Designing and constructing a building is a complex undertaking.
Designers draw hundreds of pages to convey their vision. Contractors bring that vision to life. Sometimes, however, it doesn’t go as smoothly as everyone would like and dimensioning is one area where improvements can benefit the entire project team.
In the first three parts, we discussed how the installers of work both use and view the plans, and the concept of offset gridlines. We also took deep dives into specific areas of the building, including the core and residential units. In part four, we look at elements and considerations outside the building.
Lobby and Retail Entrances
Building entrances, a crucial aspect of architectural design, necessitate a comprehensive grasp of all the elements involved. These include door clearances, sidewalk grades (both private and public), intercom locations, ramps, and steps, among others. It’s vital to allow some flexibility.
A 2% max cross slope does not leave much margin of error when designing building entrances, so it’s essential to leave room to adjust the landing requirements to match the existing right-of-way sidewalk slopes. All building access points should be designed with the potential for adjustment in mind. Actual spot elevations should be taken when the building entrances have been located to further ensure compatibility with existing conditions. A structural deck as the finish floor for your entry is a potential disaster. When possible, entrances could be a topping slab condition that allows for changes to match the existing grade.
Ramps and stairs need to be flexible in their dimensions. Not designing to maximum slopes and leaving space to adjust the ramps and stairs, sets the project up for success. Ideally, these should be constructed separately from the building structure in a “topping” condition, allowing for potential changes. The same principle applies to stairs, highlighting the need for a flexible and adaptable approach to design.
Right-of-Way
Most of our multi-housing projects are infill projects where the building footprint goes from lot line to lot line, often requiring right-of-way improvements. We rely heavily on the layout provided by a professional surveyor based on the street improvement permit or civil plans. This work generally starts with laying out the back-of-curb and top-of-curb. Once the surveyor establishes these locations in real life, we check them all to ensure there are no busts at the building access points.
Landscape
Let me start this section by saying that I understand Green Factor calculations drive planter sizing and depth. With that out of the way, most landscape features’ design intent is to align with some other building feature.
Egress paths through courtyards are the mission-critical dimensions. It is here where providing a minimum clear dimension is helpful. A literal interpretation of a dimension provided can often lead to a planter not aligning with a given building element or a walkway being 3″ wider than the paver module.
With this minimum clear information and an understanding of the design intent, we can work with our installer to ensure that the pathway can be three pavers wide so that no cutting is involved. We can also ensure the planter won’t obstruct a neighboring window by 3 inches, hindering its operation and encroaching on the deck door clearances. All because an edge-of-paver/face-of-planter was a provided dimension on the plans.
Whenever a courtyard is bound on two or four sides by the building, an early understanding of the layout and what is important is critical. This often doesn’t leave much room to push and pull to make things work. Adding gravel strips in the design is a great way to add an element that can shrink or expand to make other features align or make walkways wider.
One final area where particular attention should be paid is concrete planters. They are often cast with the structural concrete well before anyone really thinks about the minutia of courtyard elements like fire pits, barbecue islands, and trellises.
This is the fourth of five articles that will explore ways of dimensioning a set of plans that can reduce the opportunity for errors.
Part 1 – Overview
Part 2 – Parking Garage and Building Core
Part 3 – Inside of the Building (Rooms/Units)
Part 4 – Outside of the Building
Part 5 – Final Thoughts
Kevin Rowe
Kevin’s education includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Business with an emphasis in Real Estate Finance from the University of San Diego and a Certificate in Construction Management from the University of Washington. This background developed his critical thinking skills and gives him a unique understanding of the owner’s perspective and business side of construction.