SLIA Part I cheat sheet

Vitruvius's triad - firmitas (structure), utilitas (function), venustas (beauty) - remains the canonical test applied to any building in theory questions.

Classical orders by proportion: Doric (1:7), Ionic (1:9), Corinthian (1:10) column height-to-diameter ratios, with the Tuscan simplest and Composite combining Ionic volute with Corinthian acanthus.

Pugin's True Principles (1841) and Ruskin's Seven Lamps (1849) anchor the Gothic Revival argument that structural honesty and craft are moral, not merely aesthetic, requirements.

Modernism's canonical statements: Sullivan's 'form follows function', Loos's 'Ornament and Crime' (1908), Le Corbusier's Five Points (pilotis, free plan, free facade, ribbon windows, roof garden).

CIAM's Athens Charter (1933) codified functional zoning (dwelling, work, recreation, circulation); Team X rejected it in the 1950s for lost street life and urban complexity.

Postmodernism (Venturi, Scott Brown, Jencks) replaced modernist purity with double coding, historic quotation, and the decorated shed versus the duck.

Phenomenology in architecture (Heidegger's dwelling, Pallasmaa's eyes of the skin) argues embodied sensory experience and materiality precede visual composition.

Critical regionalism (Frampton, 1983) resists both placeless universal technique and nostalgic pastiche through tectonics rooted in climate and topography.

Thermal transmittance U = 1/R_total; total R is the sum of layer resistances plus surface films (interior ≈ 0.13 m²K/W, exterior ≈ 0.04 m²K/W in still air).

Concrete characteristic cube strength fck relates to design value by fcd = αcc·fck/γc, with γc typically 1.5 (EC2) and 0.85 for sustained-load αcc.

Reinforcement cover is measured to the outer bar; durability exposure class, not member size, sets minimum cover, and fire resistance adds a separate axis-distance check.

Steel beams: plastic moment capacity Mpl = Wpl·fy/γM0; deflection limits (often span/250 or span/360) usually govern long-span serviceability.

Timber design uses modification factor kmod for load duration and moisture, plus kdef for long-term creep; service classes 1–3 reflect moisture exposure.

Moisture control rule: the vapour control layer goes on the warm side; insulation must not be sandwiched where interstitial condensation can form below dew point.

Concrete curing: 7 days for CEM I at 20 °C is the common minimum; cold weather below 5 °C requires insulated formwork and temperature monitoring.

Fire resistance is expressed in minutes (R for loadbearing, E for integrity, I for insulation); compartmentation limits spread, and protected escape routes are a separate requirement.

Standard fee stages follow work stages: inception/feasibility, concept, developed design, technical design, tender, construction, and post-occupancy, each with defined deliverables.

Architect's authority is limited: the architect certifies and administers but does not guarantee the contractor's work, and must act fairly when certifying.

Instructions must be in writing; oral instructions should be confirmed in writing within a defined period or they are not binding.

Practical completion transfers possession and risk, starts the defects liability period (commonly 12 months), and releases half the retention (often 3% of 5%).

Variations require written instruction or confirmation; valuation follows rates in the contract, then fair valuation, then a quotation.

Professional indemnity insurance is claims-made, so cover must be maintained for the limitation period after the project ends; aggregate limits apply per claim or per year.

Time bars: notice of delay, extension-of-time claims, and final account submissions each carry contractual deadlines; missing them can extinguish entitlement.

A letter of intent creates limited authority to proceed before contract execution and should cap scope, fee, and duration explicitly.

Negligence requires duty of care, breach, causation, and damage; professional standard is the ordinary skill of a reasonably competent practitioner in that field.

Contractual duties are stricter than tort duties: a contractual obligation to achieve a result can be breached without negligence.

Codes of conduct typically require competence, honesty, integrity, respect for others, and public-interest regard; conflicts of interest must be declared and managed.

Copyright in drawings and design arises automatically on creation; the client usually receives a licence for the project, not ownership of the copyright.

Statutes of limitation: contract claims commonly 6 years (12 under deed), tort claims 6 years from damage with a 15-year longstop in many jurisdictions.

Collateral warranties give funders and tenants direct contractual rights against the architect, avoiding reliance on tortious duty alone.

Health and safety duties are non-delegable in many jurisdictions; the designer must eliminate foreseeable hazards and provide information for safe construction.

Bribery, facilitation payments, and undisclosed referral fees breach professional ethics regardless of local custom; record and refuse.

Accessibility: a 1:12 ramp is the steepest common limit, with landings at intervals; door clear widths and turning circles (typically 1.5 m) are the operative dimensions.

Means of escape: travel distance limits depend on occupancy and sprinkler provision; two directions of escape are required beyond a threshold occupancy.

Daylight factor = (internal illuminance / external horizontal illuminance) × 100; useful rules of thumb target 2% average and 0.5–1% minimum over the working plane.

Stair geometry: 2R + G = 550–700 mm; riser ≤ 190 mm and going ≥ 250 mm are common public-building limits, with headroom ≥ 2 m.

Space planning: net-to-gross efficiency of 75–85% is typical for offices; structural grid usually drives column-free depth of 9–12 m.

Universal design principles: equitable use, flexibility, simple intuitive use, perceptible information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, size and space for approach.

Acoustic separation: airborne sound insulation depends on mass and airtightness; flanking paths often govern more than the separating element itself.

Fire engineering: occupancy load factors (m² per person) convert floor area to design population, which then sets exit widths and stair numbers.

Operational energy dominates whole-life carbon in most buildings; embodied carbon (A1–A5 modules) is significant for new construction and structure choice.

Whole-life carbon modules: A1–A3 product, A4–A5 construction, B1–B7 use and maintenance, C1–C4 end of life, D beyond system boundary benefits.

Heat loss: fabric transmission plus ventilation/infiltration; airtightness measured in m³/(h·m²) at 50 Pa, with 3–5 typical for good dwellings and <1 for passive.

Passive design priority order: reduce demand (form, orientation, insulation, airtightness), then supply efficiently, then renewables.

Overheating risk grows with glazing ratio and internal gains; solar control (shading coefficient, g-value) is more effective than added cooling capacity.

Renewable options: heat pumps (COP 3–4), solar thermal, PV (roughly 150–200 W/m² installed output), and district heating where density allows.

Water: low-flow fittings, rainwater harvesting, and SUDS (attenuation, permeable paving) reduce potable demand and runoff; greywater recycling needs treatment.

Green certification schemes (BREEAM, LEED, WELL) score different things: environmental performance, energy and carbon, and human health respectively.