Engineer Interior Architecture flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Net assignable area

The usable floor area assigned to a specific function, excluding corridors, partitions, columns, shafts, and exterior wall thickness. It is the basis for efficiency ratio calculations.

Efficiency ratio

Net assignable area divided by gross area. Typical office buildings fall between 0.75 and 0.85; lower values indicate heavy core, circulation, or structural area.

Accessible turning space

A clear floor area of 60 inches (1525 mm) diameter, or a T-shaped space within a 36-inch square, allowing a wheelchair user to change direction.

Adjacency matrix

A planning tool that ranks required proximity between program spaces, guiding bubble diagrams and block plans before dimensions and walls are fixed.

Occupant load factor

Floor area per occupant used to compute occupant load. Business occupancies commonly use 150 gross square feet per person; assembly concentrated uses 15 net.

Egress width factor

Inches of clear width required per occupant by egress component: 0.2 inch on level surfaces, 0.3 inch for stairs and ramps, with 36 inches minimum clear width.

Accessory occupancy

A small subordinate use, limited in area and height relative to the main occupancy, that is classified as part of the main occupancy rather than separately.

Type I construction

The most restrictive construction type, requiring noncombustible structural elements with high fire-resistance ratings, typically used for tall buildings.

Dead-end corridor

A corridor segment with egress in only one direction, limited by code to 20 feet in most nonsprinklered cases and 50 feet where sprinklered.

Exit remoteness

The required separation between two exits, commonly at least one-half the diagonal of the area served, so a single fire cannot block both routes.

Fire-resistance rating

The time in hours an assembly resists fire under standardized testing such as ASTM E119 or UL 263, including limits on temperature rise and hose stream.

Smoke barrier

A continuous membrane with a 1-hour fire-resistance rating and protected openings, designed to restrict smoke movement between compartments and support smoke control.

Class A interior finish

Interior finish with a flame spread index of 0 to 25 and smoke-developed index of 450 or less, the most restrictive classification under interior finish testing.

Critical radiant flux

A flooring flammability measure from ASTM E648, expressed in watts per square centimeter; higher values indicate greater resistance to flame spread.

Basis-of-design specification

A specification naming a specific product as the standard for quality and performance, permitting substitutions only through the stated approval process.

MasterFormat Division 09

The specification division covering finishes, including gypsum board, tile, acoustical ceilings, flooring, paints, and coatings, organized by construction work results.

Live load deflection limit

A common structural criterion of L/360 for floor beams under live load, where L is the span, intended to limit cracking of finishes and vibration.

UL fire-rated assembly

A listed combination of framing, board type, fasteners, and spacing that achieves a specific fire-resistance rating; altering any component can void the rating.

Seismic ceiling bracing

Additional grid wires, struts, and perimeter attachments required in high-seismic zones to keep suspended ceilings from falling during ground motion.

Footcandle

A unit of illuminance equal to one lumen per square foot; one footcandle equals approximately 10.76 lux. Office work planes are often designed at 30 to 50 footcandles.

Luminous efficacy

The ratio of light output in lumens to power input in watts. LED sources commonly exceed 100 lumens per watt, far above incandescent lamps.

Sound transmission class

A single-number rating of airborne sound isolation for a partition; higher values mean better speech privacy between adjacent rooms.

Noise reduction coefficient

A single-number average of sound absorption across speech frequencies, ranging from 0 for fully reflective to 1.0 for fully absorptive surfaces.

Environmental Product Declaration

A third-party verified report disclosing a product's life-cycle environmental impacts, used to compare materials and support green building credit documentation.

Health Product Declaration

A standardized disclosure of a building product's contents and associated health hazards, supporting material ingredient reporting and informed specification choices.

Construction IAQ flush-out

A procedure that ventilates a new building with outdoor air for a specified volume before occupancy to remove construction-related volatile organic compounds.

Embodied carbon

The greenhouse gas emissions associated with extracting, manufacturing, transporting, installing, and disposing of building materials, excluding operational energy use.

Contingency in estimates

A percentage allowance added to an estimate for unknown conditions; design contingency is largest at schematic design and decreases as documents are completed.

Construction change directive

A written order directing the contractor to proceed with work before price and time are agreed, used when the owner and contractor cannot settle a change promptly.

Critical path

The longest sequence of dependent activities in a schedule; activities on it have zero float, so any delay extends the project completion date.

Substantial completion

The stage when work is sufficiently complete for the owner's intended use, starting warranty periods and shifting risk of loss to the owner.

Standard of care

The level of skill and diligence ordinarily exercised by similarly situated design professionals under similar circumstances, used to judge negligence claims.

Instruments of service

Drawings, specifications, and other design documents prepared by the architect; the architect retains ownership and grants the owner a license for the project.