Masonry Magazine December 1992 Page. 17
Interim Design Guide
Interim design guide developed by GSA for use by federal project managers and their A/Es. Contains practical architectural, civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical design information, a list of available "hard" metric products, sample drawings, and related reference information. Both guides are available in electronic form on the Construction Criteria Base (CCB), a large database of construction criteria and standards on optical disk. For more information about the CCB, call NIBS at the above number.
GE Facility Wins Merit Award for Creativity
Federal Projects
The General Services Administration, which serves as the "federal landlord," now has over $1 billion in metric projects in the planning, design, or construction stages.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is planning about $1 billion in facilities work for its campuses in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and Denver, Colorado. Work is scheduled to be in metric.
Most of the Department of Energy's $8.2 billion Super Collider project will be constructed in metric.
Two new Smithsonian Institution facilities with a total cost of over $150 million will be built in metric. The Army Corps of Engineers, Air Force, Office of the Secretary of Defense, NASA, and the Public Health Service are conducting over $60 million in metric pilot projects with significantly more work in planning.
The $400-$500 million Defense Medical Facilities program for FY 95 is scheduled to be in metric.
The Department of State continues to build in metric with current projects totaling $275 million.
REPRINTED, with permission, from "Metric in Construction," published by the Construction Metrication Council of the National Institute of Building Sciences, Washington, D.C.
Basic Metric
THERE ARE SEVEN metric base units of measurement, six of which are used in design and construction. (The seventh, mole, is the amount of molecular substance and is used in physics.)
Quantity
length
mass
time
electric current
temperature
Unit (Symbol)
meter (m)
kilogram (kg)
second (s)
ampere (A)
kelvin (K)
luminous intensity candela (cd)
Note that "weight" in common practice often is used to mean "mass." Celsius temperature (°C) is more commonly used than kelvin (K), but both have the same temperature gradients. Celsius temperature is simply 273.15 degrees warmer than kelvin, which begins at absolute zero. For instance, water freezes at 273.15 K and at 0°C; it boils at 373.15 K and at 100°C. To move between Celsius and kelvin, add or subtract 273.15.
WINNER OF THE OHIO CONCRETE BLOCK Association's 1992 Merit Award for Creativity in Concrete Masonry, the addition to General Electric's Superabrasives' headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, was recognized for the manner in which the architect balanced the granite on the entrance with smaller modular units to create a more even flow into the existing building, which was a stri-faced, scored block. This combination of natural limestone block with large, smooth granite panels provides a pleasing contrast and focuses attention to the main entrance. Architect was James Monsul and Associates, Westerville, Ohio. Mason contractor was Hollern Masonry, Dublin, Ohio. Concrete block supplier was Oberfields, Delaware, Ohio.
Modules and Grids
THE BASIC METRIC module is 100 mm (about 4 inches; see above). Sub-modules in preferred order are 50 mm (about 2 inches), 25 mm (about 1 inch). 20 mm, 10 mm, and 5 mm. Multi-modules in preferred order are 300 mm (about 1 foot), 600 mm (about 2 feet), 1200 mm (about 4 feet), 3000 mm (about 10 feet), and 6000 mm (about 20 feet), For buildings, the metric planning grid is usually 600 mm.
Want Employee Accountability
EMPLOYEES should be held accountable for unsafe behavior on construction worksites, according to a survey of members of the American Subcontractors Association. In a survey of more than 300 of its members, 96 percent of the respondents said they support employees being accountable for their actions on worksites. 77 percent said they are willing to allow OSHA to fine their employees for safety violations.