Question 1. Building surveyor and legal process

a)         Research and critically examine the building control legislation in your State and describe what

i)          The objectives are;

ii)         How are these objectives achieved in practise; and

iii)        What changes in this legislation is forthcoming.

b)         What is the role of the building surveyor in the building control process? Examine this from the project inception through to project delivery;

c)         How are the practises of building surveyors regulated, and to your expert opinion is this regulation adequate and successful?

d)         What mediation process exists between

i)          the building surveyor and his client; and

ii)         the building surveyor and the local government?

Question 2. Assessment of Structural stability, fire resistance and the adequacy of structures in fire.

Background:

A well know German winery purchased a regional vineyard with several dilapidated but State and local Heritage listed buildings.  The new owners have a grand vision for this farm. Their vision is a boutique hotel in one of the buildings and ultra modern winery that also houses a regional art gallery and cooking school in the other. The new owners won a contract with ABC 1 for a cooking show as direct competition to MasterChef. The cooking show will use the cooking school and boutique hotel for the next season of this program. The filming is due to start in 9 months, so the pressure is on to get all approvals and construction work done before then. The Local Council’s Mayor has given their endorsement of this project, and

The most prominent structure, earmarked for the boutique hotel, is a three-storey hand cut stone building, a former convent. The building has a footprint of 2,800 square metres, and access to the above ground floors is via two magnificent stone and wood staircases. A wrought iron staircase attached to the back of the building was installed in the late 1950’s as a fire escape. Currently the building is backpacker accommodation for seasonal fruit pickers who travel through the region. A few drywall offices are found on the ground floor, together with a large kitchen.

The second building comprise of a large wood and sheet iron shed, 6,000 square metres roofed area, and  is tight against the  stone building. The shed has two sets of sliding shed style doors where tractors and trailers drove in to deliver night picked grapes on cement floors in this 9 metre high structure.

The plan:

The stone building’s ground floor will be turned into open plan offices for the winery with separate entrances to the back (1,000m2). The front part of the ground floor will be a six star reception area with wine and champagne bar (1,000m2); three small specialist shops complete the ground floor. The rest of the building will comprise of one and two bedroom guest suites, all with magnificent views of the vineyards and distant hills.  They propose 10 one bedroom and 5 two bedroom suites per floor.  The structure is sandstone with a wooden floor and metal sheet roof.

The wooden shed will have two separate uses:

1.)    Half will become a cooking school with auditorium for 200 people, cool rooms and open industrial kitchen with tasting area.  2)

2.)    The second half will be an ultra modern stainless steel winery where an Australian version of the famous German Riesling will be crafted. This part will also act as an art gallery, combining modern winery with art. The wooden structure cannot be altered, however, a steel sub frame inside the shed will host all the new building elements of both the cooking school and the winery.

The architect is frustrated by the complications of both the heritage listings and the structural stability requirements. The project manager, who wants to do the right thing, appoints your firm to do an assessment of what will be required for the proposed development to be structurally compliant.

a)         In explaining the role of a building surveyor, describe how you would go ahead about checking each of the above structures, to satisfy the loads and actions to which it may be reasonably subjected to;

b)         What actions must be taken to maintain structural stability in the event of a fire, to allow occupants to evacuate to a safe place.

c)         Please describe the required Fire safety and fire resistance ratings for each of the buildings.

Description:

A developer is proposing to build a single storey warehouse 60m wide x 100m deep with an attached three storey office building 20m x 20 m, centred at one end of the building. The construction of the warehouse is to be steel framed with metal cladding, a metal roof and a concrete floor slab. The office building is to be constructed using prefabricated concrete tilt-up walls, steel framing and a metal roof.

The front of the office building is on the street boundary and the buildings are to be located on an allotment that is 80 metres wide x 130 metres deep. It is proposed that the warehouse will be located 3 metres away from one of the side boundaries.

You will be emailed a sketch of this building.  In relation to this development, answer the following questions.

Question 1  

a)       Classify the buildings, determine the type of construction and then describe what fire resistance ratings are required for the external walls, and the floors of this building. Mark on the sketch provided, where you would expect to find fire walls and what their FRL would be.  Describe how you would check if a proposed material or building system to be used for these fire walls would actually achieve the fire resistance ratings that are required?

b)      Assuming the office building is not to be sprinklered, discuss what fire hazard properties are required for any floor materials proposed to be used throughout this building and explain why these are required and how you would know if a particular floor material from a supplier would actually meet the requirements?

c)       The warehouse has a total floor area of 6,000 square metres, which exceeds the maximum compartment size permitted under the BCA. Describe how the developer can modify the proposal so that it will comply with the compartmentation and separation requirements of the BCA. Support your answers with appropriate references, including to relevant clauses in the BCA or referenced Australian Standards.

Question 2  

a)       Calculate the number of exits required for each of these buildings and describe how you would go about checking that their location and widths would be adequate to enable the occupants to evacuate safely in an emergency.

b)      What is the maximum travel distance permitted from an individual office to an exit in this building and how is it measured? Illustrate this on a copy of the sketch provided.

c)       What do you understand a ‘required exit’ and a ‘horizontal exit’ to mean and where would you expect to find.

Description

Using the building outlined in Assessment item 2, discuss the following in relation to fire safety provisions for that project, providing appropriate BCA or other references to explain how you arrived at your determinations:

Question 1  

a)       Describe what firefighting equipment you would expect to find in this building for the occupants to use to undertake an initial attack on a fire, to facilitate the needs of the fire brigade when fighting a fire, and to control development and spread of a fire so that the occupants can evacuate the building without injury. Where would you expect this equipment to be located?

b)      What other fire safety systems would you expect to be used in this development to alert the occupants of a fire in the building and to protect them from the effects of smoke while they are evacuating to a safe place?

c)       Once the building is completed and occupied, how is the safety of building occupants maintained for the life of the building?

Question 2  

Assume you are an office employee who has been injured in a car accident and are now confined to a wheelchair. Describe the accessible features that you will need to be incorporated into this building in order for you to be able to continue to be employed and use this building.

Online quiz will include muliple choice questions.

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