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Building Codes and Regulations

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There are many details to think about when you are an Interior Designer.  We do not just create a floor plan or choose the colors and furniture without taking into consideration the codes and regulations that we have to pass.  There is a process to a project: programming, schematic design, design development, contract documents, construction administration, and post-occupancy evaluation.   Building codes are not just for architects, but also for designers.  Codes have been used in the world since ancient times near 2000 BC.  They did not reach the United States until 1875, and codes change within each state.  Building codes are constantly changing every year and even changes in each state's counties.  There is the International Residential Code which regulates all residential construction types, except singe-family residential designs.   Building codes can prevent many designers from certain layout choices, but the reason there are codes is to hel...
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Week 11: Indoor Air control and Acoustics

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Acoustics in a room are important, and how we as interior designers are going to address it.  We need to deal with the noise, but also not make it an unappealing solution.  Noise can be the simple sound of footsteps or it can be addressing how conversations will carry through the space.  Just like light, noise can refracted, reflected, diffracted, and diffused. As a designer our goal in a room is to be able to achieve some speech privacy for whoever is occupying the room at the moment.  We can do many different things to help control the acoustics.  It always depends on the type of room as well. Partitions are a great way of absorbing sound in a room.  They can reach from the ground all the way up to the ceiling creating not only a privacy wall, but it prevents the noise from the entering the other room.    A partition that also act as walls separating space visually and through acoustics. Indoor Air Quality is a huge topic to talk about ever sinc...
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Plumbing Systems

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When people think of plumbing, most people do not think that interior designers have anything to do with that.  The further I read in the chapter you see how it can affect the design of a room.  We can also help choose plumbing options that are more environmentally friendly. There are three different kinds of water that flows in the plumbing systems.  There is portable water than can be used for cooking and drinking, grey water that comes from shower, laundry, etc that can reused but not to drink, and last there is black water that could contain sewage.  Black water cannot be reused.    There were many different options for designers to choose to help lower the usage of water.  For toilets there are low-flow toilets, dual-flushing toilets, waterless urinals, and many more.  Low-flow toilets hold less water in their water closets.  More and more codes are changing so that it is a requirement to install low-flow toilets.  Dual-flushing toi...
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Ceiling Finishes

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 Ceilings are just one of the many details that we have to pay attention to as designers.  Knowing the structure of the ceiling and how to use it to our advantage can help with lighting, cooling, and heating.  There are many different kinds of ceiling finishes.  Ones that we went over in the book were cathedral/sloped ceilings, suspended ceilings, and exposed structure ceilings. Cathedral/sloped ceilings can be finished in gypsum wallboard or plaster.  Wallboard is similar to drywall and it is most often used in residential settings.  Some major disadvantages are that it does not absorb sound and it soaks up moisture, so it is not recommended in kitchens, bathrooms, or laundry rooms unless it has a moisture retardant on it.  Plaster is the other finish for cathedral ceilings.  It has been used in many historical buildings as well, and was also used for crown moldings and medallions.   This is an example of a cathedral ceiling with exposed woo...
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Flooring Construction, Materials, and Flooring Shop

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 Flooring is an important part of interiors.  They are a necessary part of a room, but are often overlooked.  They are so many details that go into flooring that is not often thought about. Construction is the first part of flooring that needs to be discussed.  First, what is the room being used for.  There is wood framing (light and heavy timber), Steel framing that can be combined with concrete as well, and just concrete construction.  Wood framing is mostly used for residential but can be used for commercial.  It is cheaper to construct especially in areas that have local timber mills.  Another common flooring material is concrete.  Concrete is also cheap to buy and very durable.  There are many different styles of construction involving concrete, most options involve pouring the concrete in place.  This image is showing concrete that is poured with concrete joist and steel reinforcement bars.    Another example of conc...
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  In our reading this week, we talked about site considerations and building enclosures.  The site of a building is picked by an architect, but where it is located will impact the job of the interior designer.  The process is broken down into divisions: Structural systems, Mechanical, plumbing, electrical systems (MPE), Enclosure systems, and Interior systems.  When an architect is choosing a site they have to take into consideration the building's relationship to sun, prevailing winds, and site additions impact energy use and natural daylight that enters the interior.  The sun is the biggest thing that impacts the interior design of a building.  The angle is constantly changing depending on the time of day and the month.  We live in the North, and during the winter the sun exposure on our buildings is more harsh.  So when building in the North the architect needs to take into mind that the South side of the building will get plenty of sun exposur...
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