Fundamentals of Building Construction: Chapter 1
Life Cycle Analysis (LCA)
A comprehensive method of describing the environmental impacts of a material or product, accounting for all phases of its life from original resource extraction through final disposal or recycling
ASTM International
American Society for Testing and Materials. An organization that promulgates standards for testing, materials and methods for building constriction
Living Building Challenge
An ambitious sustainability standard that aspires to move society beyond making buildings that do less environmental harm to constructing buildings that do no harm at all, or even provide benefit to the natural environment.
Sustainability
Building to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Institute for Research and Construction (NRC-IRC)
Government agency that sponsor research and establish standards for building products and system
National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST)
Government agency that sponsor research and establish standards for building products and system
type I Ecolabel
Independent, third party certifications of environmental performance - information should be unbiased, relevant and reliable.
LEED Prerequisite
Mandatory prerequisites that contribute to points in LEED rating system
LEED Credit
Optional credits that contribute to points in LEED rating system
trade association
Organizations such as design professionals, building materials manufacturers, and construction trade groups work to develop technical standards and determine information related to their respective field of interest.
LEED
Widely applied system for evaluating building sustainability. The US Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system
general contractor
a construction entity with responsibility for the overall conduct of a construction project
subcontractor
a contractor who specializes in one area of construction activity and who works under a general contractor
occupancy
a definition of the types of activities that occur within the building or a part of the building relating to considerations of life safety
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
a federal regulation establishing equal access for persons with disabilities to public accommodations, commercial facilities, and transportation facilities
Cradle-To-Gate Analysis
a life cycle analysis extending from original resource extraction only so far as when the material or product leaves its place of manufacture
Global warming potential
a material or products life cycle contribution to global warming, caused by greenhouse gas emissions
design/build
a method of providing design and construction services in which the design and construction phases of the project are provided by a single entity, frequently used in combination with fast track constriction
design/bid/build
a method of providing design and construction services in which the design and construction phases of the project are provided by different entities, usually used in combination with sequential construction
Gant chart, Bar Chart
a series of horizontal bars represent the duration of various tasks that make up the project
access standard
a set of regulations or technical standards ensuring that buildings are accessible and usable by physically handicapped members of the population
critical path method
a technique for analyzing collections of activities and optimizing the project schedule to minimize duration and cost of a project
turnkey
a type of construction management whereby the owner contracts with a single entity that provides not only design and construction services, but financing for the project as well.
Heavy Timber construction
a type of wood construction made from large wood members and solid timber decking in a post and beam configuration, in the IBC, buildings of type IV HT construction, consisting of heavy timber interior construction and non combustible exterior walls which are considered to have moderate fire resistive properties
bearing wall
a wall that carries structural loads from floors, roofs, or walls above
non-bearing wall
a wall that is not carrying a structural load
phased construction (fast track construction)
aims to reduce the time required to complete a project by overlapping the design and construction of various project parts.
Incentive Provisions
aligns owners and contractor interests. profit sharing or bonus provisions that can provide for some portion of construction cost savings to be returned to the contractor.
construction manager
an entity that assists the owner in the procurement of construction services l
payment bond
an issued bond that assures full payment to suppliers and subcontractors
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
an organization with more than 160 member countries that sets corresponding building standards internationally
Omniclass Construction Classification System
an overarching scheme that attempts to incorporate multiple existing building information organizational systems, including MasterFormat, Uniformat and others into one system. It consists of 15 tables. "strategy that defines the built environment"
construction type
any of five major systems of building construction that are differentiated by their relative resistance to fire
performance bond
assures completion of the project (maybe by 3rd party)
building code
building codes protect public health and safety by setting minimum standards for construction quality, structural integrity, durability, livability, accessibility, and especially fire safety
International Residential Code (IRC)
by the international code council, a simplified model code addressing the construction of a detached one and two family homes and townhouses of limited size
cost plus fee compensation
compensation whereby the owner agrees to pay the contruction entity for the actual costs of construction - whatever that may turn out to be - plus an additional amount to account for overhead and profit. Owner assumes most risk, but also stands to gain from savings. Associated with design/build.
Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA)
controls the design of workspaces to minimize hazards to the health and safety of workers
Canadian Standards Association (CSA)
corresponding standards for Canada (such as ASTM International)
environmental labels
define expectations for comprehensiveness and reliability of sustainable materials and product information
sequential construction
each major phase in the design and construction of a building is completed before the next phase begins, and construction does not start until all design work has been completed
guaranteed maximum price (GMAX, GMP)
form of cost plus fee contract. In this case, there is a maximum fee that the owner is required to pay. Once compensation hits maximum price, the owner is no longer required to make additional payments and contractor assumes responsibility for all additional costs.
drawings
graphic content that describe how the building is made and of what.
Joining Agreement
in some cases of IPD, this agreement may be used to mutually bind parties contracted under separate agreements
Construction Specification Institute (CSI)
institute that has evolved over a period of many years a comprehensive outlines for organizing information about construction materials and systems, called MasterFormat
Construction Specifications Canada (CSC)
institute that has evolved over a period of many years a comprehensive outlines for organizing information about construction materials and systems, called MasterFormat (for Canada)
Critical Path
is the sequence of activities that determines the least amount of time in which a project can be completed.
integrated project delivery (IPD)
key parties, including the design team, construction team and owner agency, share mutually the responsibilities, decision making and financial risks and rewards of the project.
zoning ordinance
legal restrictions which govern the type of activities that may take place on a given piece of land eg - how much of land may be covered by the building, how gat the buildings must be set back from property lines, how many parking spaces, total floor area, and how tall the building can be
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
private organization that develops and certifies North American standards for a broad range of products, such as exterior windows, mechanical components of buildings, and even the accessibility requirements referenced in the IBC itself.
type III environmental Impact label
provide most comprehensive assessment of products and their environmental impacts on a comprehensive life-cycle basis. Do not provide ratings or judgement, they leave that to the user.
type II self-declared environmental claim
provided by product manufacturers without independent verification. Limited in scope compared to type I. Type II labels may provide useful info, users must employ their own judgment
National Building Code of Canada
published by Canadian commission on building and fire codes
International Building Code (IBC)
published by the international code council, it is the basis for most US codes enacted at the state, county and municipal levels.
surety bond
purpose of surety bond is to protect the owner form the risks of default, such as bankruptcy, by the construction contractor. Typically, a third party (surety) promises to complete the works - two separate bonds are issued - performance and payment bond.
Living Building Challenge Imperative
rating system for living building challenge, consists of 20 grouped into 7 categories called petals
lean construction
restructures all aspects of construction - its design, material manufacturing, product transport, component assembly and workforce integration - to reduce these inefficiencies and deliver a finished product of the highest possible quality.
model building code
standardized codes that local jurisdiction may adopt for their own use as a simpler alternative to writing their own.
float
systems not on the critical path that have more flexibility in their scheduling. delays in their execution will not necessarily affect overall project schedule.
MasterFormat
the comprehensive outline that the Construction Specification Institute has developed. Had 50 primary divisions and subdivided into sections
Building Information Modeling
the computerized three dimensional modeling of building systems
fixed-fee compensation / lump-sum
the general contractor or other construction entity is paid a fixed dollar amount to complete the construction of a project regardless of that entity's actual costs to perform the work. Owner has minimal risk as all costs are known to him. Works well with Design/Bid/Build
construction documents
the graphic construction drawings and written specifications to which a building is constructed
green building
the practice of sustainable design and construction
fire resistance rating
the time, in minutes or hours, that a material or assembly will resist fire exposure as determined by ASTM E119
embodied carbon
the total carbon emissions associated with a material or product throughout its life cycle
Embodied Energy
the total energy consumption associated with a material or product throughout its life cycle
embodied water
the total freshwater consumption associated with a material or product throughout its life cycle
Computer Aided Design (CAD)
the two dimensional representation of building systems
UniFormat
trademarked name for a system of organizing building information based on functional relationships. 8 Level 1 categories, when greater definition is required, these categories are subdivided into so called Level 2 classes and level 3/4 subclasses.
single-purpose entity
when the architect, contractor and owner are all joint members of the construction project
specifications
written content to describe how the building is made
