620
Conclusions: Limitations and Constraints
623
LIMITATIONS AND CONSTRAINTS
623.1
CONSTRUCTION TYPES
There are certain types of construction for which the Prototype Design is
not well suited. These include buildings of non-rectangular geometry,
high-rise buildings over 160 feet, low-rise buildings less than two or three
stories, and additions to existing buildings with floor-to-floor heights less
than seventeen feet.
There are also certain functional space types which are considered "drop-
outs" due to special structural or servicing requirements. They include
kitchens, laundries, cobalt rooms, boiler rooms, and the like. Many of
these areas can be incorporated within a systems building, but they may
require significant modifications of one or more of the building subsystems
by the A/E, at their location within the structure.
623.2
PLANNING AND DESIGN
Even though the planning components have been carefully studied to
assure their internal capabilities, and even though a reasonable range of
size and proportion is available for selection, nevertheless once the design
configuration has been established the A/E is obliged to work within the
boundaries of the service modules and fire sections, and this is a type of
discipline not normally encountered in new construction. It is anticipated,
however, that after the A/E has become familiar with the properties of the
entire system, he will in fact find new design freedoms to compensate for
this restriction. For example, these same planning components provide
him with design tools which can greatly facilitate the generation and
evaluation of significant configuration alternatives, for which he normally
would simply not have the time.
The system rule concerning a uniform ceiling-platform height throughout
each floor does not readily permit the variation in room height sometimes
felt to be architecturally desirable. Three types of modification are
available, however. Since it is actually the platform height which is critical
as far as system performance is concerned, a suspended ceiling below it
may be used to vary room height, if the partitions are attached to the
platform rather than the ceiling. Or in special area such as auditoriums,
an intermediate floor may be omitted to allow a full two-story space. On
the ground floor, floor levels may vary in areas not used by non-
ambulatory patients.
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