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Design Rationale: The Space Module
a. Clear sightlines in intensive care units.
Any space module may contain, or has the capacity to be modified
to contain, specialty units such as intensive care. These units
typically require the direct visual surveillance of all patients from a
central nursing station. Planning studies indicated that this
requirement could always be met if column-free areas measuring at
least 40 feet in their short dimension were provided.
b. Free planning of narrow cores.
The support facilities in core-type space modules are contained in a
central core which may vary in width from twelve to thirty or more
feet. The core is typically divided into small rooms, and this division
can be expected to change much more frequently than the
partitioning of the bedrooms. When such cores are at the narrow
end of the scale of widths, a column creates a significant
impediment to plan adaptability, especially at the lower floors of a hi-
rise tower. Columns are therefore to be excluded from narrow core
type modules.
c. Possible changes in corridor location.
A common location for interior columns is along one side of the
corridor. This location is undesirable as the corridor may move,
either during the detailed planning stage (when the structure may
already be under construction) or in future alterations. Examples in
which the corridor may move include:
(1) An upgrading of bedroom sanitary facilities, say from lavatory
only to lavatory, toilet and shower per bedroom.
(2) The conversion of a General Medical Nursing Unit to an
Intensive Care Unit.
2. Identification of Permissible Column Locations.
a. Columns may occur at the perimeter of any building.
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