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Week 13

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 Regulations  Gina Christopher  Phases of a Design Project The 6 phases of a design project include programming, schematic design, design development, contract documents, construction administration, and post occupancy evaluation. During the programming phase, the interior designer interviews the client and creates a user needs assessment and spatial analysis of what is required of the project. Case studies are done, occupancy type is determined, and applicable codes are considered. During the schematic design phase, preliminary design solutions are presented to the client, and several options are considered until one solution is accepted. The design team will conduct occupancy calculations, determine the required number of exits and describe path of egress. The maximum travel distance will also be considered. During design development, the designer will select all materials and finishes as well as partition types. During the contract documents phase, a final set of const...
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Week 12

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 Interior Building Systems  Gina Christopher  Data, Voice, and Telecommunications  Telephone lines and internet are necessities in modern interior environments. Many clients also request wireless service, which requires careful placement of routers throughout the building. Designers are involved in the placement of telephone lines, internet connections, wireless service, and routers. Many clients also request interior spaces dedicated to teleconferencing. Placement of LED projectors and phone jacks is important for designers to consider. Window screening may also be needed to prevent and reduce glare from the sun.      Audio-Visual Systems   One of the primary issues when installing audio-visual systems is to make sure all occupants of the space are able to see the image being projected. Depending on the space, this may include staggering the seats or creating different levels of seating. The closest person should be no closer than 2x the height o...
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Week 11

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 Indoor Environmental Quality: Acoustic and Indoor Air   Gina Christopher  ACOUSTICS  Acoustics is the study of sound. How sounds move through a space is a function of the shape of the space and the materials and finishes used within. Unwanted sound is called noise. Sound waves can be refracted, reflected, diffracted, and diffused. Sound pressure is measure in decibels (dBa). The limit of human comfort is about 110-120 decibels. Typical materials are rated with a noise-reduction coefficient (NRC). This is the materials ability to absorb sound. Sound transmission class (STC) is the capability of a material to absorb sound. This takes into account the entire frequency spectrum and the associated transmission loss (TL) to provide a single number that describes sound transmission for typical human hearing.  Reverberation describes the sound that is built up in a room over time (echo). Reverberation can be controlled, and different reverberation times (RT) are p...
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Week 10

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 Plumbing Systems  Gina Christopher  HOW PLUMBING WORKS (AN OVERVIEW) Plumbing systems consist of two primary parts: supply and waste. Supply water enters a building under pressure. This pressure allows the water to reach the upper levels of a building. At the entry of the building there is amin water shut-off valve with additional locational shut-offs at each fixture for minor repairs and maintenance. The Drain-Waste-Vent (DWV) part of the system relied on gravity and water's ability to seek its own level. Wastewater is either black, which contains sewage or gray, which is from sinks, bathtubs, and washing machines. Portable water is suitable for drinking. The tree primary water supply options include municipal water, provided by means of a water main; private well water; and rainwater harvested water. When a wall extends through a non-permeable layer of earth into aquifer, it is known as an artesian well. Rainwater catchment refers to the active collection of rainwater....
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