Introduction to National Building Code and Steps in a Construction project

CHALLENGE 5

Q1. Why are building codes or standards essential for the modeling/ efficiency of drawings in Revit?

Answer:

Building codes are standards that provide guidelines for the construction of structures like residential, institutional educational, commercial, assembly and storage spaces, or even hazardous buildings. These standards are essential for the modeling or efficiency of drawing in Revit software for the following reasons.

• Building code provides a set of standards that are uniform to all the structures and therefore it aids the modeling process.
• Building code protects both the health of the construction and the health of the public and residents.
• Designer constantly refers to these building codes for modeling which enhance their knowledge in this field and also it enables them to combine the modern construction methods with the standard conventional standards.
• Building codes help the government agencies to approve the plans as they become the law of particular jurisdiction when formally enacted by the appropriate government or authority.

Q2: From the National Building Code list the groups that will be essential to you when you begin modeling in Autodesk Revit.

Answer:

Based on National Building Code we can divide the buildings into nine groups as follows which are essential when we begin modeling in Autodesk Revit.

1. Group A: Residential Buildings
2. Group B: Educational Buildings
3. Group C: Assembly Buildings
4. Group D: Institutional Buildings
5. Group E: Mercantile Buildings
6. Group F: Business Buildings
7. Group G: Storage Buildings
8. Group H: Industrial Buildings
9. Group I: Hazardous Buildings

Q3: List the five major steps that occur in the project cycle. The steps should include from conceptualization of the project to maintenance and the final stage.

Answer:

Following are the major steps involved in a project cycle

1. Initiation

The major steps involved in the initiation stage are undertaking a feasibility study, then identifying the scope, then identifying the deliverables then identifying the project stakeholders, and finally developing a statement of work.

2. Planning

During this phase the large project is broken down into smaller tasks, build a team and prepare a schedule for the completion of assignments. The major steps of this planning stage are creating a project plan, creating workflow diagrams, estimating budgets, gathering resources, anticipating risks and potential quality of roadblocks, and finally holding a project kick-off meeting.

3. Execution

This phase turns plans into action. The project manager makes sure the work is on Track by organizing the team members to manage timelines and make sure that the work is done. The execution stage includes organizing workflows, briefing team members about the project, communicating with the team members, monitoring the quality of work, then finally managing the budget as per the initiation stage.

4. Closure

In the closure phase, we provide the final deliverables released and determine the success of the project. The major steps involved in the closure projects are to analyze the project performance, analyze the team performance, document project closure, conduct post-implementation reviews, and finally account for the used and unused budget.

Q4: Give examples of different disciplines involved in the construction of a project

Answer:

Different disciplines involved in the construction projects are following

• Construction: It is managing the building of the civil engineering system from beginning to end, which includes the coordination between both the owners, contractors and the designers as well.
• Finance and estimating: this discipline involves operating in the business world including accounting for financial contracts and estimating the cost of activities.
• Contracts and Bid: Demonstrating strong bidding practices and effective contract administration is integral to acquitting the next job or project as a construction manager.
• Geotechnical: This involves designing foundations, and earthquake systems to support the soil itself and transfer load from structures into the year while limiting settlements.
• Management: Management helps to manage equipment, personnel, and supply to build more effectively also efficiently, as well as economically.
• Structural: Structural team designs a system of structural members used to support loads for a specified public function such as bridges, buildings dams, and some towers also.
• Surveying: Survey team measures physical features including horizontal distance and elevation differences to determine the property lines and layouts of the building and produce the maps.

Q5: How are buildings classified? Place the following buildings under each category
a. Four unit apartments
b. School with a capacity of 1000 students
c. A single-unit shop.
d. Multi story Shopping complex
e. Steel machine factory

Answer: The National Building Code of India (1970) has classified the types of buildings on the basis of their occupancy as follows

• Group A: Residential Buildings
• Group B: Educational Buildings
• Group C: Assembly Buildings
• Group D: Institutional Buildings
• Group E: Mercantile Buildings
• Group F: Business Buildings
• Group G: Storage Buildings
• Group H: Industrial Buildings
• Group I: Hazardous Buildings

Following are the categories in which the buildings mentioned in the question lie

a. Four unit apartments - Group A: Residential Types of Buildings

b. School with a capacity of 1000 students - Group B: Educational Types of Buildings

c. A single-unit shop - Group E: Mercantile Buildings

d. Multi-story Shopping complex- Group E: Mercantile Buildings

e. Steel machine factory - Group H: Industrial Buildings

Q6: Distinguish the roles of the Design team and the Management team

Answer:

Following are the roles of the Design team

1. Helps to finalize the plan: The project requiring multidisciplinary inputs needs a coordinated approach among the professionals for proper integration of various design inputs. To take care of the complexities of the multidisciplinary requirements, a design team of professionals from the required disciplines shall be constituted at the appropriate stage. It is desirable that the multidisciplinary integration is initiated right from the conceptual stage itself. The team shall finalize the plan.
2. Evaluation of the Project: Project the composition of the team shall depend on the nature and magnitude of the project. Design is an evaluation and participatory process where the participation of the owner constitutes here very important input at all the stages and the same shall be ensured by the Design team.
3. Implementation of the designs: To ensure proper implementation of the design, the design team may associate during the both construction and even execution stages also. They all follow the rule of NBC clause 4.1.

Following are the roles of the Management team

1. The accomplishment of the project: The objective of the project management team is primarily to achieve the accomplishment of projects in accordance with the design and specification in a stipulated time as well as the cost framework.
2. Execute the design: The management team is also responsible for the day-to-day execution as well as the design supervision, quality control, etc. They also ensure interdisciplinary coordination during the construction stage.
3. Achieve satisfactory completion of the project: The management team is also responsible to achieve satisfactory completion of the project with regard to cost, time, and quality. Some members of the design team may also be included in this team. It is important that the leaders and members of this team, depending on the size and complexity of the projects are carefully selected considering here qualifications, experience, and expertise in these fields.

Q7: Refer to NBC, Identify the modeling requirements for the project ( from week 4).
a. Height Limitations
b. Area Limitations
c. Room sizing
d. Wall height
e. Thickness based on fire life and safety
f. Passageway requirements

Answer:

Following are the requirements of a project model as per NBC 2016

a. Height Limitations

As per NBC 2016, Part 3, Annex C for Special requirements for low-income housing in urban areas, Clause C-2.5, The height of the building shall not exceed 15 m.

b. Area Limitations

As per NBC 2016, Part 3, Annex C for Special requirements for low-income housing in urban areas, Clause C-3.3.1 every dwelling unit to be provided should have at least two habitable rooms. Even if a one-room house is provided initially it should be capable of adding a new second room in future. However, in case single room tenements are required to be provided where future additions are not possible, the carpet area of a multipurpose single room should be at least 12.5 m2. Such one-room dwelling units with a 12.5 m2 carpet area of habitable space are permitted only in case of on-site rehabilitation of slum dwellers. In a house of two rooms, the first room shall not be less than 9.0 m2 with a minimum width of 2.5 m and the second room shall not be less than 6.5 m2 with a minimum width of 2.1 m provided the total area of both the rooms is not less than 15.5 m2. In incremental housing, the bigger room shall always be the first room.

c. Room sizing

As per NBC 2016, Part 3, Annex C for Special requirements for low-income housing in urban areas, Clause C-3.3, the Following are the size requirements for each room.

Water-Closet/Bathroom

• The size of the independent water closet shall be 0.90 m2 with a minimum width of 0.9 m
• The size of the independent bathroom shall be 1.20 m2 with a minimum width of 1.0 m
• The size of the combined bathroom and water- closet shall be 1.80 m2 with a minimum width of 1.0 m.

Kitchen

The size of a cooking alcove serving as cooking space shall not be less than 2.4 m2 with a minimum width of 1.2 m. The size of the individual kitchen provided in a two-roomed house shall not be less than 3.3 m2 with a minimum width of 1.5 m.

Balcony

The minimum width of the individual balcony, where provided, shall be 0.9 m and shall not be more than 1.2 m and it shall not project beyond the plot line and on roads or pathways.

d.Wall height

As per NBC 2016, Part 3, Annex C for Special requirements for low-income housing in urban areas, Clause C-3.5, the minimum wall height of each room should be as follows.

e. Thickness based on fire life and safety

As per NBC 2016, Part 4 Fire and life safety, minimum wall thickness excluding any finishes should be as per Annex C, Table 10.

f. Passageway requirements

As per NBC 2016, Part 3, Clause 4.3, the width and length of means of access should be as per table 1.

Q8: We have identified requirements for modeling from question 7, Use these numbers from the code book and verify the numbers used in modeling the unit from week 2 to week 4. If the numbers are not reasonable, use the numbers obtained from the code book to create a revision of the model.

Answer:

a. Height Limitations

As per NBC 2016, Part 3, Annex C for Special requirements for low-income housing in urban areas, Clause C-2.5, The height of the building shall not exceed 15 m. The height of my building model is 6.7m and it is less than 15m. Hence it follows NBC guidelines.

b. Area Limitations

As per NBC 2016, Part 3, Annex C for Special requirements for low-income housing in urban areas, Clause C-3.3.1, in a house of two rooms, the first room shall not be less than 9.0 m2 with a minimum width of 2.5 m and the second room shall not be less than 6.5 m2 with a minimum width of 2.1 m provided the total area of both the rooms is not less than 15.5 m2. In incremental housing, the bigger room shall always be the first room. In my model, the area of the bigger room is 13.66m2, and the width is 3.45m which is greater than 2.5m. The area of all other rooms is more than 6.5m2 and widths are greater than 2.1m. The total carpet area of the building is 83.8m2. Hence it follows NBC guidelines.

c. Room sizing

As per NBC 2016, Part 3, Annex C for Special requirements for low-income housing in urban areas, Clause C-3.3,

• The size of the combined bathroom and water- closet shall be 1.80 m2 with a minimum width of 1.0 m. In my model, the area of the combined bathroom is 1.83m2 and the width is 1.05m.
• The size of the individual kitchen provided in a two-roomed house shall not be less than 3.3 m2 with a minimum width of 1.5 m. In my model the area of the kitchen is 8.97m2 and the width is 2.65m.
• The minimum width of the individual balcony, where provided, shall be 0.9 m and shall not be more than 1.2 m and it shall not project beyond the plot line and on roads or pathways. In my building model width of the balcony is 1.175m.

Hence it follows NBC guidelines.

d. Wall height

As per NBC 2016, Part 3, Annex C for Special requirements for low-income housing in urban areas, Clause C-3.5, the minimum wall height of each room should be as follows.

a) habitable room- 2.6m

b)Kitchen - 2.6m

c)Bath/Water closet- 2.1m

d)Corridors- 2.1m

In my model, the average height of the rooms is more than 3m which is greater than the minimum height. Hence it follows NBC guidelines.

e. Thickness based on fire life and safety

As per NBC 2016, Part 4 Fire and life safety, Annex C, Table 10 the minimum thickness of clay brick Mansory for 180 min fire rating is 170mm. In my model, the thickness of the wall is 200mm. Hence it follows NBC guidelines.

f. Passageway requirements

As per NBC 2016, Part 3, Clause 4.3, the width and length of means of access should be as per table 1. The width of the access way to the building model is more than 6m and hence it satisfies NBC guidelines.