A trucking company intends to build a warehouse/distribution center in a suburban industrial area. The building will be used for short term storage and for breaking down large truck loads to smaller loads for delivery to stores and customers. The space requirements include:

Warehouse: rooms & spaces Number Area (sq. ft.)

Storage area 1 12,000

Loading Docks 4

2 for 50 foot semi trucks and

2 for smaller delivery trucks

Dispatcher’s office with access to loading docks 160 Office area

Four offices 4 160 each

Secretarial 1 250

(includes copy machine and file cabinets)

Washroom for office staff 1

(1 toilet and 1 sink)

Reception/waiting area 1 180

Washroom for guests & truckers 1 Warehouse employees

Lunch room for 10 employees 1 300

(with space to store personal items)

Conference room 1 400

Washroom for warehouse employees 1

(1 toilet & 1 sink – there should be direct access from storage area)

Building support spaces

Utility/maintenance closet 1 50

Mechanical equipment to be on roof

Compactor/garbage room 1 100

Exterior spaces

Parking spaces for 20 cars

Parking area large enough for one 55 foot semi-trailer truck

Drives and space to maneuver semi-trailer trucks

2 bins (3’ by 5’ each, 1 for garbage & 1 for recycling, both with access from street)

The areas listed above are approximate net space requirements and do not include walls or corridors. In order to design reasonably shaped spaces, some rooms may be a little smaller or larger (say, 10% less to 20% more) than shown. The gross area of the building, including walls and corridors (that is, unusable space) should not be over 20,000 square feet. For sizes not given (e.g., washrooms), see Ching or Architectural Graphic Standards.

The site is zoned for industrial use, and the zoning regulations require a ten foot set back along all sides of the property. The set back applies to the building, not to parking or drives. The fire code requires two exits minimum. The frost line is 3’-0” below grade. All utilities are in the right of way for Greenfield Road.

The minimum clear height in the storage area should be 16 feet. The height of other rooms should be a minimum of eight feet. However, large spaces usually have higher ceilings.

Use of spaces

The goods will be stored cartons on pallets. They will be moved within the storage area by forklift trucks.

All of the loading docks should be at (or adjustable to) the height of the truck beds. Goods should be protected from rain or snow while being loaded and unloaded.

Truckers will do their paper work in the reception/waiting area. The secretary will handle most paper work and will be the main office person that the truckers deal with. Provide a counter as the divider between the secretary’s area and truckers’ waiting area. Trucks leaving the warehouse must have an okay from the dispatcher. Therefore it is important that the dispatcher have direct access and good sight lines to the four loading docks.

The other four offices can be on the same level as the storage area or on a second level. One advantage of a second level is to allow management to have good views of the site and/or warehouse floor. The disadvantage is the need for stairs. The conference room will be used for meetings with office staff and also with the warehouse staff.

The lunch room will be available to all employees for lunch or coffee breaks and should have lockers for them to store personal items. It should include space for a sink, small refrigerator, and a microwave. Any or all of these spaces also can be on a second level.

Design criteria

The owner has established the following criteria for the design.

- Efficient movement of goods within building

- Security of building and site

- Efficient truck access from road to the loading docks and efficient movement of trucks on site (Note that the trucks will back up to the loading docks.)

-A sustainable building and site

Structural soundness, fire and other safety, and reasonable costs are always criteria.

Requirements for Phase 1 (Phase I design )

1. Site plan. The preliminary site plan should show the building (in outline; not the floor plan), parking areas, driveways and pavement, location of garbage bin, and other exterior work. All edges of pavement should be shown. Use dimension lines to locate the building (at least one corner) from the property lines and to indicate size and location of parking and other pavement. (Drainage or other earthwork does not need to be shown for this phase.) The site plan must be in an engineering scale.

2. Floor plan(s). The preliminary plan(s) should show all spaces, doors, windows, and built in equipment or furniture (e.g., counters). For preliminary purposes assume that walls are 6” thick. Use dimensions to locate one side of wall; do NOT dimension the thickness of the walls. The rooms should be labeled on the drawing. The floor plan must be in an architectural scale.

3. Letter to the president of the company (make up a name) explaining your design (half to full page).

The explanation should explain why you designed it as it is and how it meets his criteria. Do not describe what can be seen in the plans.

Phase 1 can be drawn by hand or in AutoCAD or a combination of both. The site plan in AutoCAD 2012 is on Blackboard.

Phase 2 will be a group project to develop one plan in greater detail. Groups will be identified and Instructions provided later