On Feb 12, 2009, at 12:00 AM, RECMGMT-L automatic digest system wrote:

> From: Nucoon Blake <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: February 11, 2009 5:33:37 PM EST
> Subject: Construction of Archival Building - Brief for Architects
>
>
> Does anyone know how to prepare a briefing report for Architects  
> for the construction of a new building to house archival collections.
>
> I know that the functions of the building should be included as  
> well the specifications based on relevant standards.  However  I do  
> not have a clue what a Architect's brief looks like.
>
> I should be most grateful if anyone can provide me with a sample of  
> such a brief.
>
> Best regards
> Nucoon

From: Stephen Cohen <[log in to unmask]>

>> Briefing books should include the following
>> General responsibilities of owner, general contractor, and architect.
>> Would be good to include who is responsible for keeping records  
>> and what
>> to do with records at completion of project.
>> Work breakdown structure - essentially a timeline showing tasks,
>> time/resources allocated to each task and sub-task, completion dates,
>> milestones, and similar data
>> Project details like room/space dimensions, simple floor plans and
>> elevations, listing of spaces with measurements
>> RFIs - questions and answers to be resolved through interaction among
>> owner, contractor and architect.

In many of these programming studies, they look at bad data and  
perpetuate it. For example if you have 10,000 sq. ft and you were  
only allowed to expand into 1,000 sq. ft over a 10 year period, they  
assume that your growth is 100 sq. ft. per year.  This limitation of  
growth might have been due to budget limitations.

Now you are building a new facility and you need to look at how  
things should have been done. Your planning may be based on pulling  
records back from offsite storage and eliminating that expense.  In  
order to do that, these records need to be considered.   Or for the  
last ten years you may not have allowed agencies or departments to  
send records to you because you lacked the space.

Under NFPA 232 Protection of Records Standard, you are officially the  
Responsible Party and you are charged with selecting and working with  
the fire protection engineer.  This provides a great deal of power to  
you. By working with the Fire Protection Engineer you can control  
many issues. (Shelving arrays, vault design and protection,  
sprinklers, clean agents, fire exits and so on.)  If there will be a  
electronic storage or server vault as part of the archive ( as many  
archives have web sites which display materials via a web site.) then  
a Server Room is in play and NFPA 75 is in play for designing this room.

Many architects will pull out NFPA 232A and this is no longer the  
controlling document.  Make sure they have a copy of NFPA 232 - 2007  
which is the current version.

You should be able to provide a volume of records for each  
classification and also for each format (paper microfilm and media)  
as they each have their own environmental requirements.  So the  
Appropriate ANSI or ISO Standards should be provided. ( ISO 154891  
should be in there.  For various media ISO 17799, 18923, 18925.) Also  
provide an annual growth rate per type of record so the archival  
storage areas are adequate.

Too often they forget to provide the appropriate display areas for  
certain parts of the collection. This ability to bring traffic to the  
archive, display your rare or valued collections in a safe manner is  
important.  Why have an archival center if you can't display  
anything.  This is how you create interest and garner funding for the  
future.  So NFPA 909 Protection of Cultural Resources has some  
helpful ideas by borrowing from the Museum planning.

I would also meet with your Mobile Shelving suppliers as they are  
really helpful in planning how to store your collection in the most  
efficient manner.  Otherwise your architect may gather the  
information and you may not be happy with way to decide to store it.   
An architect will often use a cheap shelving company or leave out  
appropriate expansion just so the entry is stunning and there is a  
fountain somewhere.  If you like fountains and don't mind climbing  
ladders all day to retrieve things then leave it all up to the  
architect.

If not then you have a lot of work to do.

Vendors can be a great resource.  They do the project you are going  
to do "once" in your lifetime every week somewhere. Shelving is as  
complicated as heart surgery, work with a pro. Sure many records  
manager believe we vendors are as fun to work with as a diseased  
chicken but they often defend you from a clueless architect. Each  
year millions of records are lost in fires because some architect  
made the mistake of believing he or she could build a vault using  
multiple payers of gypsum board. They cannot!!  Metal doors that are  
fire rated are not the same thing as a vault door.  They never get  
this simple point.  They do not get the idea that media needs  
different fire protection than paper.
( Class 350 versus Class 125)  They also don't get that microfilm  
needs a different temperature and humidity than paper or even  
computer media.

Architects are generalists.  Today they design a hospital, tomorrow  
an office building, next week a gas station, then a month later an  
apartment building.  If you do your research ahead of time, you will  
know more about an archive project that the designers.  You can  
intimidate them into including you in every meeting about design with  
you bringing your own fire protection engineer who is beholden to you  
not the architect.  And then guess what?  You have the project you  
need at the end instead of telling everyone a year later how they  
screwed it all up. I have been involved in about 1,400 projects and  
where the records manager, and or archivist is in control, the end  
result if much better.

Where vendors assist you, you will have many of these programming  
issues resolved before you even meet with the architect.  I also  
suggest you talk with Shirley Kuhns who designed the City of Las  
Vegas Records Center which was one of the best records manager  
designed projects I have ever been involved with.

Best of Luck.


Hugh Smith
FIRELOCK Fireproof Modular Vaults
[log in to unmask]
(610)  756-4440    Fax (610)  756-4134
WWW.FIRELOCK.COM


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