June 2006
362.2.2 Telephone/Data Room and Signal Room: The preferred arrangement is for two
separate rooms, one for telephone/data equipment and cabling, and one for other signal systems.
Refer to Chapters 7 and 8 of the Electrical Design Manual, and the VHA TCD Spaces and Cable
Pathways Design Guide for more information. The minimum acceptable room size for a combined
telephone/data and signal systems room serving a Functional Floor area of 10,000 sf is 10' x 14'.
The designer shall contact VHA's Telecommunications Consultant Division (TCD-194D) for
technical guidance and approval of sizing and number or rooms required. The VAHBS is intended
to facilitate maintenance and renovation in the Functional Floor area; however, renovations in the
Service Bay can still be disruptive and costly. Care shall be taken that the telecommunications
spaces are built with due care for future systems expansion or replacement.
363 Load Distribution: has not been updated; designers should note that healthcare power
densities have increased significantly in comparison to those suggested in 1977, with an
accompanying need for larger electrical closets with higher cooling needs. Prudent design
practices now suggest a greater degree of redundancy and reliability for healthcare electrical
distribution systems.
363.4 Service Module Requirements: this section is amended to add a new subsection 363.4.1
as follows.
level on walkways shall average 15 footcandles, with a
minimum walkway illumination level of 1 footcandle
provided by unswitched emergency luminaires. Provide
general illumination for non-walkway areas of 1
footcandle, coordinating luminaire locations with
ductwork and other services in the subzones. Refer to
VA PG-18-10, Electrical Design Manual Chapter 6 for
more detailed information on interstitial space normal,
emergency, and exit lighting and lighting controls.
VA Medical Center
364 Target Costs: Have not been updated to reflect
Philadelphia, PA, 1994
current market conditions and developments in
(not VAHBS, used interstitial space)
materials.
Coordination Checklist
Section 370 of the Red Book provides a coordination "checklist." The list is an inventory of
compatibility considerations that the project team needs to consider in the selection and coordi-
nation of integrated subsystems in a particular design. Most of the checklist items are applica-
ble to the design and coordination of systems and subsystems in VAHBS buildings as they were
written. Many of the concepts are applicable even to non-VAHBS buildings.
For Checklist Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, 13, 14, and 18 the term "ceiling" shall be interpreted as refer-
ring to the platform subzone S-6. Finish ceilings are suspended below the platform and define
the lower boundary of the S-7 subzone. For items 15, 16 and 17 "ceiling" shall be interpreted as
referring to either the S-6 or S-7 subzones as appropriate for the context and design selected.
SUPPLEMENT TO RESEARCH STUDY REPORT
VA HOSPITAL BUILDING SYSTEM
SECTION 4-14
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