The architectural and interior design planning process - Library Finance: New Needs, New Models

Library Trends, Wntr, 1994 by Elaine Cohen

Another consideration revolves around the availability of cableways, ducts, and other aspects of wire management within the facility. Future retrofits can be expensive if horizontal and vertical power distribution has not been planned carefully. It is not necessary to run substantially more wiring than initially needed. Rather, it is wise to plan building details that will allow wiring and cabling to be added sometime in the future. Most people will think twice before they drill into a marble wall or through good oak molding. They will go to lengths (no pun intended) to avoid unsightly wires from being draped from one end of the room to another.

Knowledge of local codes is also important. Some codes restrict how wiring is run in the plenum above the suspended ceiling; ducts must be provided for that purpose. To bring the wiring down, channels may have to be cut in the plasterboard around columns or in walls. To run wiring along the floor, attractive and newly installed broadloom may have to be cut and spliced and the cement beneath chiseled to create trenches.

If the library designer chooses broadloom, then the option of using undercarpet cabling (flat wiring) closes. The fire code allows carpet tile but prohibits broadloom from hiding this form of wiring. Undercarpet cabling is an excellent retrofit device.

Obviously, the best suggestion is to prevent major wiring problems in the planning stage. During the planning process, ground rules should be created that minimize inflexibilities and thus future expenses. Architectural solutions should come first and interior design solutions second. An architectural solution may be a cellular floor and cable trays along upper walls, while interior design solutions may consist of furniture containing wire management. It is essential that these ground rules be followed during the design phases and not jettisoned the first time a schematic is displayed or opposition is voiced.

For example, since carpet tile costs about 20 percent more than broadloom, it is often hard to sell it to the powers that be. It is clearly the better choice, however. Not only can it act as a future retrofitting device, it is also easier to maintain. One can simply lift up a dirty tile and exchange it with a clean one - perhaps from attic stock or underneath a desk. Tiles in very active walkways can be replaced on a regular basis, perhaps every few years, without affecting any other areas.

Other suggestions to minimize inflexibilities concern the shape of the building's interior. Simply shaped spaces lend themselves to rearrangement whereas complicated ones do not. Whenever the spaces are simple, the resulting areas can be used in any number of ways. Complicated spaces, on the other hand, tend to define the activities that can and cannot be performed. For example, a large open area can house books, seating areas, service points, or instructional facilities, of ten by simple rearrangement, but an interior "street" that threads through alternately narrow and wide spaces may force the adjacent square footage to be used only as originally intended - as offices, group study rooms, storage areas, etc.