Introduction to National Building Code and Steps in a Construction project

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

National building code is a document that provides guidlines for construction of structures like residential, mercantile, industrial, educational, commercial, assembly, storage spaces and hazardous buildings. It is improtant to follow the guidelines that are meant to protect the overall health of the construction and ensures the safety of the public as well as residence. These building code is published first in 1970 and revised later in 1983. Further it was revised in 2005 and the latest version of these code is 2016.

Building codes essential for the modeling:

The building code provide a set of standards to all the structures. Therefore it gives guidelines for modeling process. These code protects the overall health of the construction as well as residence.

The designer constantly refer these building codes for modeling, which enhance their knowledge in this field. Also it enables to combine the mordern construction methods with standard conventional standards.

These standards also helps the goverment agencies to approve the plans as it become the law of particular jurisdiction when formally enacted by appropriate government or authority. Therefore it provides the building standards with the approval of government agencies for approving the plans.

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

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

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

a) Initiation

In initiation stage it is necessary to figure out the objective of the project. Determine wether the project is feasible and identifing the major deliverables for the project.

Steps involved in the initiation stage:

• Undertaking the feasibility study
• Identifing the scope
• Identifing the deliverables
• Identifing the project stackholders
• Developing a statement of works

B) Planning:

During this stage the larger project is broken into smaller tasks, built the team and prepare the schedules for the complition of assignments. To create a smaller goals with large projects making sure each is acheiveable within the time frame.

Steps invloved during the planning stage:

• Create a project plan
• Create a workflow diagrams
• Estimating the budgets
• Gathering resources
• Antipicating risks and potential quality of roadblocks
• Holding the project kickoff the meeting

c) Execution:

This phase turns plan into action. the project managers job is to keep work on track , organize team members, manage timlines and make sure that work is done according to original plan.

Steps involved in Execution stage:

• Creating tasks and organising workflows
• Briefing team members about the task
• Communicating with team members
• Monitoring quality of work
• Managing the budget as per the initiation stage.

d) Closure:

In closure phase, you provide final deliverables, release rojectresources, and determine the success of the project.

Steps involved in closure phase:

• Analyzing project performance
• Analyzing team performance
• Documenting project closure
• Conducting post implementation reviews
• Accounting for used and unused budget

4) Give examples of different disciplines involved in construction of a project

• Construction: Managing the building of civil engineering systems from beginning to end to include coordination between the owner, contractor and designer.
• Finance and estimating: Operating in the business world to include accounting, financial contracts and estimating the costs of activities.
• Contracts and bid: Demonstrating strog bidding practices and effective contract administration is integral to acquiring the next job or project as a construction manager.
• Geotechnical: Designing foundations and earthwork systems to support soil itself and tranfer loads from structures into the earth while limiting settlements.
• Managements: Managing equipments, personnel and supplies to build more effectiely, efficiently and economically.
• Structural: Designing systems of structural members used to support loads for a specfied public function such as bridges, buildings, dams and bell towers.
• Surveying: Measuring physical features to include horizontal distances and elevation differences to determine property lines, layout buildings and produce maps.

Appart from that various disciplinaries involved in construction of a projects are,

• Architect
• Civil engineer
• Structural engineer
• Electrical engineer
• Pulmbing engineer
• Fire protection engineer
• HVAC enginner
• ENvironment specialist
• Town planner
• Urban designer
• Landscape architect
• Security system specialist
• Interior designer
• Quantity surveyor
• Project manager
• Other subject specialist

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

According to NAtional building code the classification of building based on occupancy are,

Group A : Residential building

This group include building in which sleeping accommodation is provided for normal residential purposes with or without cooking or dining or both facilities comes under residdential building.

The buildings and structures under group A further sub-divided into,

• Lodging or room houses
• One or two family private dwellings
• Dormitories
• Appartment houses
• Hotels
• Hotels (stared)

Group B : Educational building

This group include any building used for school, college, other training institutions for day-care purposes involving assembly for instruction, education or recreation for not less than 20 students.

Buildings and structures under group B further sub-divided into,

• Schools upto senior secondary level.
• All others or training institutes.

Group C : Institutional building

This group include any building or part thereof, which is used for purposes, such as medical or other treatment or care of persons suffering from physical or mental illness, disease or infirmity; care of infants, convalescents or aged persons and for penal or correctional detention in which the liberty of the inmates is restricted. Institutional buildings ordinarily provide sleeping accommodation for the occupants.

Buildings and structures under group C further sub-divided into,

• Hospitals and sanstoria
• Custodial institutions
• Penal and mental institutions

Group D : Assembly buildings

This group include any building or part of a building, where number of persons not less than 50 congregate or gather for amusement, recreation, social, religious, patriotic, civil, travel and similar purposes.

Group E : Business buildings

This group include any building or part of a building which is used for transaction of business for keeping of accounts and records and similar purposes, professional establishments, service facilities, etc.

Business buildings further sub-divided into,

• Offices, banks, professional establishments, like offices of architects, engineers, doctors, lawyers and police station.
• Laboratories, researchestablishments, libraries and test houses.
• Computer installations.
• Telephone exchange.
• Broadcasting stations and T.V. stations.

Group F : Mercantile building

This group include any building or part of a building, which is used as shops, stores, market, for display and sale of merchandise, either wholesale or retail.

Mercantile buildings further sub-divided into,

• Shops, stores, departmental stores markets with area up to 500 m^2
• Shops, stores, departmental stores markets with area more than 500 m^2
• Underground shopping centres. Storage and service facilities incidental to the sale of merchandise and located in the same building shall be included under this group.

Group G : Industrial building

This group include any building or part of a building or structure, in which products or materials of all kinds and properties are fabricated, assembled, manufactured or processed.

Examples:

assembly plants, industrial laboratories, dry cleaning plants, power plants, generating units, pumping stations, fumigation chambers, laundries, buildings or structures in gas plants, refineries, dairies a,d saw-mills, etc...

Group H : Stoage building

This group include any building or part of a building used primarily for the storage or sheltering of goods, ware or merchandise vehicles or animals, for example, warehouses, cold ,storage, freight depots, transit sheds, storehouses, truck and marine terminals, garages, hangers, grain elevators, barns and stables.

Group J : Hazardous building

This group include any building or part of a building which is used for the storage, handling, manufacture or processing of highly combustible or explosive materials or products which are liable to bum with extreme rapidity and or which may produce poisonous fumes or explosions for storage, handling, manufacturing or processing which involve highly corrosive, toxic or noxious alkalis, acids or other liquids or chemicals producing flame, fumes and explosive, poisonous, irritant or corrosive gases; and for the storage, handling or processing of any material producing explosive mixtures of dust which result in the division of matter into fine particles subject to spontaneous ignition.

a. Four unit apartments - Group A : Residential building

b. School with capacity of 1000 students - Group B : Educational building

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

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

e. Steel machine factory - Group G : Industrial building

6) Distinguish the roles of Design team and Management team

a)Design team:

Helps to finalise the plan:

The project requiring such multi-disciplinary inputs need a coordinated approach among the profestionals for proper integration of various design inputs. For this, and to take care of the complexities of multidisciplinary requirements, a design team of professionals from required disciplines shall be constituted at the appropriate stage. It is desirable that the multi disciplinary integration is initiated right from the concept stage. The team shall finalise the plan.

Evaluationaries in the project:

The composition of team shall depend on the nature and magnitude of the project.Design is an evolutionary and participatory process, where participation of owner contitute a very important input at all stages, and the same shall be ensured by design team.

Implementation of the design:

To ensure proper implementaion of the design, the design team maybe associated during the construction/execution stage.

They are follow the rules of NBC clause 4.1

b)Management team:

Accomplishment of project:

The objective of project management team is primarily to achieve accomplishment of project in accordance with the designs and specification in a stipulated time and cost framework, with a degree of assurance prior to commencement and satisfaction on accomplishment.

Execution the design:

These teams shall be responsible for day-to-day execution, supervision , quality control etc... and shall ensure inter-disciplinary coordination during the construction stage.

Achieves the satisfactory completion of the project:

The team shall be responsible to achieve satisfactory completion of the project with regard to cost, time and quality. Some mebers of 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 project.

They are follow the rules of NBC clause 4.2

7) 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

a) Height limitations:

The height of building shall not exceed 15 m.

Notes:

• For buildlngs up to the height of 15 m, there is no need to provide lifts.
• Housing for the low-income group shall preferably be up to a maximum of two storeys.
• Buildings for housing beyond 15 m in height should be resorted to in exceptional circumstances and it should be governed by provisions laid down in this Code.

In my model the height of the building is 7 m which is less than 15m. Hence it follows the NBC guidelines.

b) Area limitations:

The minimum plot size with ground coverage not exceeding 75 percent, shall not be less than 40 m^2 in small and medium town and not less than 30 m^2 in metropolitan cities. Plot sizes below 30 m^2 but not less than 15 m^2 may be permitted in case of cluster planning, however, in such cases the ground coverage and FSI shall be 100 percent and 2 percent respectively.

In my model the area occupied by the building is 91 m^2 which is greater than the 40 m^2. Hence, it follows the guidelines of NBC.

c) Room sizing:

Every dwelling unit to be provided should have at least two habitable rooms. Even if 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 multipurpose single room should be at least 12.5 m^2. Such one room dwelling units with 12.5 m^2 carpet area of habitable space is permitted only in case of on site rehabilitation of slum dwellers. In a house of two rooms, first room shall. not be less than 9.0 m^2 with minimum width of 2.5 m and second room shall not be less than 6.5 m^2 with at minimum width of 2.1 m provided the total area of both the rooms is not less than 15.5 m^2. In incremental housing the bigger room shall always be the first room.

In my model the number of rooms in my building is 6 and the total area of rooms is 72 m^2 which is greater than the value specified in the code. Hence, ok.

d) Wall height:

The minimum height of rooms or spaces shall be as follows,

• Habitable room - 2.75 m
• Kitchen - 2.6 m
• Bath/water-closet - 2.2 m
• Corridor - 2.1 m

In my model all the walls have a height of 3 m which is greater than the minimum wall height specified in the code. Hence, ok.

e) Thickness based on fire and life safety:

The thickness of masonry walls is given by Table 2 of the fire and life safety section of NBC 2005.

In my model the exterior wall thickness is 230 mm and interior wall thickness is 115 mm, which is greater than the specified thickness value in the code. Hence, ok.

f) Passageway requirements:

The residential plots shall abut on a public means of access like streeth-oad. Plots which do not abut on a streethoad shall abuthont on a means of access, the width and other requirements of which shall be as given in Table 1.

In no case, development on plots shall be permitted unless it is accessible by a public street of width not less than 6 m.

In my model the passageway is satisfied with the code. Hence, ok.

8) We have identified requirements for modeling from question 7, Use these numbers from 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 mode.

This model resembles the actual modeling requirements for Project 1 of course work

In my model all the requirements are satisfied with the code book. Only thing missed is staircase unit to provide access to first floor in the building.

Provision of staircase:

• Open the model created in week 4.
• I have to provide stair in the patio.
• Click stair under the architecture tab.
• Select straight stair.
• Provide 8 raisers in the first flight and remaining 8 raisers in second flight.
• There is a need to change the furniture placements in the patio.

a) Height limitations:

The height of the building is 7m which is less than 15m. Hence, ok.

b) Area limitations:

The area occupied by the building is 91 m^2 which is greater than the 40 m^2. Hence, ok.

c) Room sizing:

The total area of rooms in my model is 72 m^2 which is greater than the value specified in the code. Hence, ok.

d) Wall height:

All the walls have a height of 3 m which is greater than the minimum wall height specified in the code. Hence, ok.

e) Thickness based on fire and life safety:

The exterior wall thickness is 230 mm and interior wall thickness is 115 mm, which is greater than the specified thickness value in the code. Hence, ok.

f) Passageway requirements:

The passageway is satisfied with the code. Hence, ok.