fire safety handout for more information.

Academic Integrity:
"Course Assignments. Students are encouraged to discuss the content of a course among themselves and to help each other to master it, but no student should receive help in doing a course assignment that is meant to test what he or she can do without help from others. Representing another's work as one's own is plagiarism and a violation of this Code. If materials are taken from published sources the student must clearly and completely cite the source of such materials."
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last updated: 2 November 2005 | "fireCode" link updated 21 April 2006

Copyright 2005 J. Ochshorn. All rights reserved. Republishing material on this web site, whether in print or on another web site, in whole or in part, is not permitted without advance permission of the author.