Choose Your Battles: ArchiTalks

You have to choose your battles.  A few years ago, we went down to Virginia to meet with the local code officials about an impending project for a preliminary plan review.  Every jurisdiction is different in how they apply the codes and we wanted to get everything straight before we got close to formally submitting plans for approval.  The Code Official and the Senior Plan Reviewer were there as well as two representatives from the Fire Marshal’s office.  Everything went fine and we asked our questions and we were able to judge how this jurisdiction was going to be to work with.

When we ran out of our prepared questions, we asked if anyone there had any pet peeves or things they like to see.  It is good to ask this but it is a bit of a loaded question and can also be the opener to the proverbial Can ‘O’ Worms.  It turns out the Fire Marshal doesn't really like vinyl siding or engineered lumber (TGI’s).  Their reason for the aversion: vinyl siding “is like solid gasoline” and “TGI’s fail too soon”.  Now, both of these items are tested and rated like any other construction material.  Both sides of the table knew that the design called for both, and both sides also knew that it was perfectly acceptable, according to all prevailing building codes.  The fact that they don’t like those materials really didn't matter much.  But for a response, we listened and nodded our heads and that was it.  We all knew those two products would be in the project in the end and arguing about it now would only cause our local hosts to feel less amiable towards the out of town architects.  So we basically zipped it while we indicated we understood their point of view.

Melted vinyl siding as a result of a fire.  Photo Credit:  Scott Eklund/Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A little like insanely hot silly string when engulfed, I bet.

Okay, these TJI's might fail on the right...  Photo Credit:  Weyerhaeuser.com.

But their pet peeves were something I had not heard before, and they weren't done there.  We were only about 2 ½ hours away from our home office, in basically the same climate zone, but apparently down there mulch in planting beds will ignite and consume buildings with fire.  The Fire Marshal asked that we keep mulch as far away from the building as possible.  Their cautionary tale is an example I wish I was creative enough to imagine on my own.  Picture it.  It’s free Pancake Day at the local IHOP and the line is wrapped around the building.  (Pancake Day is March 7th in 2018, so mark your calendar).  Someone in line thoughtlessly flicks a lit cigarette into the IHOP’s mulch bed.  Poof – the solid gasoline, I mean vinyl siding, bursts into flames.  No one was hurt, but many a folk went without their free pancakes.

Mulch fires do happen apparently...  Photo Credit:  Trappefire.org.

What do you say to that?  In the end we said we would talk to our landscape designer about running a boarder of pea gravel around the building in lieu of pushing mulch beds right to the exterior walls.  But in reality, we know we wouldn't be able to pay for all that gravel.  There was nothing else we could have said to assuage their fears.  Our meeting was over, it was lunch time, and suddenly we were in the mood for pancakes.

This post is part of the ArchiTalks series where a group of us (architects who also blog) all post on the same day and promote each other’s blogs. This month’s theme is "Eureka" and was led by Stephan Ramos.  A lot of other talented writers who also are architects are listed below and are worth checking out:

Mark R. LePage - EntreArchitect (@EntreArchitect)
Limit Their Stress By Limiting Their Choices

Eric T. Faulkner - Rock Talk (@wishingrockhome)
Choices -- Your turn

Brian Paletz - The Emerging Architect (@bpaletz)
A million choices

Jeffrey Pelletier - Board & Vellum (@boardandvellum)
How Do You Deal with Choices During the Design Process?

Lee Calisti, AIA - Think Architect (@LeeCalisti)
choices

Keith Palma - Architect's Trace (@cogitatedesign)
Slow… merge… stop

-->Michele Grace Hottel - Michele Grace Hottel, Architect (@mghottel)
"Choices..."

-->Lora Teagarden - L² Design, LLC (@L2DesignLLC)
Choices

Architectural ABC's - Part Three

Part Three:
Although architects may know these terms and even use them often, the history and source of these terms in relation to their modern usage was in fact an interesting journey for me while researching them.  Aside from their alphabetical first letter, there was neither rhyme nor reason as to their selection, other than the etymological ancestry.  Here are 'Q' through 'W'.  Any help on X, Y and Z would be appreciated.

Quoins – are the expressive corner pieces in masonry wall.  They are often ‘faked’ in contemporary architecture using coated foam shapes.  Originally they were a legitimate reinforcing technique to support corners of walls that were spanned between with thinner stones.  In the Renaissance, quoins became exaggerated in order to impress upon the onlooker a feeling of strength.  Its origin is the same as the English word ‘coin’, both coming from the Latin ‘cuneus’ for wedge, or wedge shaped stone.  I guess you can say one is the cornerstone of an edifice, the other is the cornerstone of a free democracy.

Quoins on both corners at this intersection in Rome.

Reglet – is a linear architectural trim piece.  The term is often used when it involves flashing, or shedding of water from one surface to another.  The word is derived from the Latin ‘regula’ meaning straight edge.

The reglet here is along the rake, transitioning between stucco and metal flashing.

Scaffold – is a raised platform often seen used in the present participle of “scaffolding”.  Prior to its common use as a work surface for people and building materials working on architectural endeavors, it was commonly used to refer to the raised platform for the execution of criminals.  Earlier origins may be in the Italian word catafalco, which was the wooden framework supporting the coffin or body of a person during a funeral.  Maybe that is why erecting scaffolding is so darn expensive, because in the past, it was literally your last stop.

Scaffolding used to lay up masonry in a stair tower.

Terrazzo – is a flooring material made from chips of marble and granite set in a binder that is polished to give it a very smooth finish.  Many schools and public buildings have these floors because they last nearly forever and are abuse resistant.  The word terrazzo literally means “terrace” and the latin root terra means “earth”.  Invented by Italians to be a low cost alternative to stone slab floors, it is now a very high end material in terms of cost.

Used in schools because of its bullet proof nature, this is the school I went to 30 years ago, exactly the same today.

Urn – this form is found in Federal and Georgian Revival styles of architecture in decorative treatments in wood façade features as well as other decorative carvings in buildings.  The urn was very popular in furniture making in the 16^th and 17^th centuries, and as the two fields shared woodworking crafters, it may have migrated.  Urns symbolize immortality and the word comes from the Latin ‘urna’ for earthen vessel for ashes or water.

The urn often makes its way into the pediment, as in this example from downtown Lancaster.

And another here.

Vinyl – what architectural materials cannot be made of this stuff?  Most commonly, building materials are made from PVC, or polyvinyl chloride.  But who knew that the word origin of vinyl comes from the Latin ‘vinum’ which means wine because of ethyl alcohol’s role in the chemistry of it.  The word as we know it originated with German Chemist Hermann Kolbe in 1851.

Vinyl can do a lot of things - here is is shown on the inside and outside of the building at the same time.  It can look pretty convincing and also meet fire ratings and smoke spread requirements. 

Wainscot – or ‘wainscoting’ is the paneling on an interior wall, typically on the lower portion and today for aesthetic purposes only.  The term in its current use has been around from the 1500’s, but the term may come from the Low German ‘wagenschot’ in the 1300’s – having to do with wagon and coach building from boards used for paneling.  I’ve come to realize that almost everyone has their own pronunciation for this word.

Some of the nicest I've ever seen in a skilled nursing facility, wainscot can really set off a room.

Resources:

Dictionary.com

myEtymology.com

Wikipedia.org

Next:  Part 4, X Y and Z

Choose Your Battles

You have to choose your battles.  A few years ago, we went down to Virginia to meet with the local code officials about an impending project for a preliminary plan review.  Every jurisdiction is different in how they apply the codes and we wanted to get everything straight before we got close to formally submitting plans for approval.  The Code Official and the Senior Plan Reviewer were there as well as two representatives from the Fire Marshal’s office.  Everything went fine and we asked our questions and we were able to judge how this jurisdiction was going to be to work with.

When we ran out of our prepared questions, we asked if anyone there had any pet peeves or things they like to see.  It is good to ask this but it is a bit of a loaded question and can also be the opener to the proverbial Can ‘O’ Worms.  It turns out the Fire Marshal doesn't really like vinyl siding or engineered lumber (TGI’s).  Their reason for the aversion: vinyl siding “is like solid gasoline” and “TGI’s fail too soon”.  Now, both of these items are tested and rated like any other construction material.  Both sides of the table knew that the design called for both, and both sides also knew that it was perfectly acceptable, according to all prevailing building codes.  The fact that they don’t like those materials really didn't matter much.  But for a response, we listened and nodded our heads and that was it.  We all knew those two products would be the project in the end and arguing about it now would only cause our local hosts to feel less amiable towards the out of town architects.  So we basically zipped it while indicated we understood their point of view.

Melted vinyl siding as a result of a fire.  Photo Credit:  Scott Eklund/Seattle Post-Intelligencer
A little like insanely hot silly string when engulfed, I bet.

Okay, these TJI's might fail on the right...  Photo Credit:  Weyerhaeuser.com.

But their pet peeves were something I had not heard before, and they weren't done there.  We were only about 2 ½ hours away from our home office, in basically the same climate zone, but apparently down there mulch in planting beds will ignite and consume buildings with fire.  The Fire Marshal asked that we keep mulch as far away from the building as possible.  Their cautionary tale is an example I wish I was creative enough to imagine on my own.  Picture it.  It’s free Pancake Day at the local IHOP and the line is wrapped around the building.  (Pancake Day is March 7th in 2018, so mark your calendar).  Someone in line thoughtlessly flicks a lit cigarette into the IHOP’s mulch bed.  Poof – the solid gasoline, I mean vinyl siding, bursts into flames.  No one was hurt, but many a folk went without their free pancakes.

Mulch fires do happen apparently...  Photo Credit:  Trappefire.org.

What do you say to that?  In the end we said we would talk to our landscape designer about running a boarder of pea gravel around the building in lieu of pushing mulch beds right to the exterior walls.  But in reality, we know we wouldn't be able to pay for all that gravel.  There was nothing else we could have said to assuage their fears.  Our meeting was over, it was lunch time, and suddenly we were in the mood for pancakes.