Lazydad's architectural scribbling pad

ADA- American Disability Act

2006-10-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

ADA- American Disability Act:
Again I was first exposed to ADA at Bechtel. The handbook was handed over for study and the small book turned out to be a treasure for details on design guidelines for all things pertaining to the disabled.

It is worthwhile to mention a few things about designing for the disabled.

Disability also is of various forms. You could have the physically disabled person in a wheelchair, the visually impaired person or the deaf person. All of them are to be considered.
All elements of the building have to comply with the requirements. So if you are trying to cater to a wheel chair person, start with the parking area- ensure you have the dedicated reserved parking slot with the correct curb cut so that the wheel chair can get onto the sidewalk, and then there is a ramp at the entrance by the side of the steps so that the person can reach the lobby and then there are elevators that comply with their requirements (height of call buttons etc) so on and so forth till you start to design toilets with stall for the handicapped.
As my boss always insists, adding such small things during the initial design stage costs virtually nothing. Do it. There is also a chance of temporary disability. you could have an employee who has a broken leg..he could be otherwise perfectly fit for work.

I don’t think this subject need any more elaborations. Reading through the book is the only way out.

You can download the book here
http://www.access-board.gov/adaag/ADAAG.pdf

IP Ratings ( Ingress protection ratings)

2006-10-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

Ingress Protection (IP) ratings specify the environmental protection an enclosure provides.

IP stands for Ingress Protection and is the degree to which an electrical device can prevent itself from being invaded by solids or liquids. This can be particularly important as any outside interference from solids or liquids could cause an electrical device to malfunction, or worse, could cause it to be dangerous. Many liquids can act as a conductor of electricity as can fine dust particles. Solids larger than dust can also pose a threat to the workings of an electrical device. Obviously, if we picked up a metal object and managed to poke it into an electrical device, it could give us a nasty shock! For these reasons, the IP rating is very important.

The IP rating normally has two (or three) numbers:
1.Protection from solid objects or materials
2.Protection from liquids
3.Protection against mechanical impacts (commonly omitted)

IP First number - Protection against solid objects
0-No protection.
1-Protected against solid objects up to 50mm, e.g. accidental touch by hands.
2-Protected against solid objects up to 12mm, e.g. fingers.
3-Protected against solid objects over 2.5mm (tools and wires).
4-Protected against solid objects over 1mm (tools, wire, and small wires).
5-Protected against dust limited ingress (no harmful deposit).
6-Totally protected against dust.

IP Second number - Protection against liquids
0-No protection.
1-Protection against vertically falling drops of water e.g. condensation.
2-Protection against direct sprays of water up to 15 deg from the vertical.
3-Protected against direct sprays of water up to 60deg from the vertical.
4-Protection against water sprayed from all directions limited ingress permitted.
5-Protected against low pressure jets of water from all directions limited ingress.
6-Protected against low pressure jets of water,
7-Protected against the effect of immersion between 15cm and 1m.
8-Protects against long periods of immersion under pressure.

IP Third number - Protection against mechanical impacts (commonly omitted)
0-No protection.
1-Protects against impact of 0.225 joule (E.g. 150g weight falling from 15cm height).
2-Protected against impact of 0.375 joule (E.g. 250g weight falling from 15cm height).
3-Protected against impact of 0.5 joule (E.g. 250g weight falling from 20cm height).
4-Protected against impact of 2.0 joule (E.g. 500g weight falling from 40cm height).
5-Protected against impact of 6.0 joule (E.g. 1.5kg weight falling from 40cm height).
6-Protected against impact of 20.0 joule (E.g. 5kg weight falling from 40cm height).

Example - IP Rating 54
With the IP rating IP 54, the object or enclosure is protected against protected against dust limited ingress (no harmful deposit) and protected against water sprayed from all directions limited ingress permitted.

So you would probably used an IP54 fitting in a wash room, an IP55 in a landscaped area like a lawn and an IP67 or 68 for lights in a pool. The following sketch elaborated the same a little more clearly.

Acknowledgment: http://www.protectingpeople.co.uk/fire_tech/ip_explained.htm

Introduction

2006-10-12T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well, Well, Well..
As an architect, I learn a lot everyday - not just at my workplace, but also from interaction with others, from the net and some just by looking around. I hope to jot it down here. For me to refer back for details- more like a scrap book. Also wish this blog will be useful for the young architects in schools and colleges who might find some good design tips/technical information here.- things that you normally don't find in textbooks.