No Small Subject-
Of course, there is a whole world history of
architectural knowledge and opinion on the design of buildings and
their interiors that is plenty enough for people to devote
entire careers to. Far too much for anyone to condense into one
little internet article. The intent of this article is not so much
to educate on the aesthetic and subjective components of design in
this area, or how to dazzle your customers with cutting-edge design, but to give you some basic facts that will effect your
design whether you like it or not. Any competent, workable
design will have to address these basic facts, which oddly enough
often get completely overlooked until much later in the game than
they ought to.
As-Built Drawings-
As part of most lease agreements for new buildings, you should
be provided a complete set of construction drawings as they pertain
to your space. This should provide you with all of the
necessary dimensional, structural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical,
etc. information on which you will base your design.
For older existing buildings where existing plans might not be
available, the first step would be to have a complete set of "as-built"
drawings done by thoroughly measuring and detailing all of the existing
conditions. Accuracy on these can be extremely important.
Errors of even just an inch or two can cause issues with complying with
codes laid out generally below.
The
Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) and CALDAG-
Whether improving a new commercial space, or remodeling an
existing one, the requirements for handicapped access as a result of
the Americans with Disabilities Act (and if
you are in California, also
CALDAG) will effect
the space planning and layout of your design dramatically. For
remodels, this is particularly true, especially in the area of
upgrading non-compliant bathrooms. And note that the
difference between the ADA and the California Building Code (covered
by the CALDAG manual) , are sometimes contradictory and difficult to
discern.
While all new commercial tenant spaces will typically have ADA
compliant bathrooms already, the initial reaction I most commonly get
from clients when remodeling old buildings is that they don't think they
really need to spend the money to upgrade old, non-compliant bathrooms.
With very few exceptions this is simply not true, and is almost always
required in the vast majority of TI's. On top of that, trying to
fight it will usually cost you more time and money than it is worth.
My advice is to bite the bullet and just deal with it from the
beginning. And for these purposes you can figure at least one ADA
compliant bathroom which requires roughly at least a 7 ft. x 7ft. clear
interior space, will most often require two of these (men's and women's)
and may require more for larger spaces. The number of required
fixtures is governed by the plumbing code, and then the minimum number
of accessible ones by the ADA and CALDAG.
In addition to this, you will generally need to provide a 44" wide
clear traveling path to all portions of the space. For restaurants
and other food service projects, this includes between tables and all
kitchen equipment but not generally between movable chairs. There
are also clear spaces required on either side of both interior and
exterior doors. And these are just a few of the basics.
You will need to provide a
complete
accessibility plan showing how you will be addressing all of the ADA
and/or CALDAG requirements. I generally provide at least three
additional full sheets of drawings and specifications delineating the
pertinent requirements.
Fire Sprinklers-
While almost any design can usually be accommodated somehow,
the expense of doing so as regards the need for fire sprinkler
coverage and the cost of this installation will have a lot to say
about what is or is not a workable, affordable design. New
commercial spaces will typically have a fire sprinkler system
already installed, but this will most commonly have to be altered to
accommodate changes to what normally is just a big, empty space.
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