standard joists

Longspan and Deep Longspan Steel Joists can be furnished
with either under-slung or square ends, with parallel chords
or with single or double pitched top chords to provide sufficient
slope for roof drainage. Square end joists are primarily
intended for bottom chord bearing.
Sloped parallel-chord joists shall use span as defined by the
length along the slope. The joist designation is determined
by its nominal depth at the center of the span and by the
chord size designation.
The depth of the bearing seat at the ends of underslung LHand
DLH-Series Longspan Joists has been established at 5
inches (127 mm) for chord section number 2 through 17. A
bearing seat depth of 7 1/2 inches (191 mm) has been established
for the DLH Series chord section number 18 and 19.



JOIST ROUND SQUARE RECTANGLE
DEPTH
8 INCHES 5 INCHES 4x4 INCHES 3x6 INCHES
10 INCHES 5 INCHES 4x4 INCHES 3x7 INCHES
12 INCHES 7 INCHES 5x5 INCHES 3x8 INCHES
14 INCHES 8 INCHES 6x6 INCHES 5x9 INCHES
16 INCHES 8 INCHES 6x6 INCHES 5x9 INCHES
18 INCHES 9 INCHES 7x7 INCHES 5x9 INCHES
20 INCHES 10 INCHES 8x8 INCHES 6x11 INCHES
22 INCHES 10 INCHES 9x9 INCHES 7x11 INCHES
24 INCHES 12 INCHES 10x10 INCHES 7x13 INCHES
26 INCHES 15 INCHES* 12x12 INCHES* 9x18 INCHES*
28 INCHES 16 INCHES* 13x13 INCHES* 9x18 INCHES*
30 INCHES 17 INCHES* 14x14 INCHES* 10x18 INCHES




i found this in: http://www.quincyjoist.com/files/SJI/intro.pdf

Sweetwater School District-Green Experience/ USGBC May Green Schools Program

To take advantage of other local green classroom building experience, contact may want to be made with the Sweetwater Union School District as soon as possible. The District has modernized several school sites as LEED certified projects. A contact for the Sweetwater School District is Jaime Ortiz, the Bond Project Manager in the planning department. The District phone number is (619) 691-5500.

To high light these green classroom buildings, the U.S. Green Building Council, San Diego Chapter's GreenMeet on May 20 will feature the Sweetwater Union High School District projects. Mr. Ortiz will be one of the speakers. The other speaker will be Joel Sharpe, LEED AP, and architect from JCJ Architecture. He is also a USGBC-SD Green Schools Advocate. The phone number for the local office of JCJ Architecture is (619) 282-9922. The finished designs of the buildings will also be presented at the GreenMeet.

Details on the GreenMeet event:

Wednesday, Mary 20, 2009
5:30 PM-8:30 PM
California Center for Sustainable Energy
8690 Balboa Avenue, Suite #100
San Diego, CA 92123

5:30 PM- Registration & Mixer
6:15 PM- Presentation and Q & A
7:45 PM- Mixer

To register go to: www.usgbc-sd.eventbrite.com
There is a sliding scale of registration fees.

Solar Lighting

Here is an article I found regarding solar lighting. It discusses a method using hybrid solar lighting and I think it would be a good idea to incorporate something similar to it or at least follow some of its principles. One drawback of this is that it could be expensive.

It's called Hybrid Solar Lighting. It's half solar and half electric. During the day, sunlight pours out of the light fixture; at night, a conventional light bulb takes over. So it's a hybrid.

How do you get sunlight to the fixture? With bundles of optical fiber--light pipes leading up to the roof. On the roof is a large dish that does not point at a satellite; it points at the sun. It concentrates the sun into the end of the fiber bundle.

The sunlight bounces twice. Once, off the big mirrored dish, then off of a smaller secondary mirror, which focuses everything down into the fiber optics. The mirror actually filters out the ultraviolet and the infrared rays. You don't have to worry about getting sunburned indoors.

What makes it practical are new plastic fibers and a sophisticated tracking system that points precisely at the sun, no matter the time of year.

There is even a psychological benefit, according to Kostas Papamichael, Associate Director of the California Lighting Technology Center in Davis. "We know that people like daylight," he says. "We know that daylight gives the best color rendering. It links us to the environment and satisfies biological needs that we have. Not necessarily at the level that you get it from a window -- and, next to it, by a skylight -- but some connection to the exterior for sure."

For our interview, we lit Kostas Papamichael entirely with sunlight from the roof, bright and clear. What's not so clear is the cost benefit. The California Lighting Technology Center is conducting an independent scientific study for the developer, Sunlight Direct. So far, it looks good, especially in a hybrid configuration. What looks like a fluorescent light bulb is actually a single, huge optical fiber. Install the fiber alongside a real fluorescent lamp and you have a 24-hour solution.

xavier: I like to learn room that is at a cool tempature . I hate a class that is hot because i overheat.

Nick: I like rooms that provides alot of light. I also like big spacious rooms. I think that big spacious rooms would be a good working enviroment for kids.

Austin: I like to learn in the library because it is quiet.It is hard for me to learn in a noisy class.

daylight affecting mood

I think the way people are affected by daylight is very important when it comes to building a house, office-building or classroom

Light is a dynamic element of the built environment. Amidst concrete, glass, and cubicle walls, light provides a critical link between the earth, the building, and the individual. In an office building, light is necessary for the employee, an operational expense for the building, and supplied by the environment. Electricity is expensive and, of all building systems, lighting is typically the largest consumer of electricity. Natural light is free, but its availability fluctuates every day in both time and quantity.
How a building is lit impacts a variety of factors, from overall building performance and space functionality, to the interior and exterior aesthetic, and the way in which the building interacts with the neighborhood and environment. While the design of the interior lights is often specified by project engineers or lighting designers, the design of the building envelope and the window-to-wall ratio rests upon the shoulders of the architect. As more windows are added into a project, more natural light is invited into the space. Incorporating natural light into an office space creates an opportunity to improve the environmental performance of the project, while promoting individual well-being and enabling capital building investments to provide better economic returns. In order to realize these potential benefits, the natural light must be effectively controlled. Today, there is a variety of technologies that provide natural light control. Architects can use these technologies as tools to tailor their designs to best fit the people and business goals of the spaces they create.
Natural Light in an Office Space and the Individual
The most basic goals in office space design are to create a place where work can be accomplished and communication can occur. Today, light is instrumental in creating that productive environment, because 90 percent of the communication in the workplace occurs visually. From reading and writing email messages to seeing aco-worker’s body language and facial expressions, people use their eyes to interpret the world around them, and their eyes require light.
The same light that is the medium for visual communication also impacts the mood, health, and behavior of the employees it touches. Both natural and electric light can illuminate a space, but they do not impact people equally. Studies have corroborated a long-held belief that there is a strong correlation between positive mood and daylight exposure. Recent studies also imply that incorporating outdoor views into the office will positively effect employee motivation, satisfaction, productivity, and comfort, which can manifest in improved employee retention and workforce output.

Follow-Up on Green Building Materials

To follow-up from the meeting last week, the following is information is about 3 green building products recommended for energy efficiency, green building and sustainability.

CoolWall Exterior Coating
- Only coating tested effective by the U.S. Department of Energy
- Goes over exisiting stucco, brick and wood
- Class "A" fire retardant
- Saves up to 21.9% on air conditioning through superior heat reflectivity
- Water resistant, won't chip, flake, peel, stain and superior fade resistance
- Limited lifetime warranty- 25 year labor warranty, lifetime product warranty
www.texcotehomes.com

Dual Pane Windows
- Can reduce home heating and cooling costs up to 15% per year
- Low "E" window glazing provides up to 50% more efficiency than clear glass and reduces ultraviolet rays that fade furniture and carpets
-Vinyl windows handle the worst weather, city pollution and daily use the best with virtually no maintenance
- Argon gas between panes provides better insulation.
www.milguard.com


GreenFiber Recycled Insulation
- 85% recycled cellulose insulation made from newsprint and without asbestos or formaldehyde
- Energy savings of at least 25% in heating costs over fiberglass
- Class 1/A Fire Rating
- Blown in insulation stays in place and provides a full cavity fill especially around recessed lights, plumbing, tiny cavities and non-uniform stud spacing.
- Notably quieter homes through reduction in noise transfer from the outside, between rooms and floors.
www.greenfiber.com

On the Structural Insulated Panels (SIP) that were brought up at the last meeting, the following websites can be accessed for further information- http://sipsteamusa.com and www.cogeneration.net.

Design Web Resources

To help the team in their search for ideas on how we can design a sustainable, modular classroom structure, here are some websites to look at...

The USGBC Build Green Schools resources page is a good starting point for all topics:
http://www.buildgreenschools.org/resources/index.html

The Site:
http://sensingarchitecture.com/2008/12/05/schools-interactive-architecture-for-learning/

Sustainable Building:
http://greenbuildingelements.com/
http://www.jetsongreen.com/
http://www.greenedia.com/groups/greenedia-green-building/blog

The Sun & Energy:
http://www.eeb-blog.org/

Structure:
http://www.buildgreenschools.org/
http://www.treehugger.com/design_architecture/
http://www.materialicious.com/posts

Environmental Health:
http://www.worldchanging.com/

I also want to encourage you to research existing versions of modular schools and see if there are some ideas you can use, and ideas that you would change from the existing models out there.
Here is one company to look at, visit the gallery and look at their case studies:
http://www.pacvan.com/modular-schools.aspx

This article from the Boston Globe is a good case study of a "green" modular classroom:
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/04/06/thoroughly_modern_modular/

good building

My idea of a good place to learn is where everything is clam, quite and peaceful. at school where I in joy leaning is in my 3 period class. My class is not the greatest but I like the fact that it has a huge window and outside there is a tree. I really like the fact that it has trees and grass at view. Because of the window my teacher doesn't really turn on the lights. which is a good thing it saves power. Now my point of a bad place to learn...
last semester I had a class in a bongelo. Witch I hated because of many reasons. one reason was that it was really hot. My teacher didn't have many windows so light didn't come in as much, therefore using more power. They where also just like those places that don't really keep you comfortable.

Modular Classroom Team Schedule

I'm looking to post a reasonable schedule that will manage the 4 weeks we have until Presentation...

building structure

my idea of the strucutre itself would be that it would be more like a college like building, with 2 floors and extended classroom. plus, i think that we should position the buildings/entrance to the building with the doors facing towards the sun or school....this will limit traffic flows and also, the stairs and ramp will create more shade and space underneath if needed for students to chill.

architecture project

im deciding that we should put buildings on top of each other and make second floors...and on that sec. floor we can have walk ways and staiways down because it will eventually limit the amount of space need to build more classroom....right now im working on sketching a design for a single class building and how we will position the stair and what it will look like.

Meeting Today

Team members met today to go over a few expectations. It's understood that this blog will be a place for us to share knowledge, research and ideas. By next Wednesday, it is expected that team members will have made individual specific contributions.

The Team and Greenhouse Builders

To address the challenge Rebuild, the San Diego Chapter of Architecture for Humanity, has posed, a team comprised of 8 high school students, 1 architecture graduate student, 1 high school teacher, and a "green" construction company formed this Spring.

The construction company, Greenhouse Builders, will play a vital role in providing the team with building materials and methods that are superior in the area of energy efficiency. This way, as we develop design solutions, such items can be implemented immediately.... as components of the sustainable modular classroom's kit of parts.

The Program

As a synopsis, our approach to the solution for this competition will be a modular structure that utilizes, if not maximizes, green construction techniques and materials/components. The structure is to be addressed as being a sustainable or "green" classroom.

It is stated in the competition outline, that it can be expected that many more classrooms will be needed as years roll forward, as our population increases. It is not always economically feasible to build new schools on expensive acreage, so being able to call for a "kit of parts" to build a simple modular and energy-efficient accessory structure adjacent to existing classrooms will be a solution principles and districts will seek. In some cases even sharing an existing classroom's exterior wall, for material and thermal savings. The construction of these modular spaces would be built on an as-needed basis, with affordability and long-term cost-effectiveness as a top priority... next to the safety and comfort of the students, of course.

Techniques that are employed in passive control systems, such as daylighting and natural ventilation can have a fortuitous effect on an individual's morale. Which hopefully, in turn, will result in improved academics for the students that rely on such spaces to provide them effective learning environments on a daily basis.

Purpose / Use

I've set this space up so the team has a place to write their ideas and share their research. Images of samples, materials, design concepts, etc are welcome.

By now you should all have an account set up at the Open Architecture site.... having followed the email that I provided you earlier tonight.