Building Research Station Research Articles

Technical Information Services of Architecture in Great Britain Service Activities in the British Building Research Station

Technical Information Services of Architecture in Great Britain Service Activities in the British Building Research Station

The anechoic and reverberant rooms at the Building Research Station

The anechoic and reverberant rooms at the Building Research Station are described, attention being concentrated on the design details. The behaviour of the laboratories since they were completed is briefly discussed.

Technical information for architects

The Building Research Station (BRS) financed a research contract at the York Institute of Advanced Architectural Studies to try and improve their means of communication with architects, as it was felt that the results of much building research were not being used. Alternative methods of presenting information in research papers were sent to selected architects' offices. Two interview surveys were conducted, to establish architects' attitudes to and requirements from research information, and to took at thecontext into which that information fitted: the architect's office. Two postal surveys were also carried out. Broadly, architects want their technical literature to be tailored to their situation. They want the use of architectural convection and language whenever possible. Visually trained themselves, they show a heavy preference for papers with a high content of visual material, particularly in the form of architectural and scaled drawings. Papers should be brief and to the point, and should leave out the experimental orientation which is sometimes the concomitant of conventional research papers. The findings and the design recommedations may be relevant for others needing similar design reference material, such as industrial designers and engineers.

TORNADOES IN SOUTH‐EAST ENGLAND, 25 JANUARY 1971

WeatherVolume 26, Issue 8 p. 344-347 TORNADOES IN SOUTH-EAST ENGLAND, 25 JANUARY 1971 K. J. Eaton, K. J. Eaton Building Research Station, GarstonSearch for more papers by this author K. J. Eaton, K. J. Eaton Building Research Station, GarstonSearch for more papers by this author First published: August 1971 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1477-8696.1971.tb04213.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume26, Issue8August 1971Pages 344-347 RelatedInformation

Strain measurements at the GPO Tower, London

This paper describes a research project undertaken at the Building Research Station to measure wind pressures on the GPO Tower, London, and dynamic strains in the tower shaft. The development of a suitable pressure transducer, which uses strain gauges as sensors, is described together with the installation at the tower. Some of the problems of strain gauging large civil engineering structures are outlined.

Effects due to groups of buildings

For the past 5-10 years architects have realized the need for information on the aerodynamics of the environment around groups of buildings. The high wind speeds in precincts around tall or exposed buildings have surprised their designers who have sought remedies, and the publicity about windy environments around existing buildings has led to requests for advice about developments on the drawing board. In the absence of a general theory for the prediction of air flow patterns and wind speeds around groups of buildings, the problem has been studied in wind tunnels. The paper describes typical town centre developments in which a problem of wind environment has arisen, and gives a brief account of the investigation of specific cases. The broad conclusions from some twenty case studies made by the Building Research Station in response to inquiries from industry are summarized. In seeking to generalize, a series of investigations of the air flow around small groups of idealized model buildings has been conducted, and some comparisons between model and full-scale measurements have been made. This has led to a design method for use in planning the layout of small groups of buildings, which draws on the data from model tests and also meteorological information and comfort criteria. This work is outlined, and future research needs are also discussed.

Colour in buildings 1870–1969 : Building Research Station Library Bibliography232, 1969; abstr. in Building Science Abstracts

Colour in buildings 1870–1969 : Building Research Station Library Bibliography232, 1969; abstr. in Building Science Abstracts

Permanent supplementary artificial lighting of deep hospital wards

Possible methods of lighting deep hospital-ward-units, having restricted fenestration and reduced ceiling height have been investigated at the Building Research Station in co-operation with the Department of Health and Social Security. The experimental work was conducted in a full-scale mock-up of a six-bed bay, 7-9 m deep and 6-25 m wide with a 2-75 m ceiling height. With such a ceiling height and restricted fenestration, the daylight falls below the recommended minimum daylight factor and a sense of gloominess at the rear of the ward is experienced. Methods of supplementing the available daylight with artificial lighting were developed to dispel the gloominess by increasing the luminance of critical surfaces. Recommended levels of additional luminance required on the upper quarter of the side walls at the back of the bed-space and on the window wall were determined by subjective observations for glazed areas of 30 and 20 per cent of the window wall area. The results are summarized in tables, and details of experimental designs of suitable lighting fittings are given.

COWLS IN THE OLD DEER PARK

WeatherVolume 24, Issue 12 p. 513-518 COWLS IN THE OLD DEER PARK L. F. Daws, L. F. Daws Building Research Station, GarstonSearch for more papers by this authorR. E. Lacy, R. E. Lacy Building Research Station, GarstonSearch for more papers by this author L. F. Daws, L. F. Daws Building Research Station, GarstonSearch for more papers by this authorR. E. Lacy, R. E. Lacy Building Research Station, GarstonSearch for more papers by this author First published: December 1969 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1477-8696.1969.tb03132.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Volume24, Issue12December 1969Pages 513-518 RelatedInformation

Composite material for school partitions

A new structural material, glass reinforced gypsum, has been developed at the Building Research Station (BRS). The material and its application in school partition walling was described and demonstrated in a series of seminars held at the station last November. Dr. B. Steele the Assistant Director of BRS in introducing the material said “one way we see our role at BRS is to develop new materials and introduce them into the construction industry”

The strengths of cements reinforced with glass fibres

Synopsis Fibrous composite materials utilizing ceramic fibres and inorganic cements offer a potential source of new lightweight, strong and durable materials. Commercial glass fibres now available are not durable in an alkaline medium of the kind present in most hydrating cements; a new alkali-resistant glass has been developed at the Building Research Station to surmount this difficulty. Because this has renewed interest in the subject, and to provide a yardstick for the effectiveness of the new glass, composites made with commercially available glass fibres and various inorganic binders were studied to find suitable methods of fabrication and to establish the behaviour of the material. This paper describes the influence of type of matrix, age and glass content upon the impact, tensile and bending strengths of composites fabricated by a simple spray-suction technique. On the basis of the properties developed before chemical interaction between glass and cement becomes dominant, it can be foreseen that, given a durable glass, the composites will have pronounced advantages over existing sheet materials in respect of impact strength, bending strength and resistance to cracking. As supplies of alkali-resistant fibre become available, the programme will be repeated with this material.

A new plan for operative training in the construction industry

In setting up training recommendations and introducing new concepts to craft training, the Construction Industry Training Board and its staff fortunately broke with tradition and, armed with a timely survey report of construction occupations by the Building Research Station, courageously by‐passed a maze of committees and organisations to develop a new plan of training for construction operatives. When the plan was presented for adoption in June of 1968 it was received with some dismay and hostility by some Board and Building Committee members but was allowed to proceed on a pilot basis. Original plans were scaled down and the mechanical engineering services course was deferred for a year, but a break‐through had been made and a chance for meaningful change and progress was at hand. The year 1968/69 was to be a crucial one for the future of building craft training.

A discussion on the origin and treatment of noise in industrial environments - A study of problems of noise in offices

The work now being carried out by the Building Research Station on the problems of work in offices has arisen from a series of more general studies of the office environment (Langdon 1959, 1963, 1965; Collins & Langdon 1960; Langdon & Keighley 1964) in the course of which the attitudes of office workers toward the social, functional and physical features of their surroundings were related to measurements of the main physical aspects, such as space, lighting, heating, noise and so on. The principal aim of these inquiries was to reveal particular problems associated with the type of office being studied, and to assess physical standards as related to comfort and satisfaction, particularly when these could not be defined operationally.

A note on the traffic noise index and the equivalent sound level

Recent Continental work has suggested the use of a complex method, the “equivalent sound level”, in the physical assessment of noise-nuisance. Work at the Building Research Station on traffic noise has led to the development of a simpler index closely related to residents' expressed dissatisfaction with their traffic noise conditions. The paper compares the two methods as predictors of dissatisfaction.

Design of Rhodium-Platinum Furnace Elements

The design of high temperature furnaces incorporating internally wound 20 per cent rhodium-platinum heating elements has been developed and improved over many years at the Building Research Station. The type of construction described here permits a higher furnace temperature to be obtained for a given winding temperature than is possible with other constructions, and yet enables good working lives to be achieved.

TORNADOES IN BRITAIN DURING 1963–6

WeatherVolume 23, Issue 3 p. 116-124 TORNADOES IN BRITAIN DURING 1963–6 R. E. Lacy, R. E. Lacy Building Research Station, GarstonSearch for more papers by this author R. E. Lacy, R. E. Lacy Building Research Station, GarstonSearch for more papers by this author First published: March 1968 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1477-8696.1968.tb07358.xCitations: 12AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume23, Issue3March 1968Pages 116-124 RelatedInformation

Paper 5: Services in Relation to Building Design and Environment

Engineering services nowadays account for between 20 and 60 per cent of the cost of construction, and are a major factor in operating costs of buildings. They must be provided as economically as possible and in proper relation to the design of the building and the needs of the users. The paper explores this theme from two aspects (1) thermal conditions, and plant sizing in relation to building design and (2) standardization of services for specific building types. The general effects of structural mass and window design are first discussed briefly and it is shown how these factors affect the temperature within naturally ventilated buildings in summer. Nominally sealed buildings are then considered and the size of refrigeration plant required for an office is discussed in terms of similar factors and in relation to the design conditions. Such relationships should be taken into account during sketch plan design. The paper considers service cores in multi-storey buildings, where the plan of the building lends itself to a measure of standardization in the services. This theme is developed with particular reference to mechanical ventilation for the service cores in a 17-storey block of flats. Some details of this installation are given and used as a basis for discussing standardized services. Greater use of such systems, designed on a once-for-all basis and catalogued, would reduce the effort devoted year by year to similar design situations. The examples used are drawn from current work of the Building Research Station.

Book Review: Houses and People: A review of user studies at the Building Research Station by W. V. Hole and J. J. Attenburrow, H.M.S.O., 1966, pp. 56, 27/6

Book Review: Houses and People: A review of user studies at the Building Research Station by W. V. Hole and J. J. Attenburrow, H.M.S.O., 1966, pp. 56, 27/6

Blastfurnace slag as aggregate for concrete

Summary Blastfurnace slag is an important source of dense aggregate for concrete. In an investigation lasting six years the Building Research Station has compared the properties of slag aggregates with those of crushed limestone and river gravel. Six slagsfromfive different works were tested, some being typical slags sold regularly for use as aggregate and others chosen to test the effect of specific chemical or physical characteristics. Concretes made with all these slags as coarse dense aggregate were tested for compressive and transverse strength, dimensional stability and sulphate resistance. Reinforced concretes were tested for metal corrosion. A number of tests were also made on concretes in which slag constituted both the coarse and the fine aggregate. The present paper gives the results of all these studies except the observations made concerning reinforced concrete which are the subject of a separate paper in this issue. It is shown that blastfurnace slags currently produced provide material for coarse aggregate for concrete which is satisfactory in every respect.

Houses and People: A Review of user studies at the the Building Research Station

Houses and People: A Review of user studies at the the Building Research Station