SLIA Part I flashcards

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

Vitruvian triad

Firmitas, utilitas, venustas - structural soundness, functional appropriateness, and beauty. The three-part test is the oldest framework in architectural theory and is still applied to critique buildings today.

Five Points of Architecture

Le Corbusier's 1926 principles: pilotis, free ground plan, free facade, ribbon windows, and roof garden. They follow from reinforced concrete frame construction freeing walls from structural duty.

Critical regionalism

Kenneth Frampton's 1983 position that architecture should resist placeless universal technique while avoiding nostalgic pastiche, using tectonics, climate, light, and topography to root buildings in place.

Athens Charter

CIAM document of 1933 that zoned cities into dwelling, work, recreation, and circulation. Team X later criticised it for destroying street life and urban complexity.

Decorated shed and duck

Robert Venturi's distinction between buildings whose meaning comes from applied signage and ornament (shed) and buildings whose form itself is the symbol (duck).

Thermal transmittance U-value

Heat flow in watts through one square metre of construction per kelvin of temperature difference. It equals one divided by total thermal resistance, including surface films.

Thermal bridging

A path of higher conductivity through insulation, such as a balcony slab or steel lintel. It lowers overall R, risks condensation, and must be calculated separately from the clear field.

Vapour control layer position

Placed on the warm side of insulation so water vapour is stopped before it reaches the dew point. Wrong-side placement traps moisture and causes interstitial condensation and decay.

Plastic moment capacity

Mpl = Wpl × fy / γM0 for a steel section, where Wpl is the plastic section modulus. It governs bending resistance at the ultimate limit state.

kmod and kdef

Timber design factors: kmod reduces strength for load duration and moisture service class; kdef accounts for long-term creep deflection. Both are read from the relevant code tables.

Fire resistance R E I

R is loadbearing capacity, E is integrity against flames and hot gases, I is insulation against temperature rise. Each is expressed in minutes and tested independently.

Concrete curing period

Time during which moisture and temperature are maintained for hydration. Seven days is a common minimum for ordinary Portland cement at 20 °C; cold weather requires insulation and monitoring.

Practical completion

The point at which works are complete except for minor defects, possession passes to the client, risk transfers, and the defects liability period begins.

Retention

A percentage withheld from each payment, commonly 5% reducing to 2.5% after practical completion, to secure rectification of defects during the liability period.

Variation valuation

Order of valuation: rates in the contract bill, then analogous rates, then a fair valuation or quotation. The instruction must be in writing or promptly confirmed.

Claims-made insurance

Professional indemnity cover responds to claims notified during the policy period, regardless of when the work happened. Cover must therefore continue after the project ends.

Letter of intent

A pre-contract document authorising limited work before the main contract is signed. It should state scope, fee, duration, and a cap on liability.

Architect's certifying duty

When issuing certificates and valuations the architect must act fairly and independently, not as the client's agent. The duty is contractual and can be challenged by either party.

Negligence elements

A claim requires duty of care, breach of that duty, causation of loss, and recoverable damage. The standard is the ordinary skill of a reasonably competent practitioner.

Statute of limitations

Time limits for bringing claims, commonly six years for contract and tort, twelve for deeds, with a fifteen-year longstop in many jurisdictions from the act.

Collateral warranty

An agreement giving a funder, tenant, or purchaser direct contractual rights against the architect, avoiding reliance on tortious duty and its shorter limitation period.

Copyright in drawings

Copyright arises automatically on creation and usually stays with the author. The client normally receives a licence for the specific project, not ownership of the design.

Conflict of interest

Any interest that could influence professional judgement, such as a fee from a supplier or a role for a relative. It must be declared and managed in writing.

Designer health and safety duty

Designers must eliminate foreseeable hazards, reduce remaining risk, and provide information needed for safe construction, use, and maintenance. The duty cannot be delegated away.

Ramp gradient limit

One in twelve is the steepest commonly permitted ramp, with landings at intervals and at changes of direction. Steeper gradients are treated as stairs for accessibility purposes.

Two directions of escape

Required beyond a threshold occupancy so that a single fire cannot block all routes. Alternative routes must be independent and lead to a place of safety.

Daylight factor

Internal illuminance divided by unobstructed external horizontal illuminance, expressed as a percentage. A useful target is around 2% average over the working plane.

Stair formula 2R + G

Twice the riser plus the going should fall between about 550 and 700 millimetres. This matches comfortable human gait and is used to check stair geometry.

Net-to-gross efficiency

Net usable floor area divided by gross internal area, typically 75–85% for offices. Core, circulation, and structure consume the remainder and drive scheme viability.

Occupancy load factor

Floor area per person used to convert a space into a design population, which then sets exit widths, stair numbers, and sanitary provision.

Whole-life carbon modules

A1–A3 product, A4–A5 construction, B1–B7 use and maintenance, C1–C4 end of life, D beyond-boundary benefits. The framework standardises carbon reporting across a building's life.

Airtightness at 50 Pa

Air leakage measured in cubic metres per hour per square metre of envelope at 50 pascals. Good dwellings achieve around 3–5; passive-level targets are below 1.

Solar control g-value

The fraction of incident solar energy admitted through glazing. Lower values reduce overheating risk, and shading is generally more effective than adding cooling capacity.