EDITED BY DAVID ADLER

METRIC
HANDBOOK
PLANNING
AND
DESIGN
DATA
SECOND EDITION Architectural
Press
 Metric Handbook CD-ROM
Planning and Design Data
David Adler BSc DIC CEng MICE
Civil Engineering Consultant

This C D

is an invaluable time-saving tool for architects

and designers
has over 1700 symbols dealing with all the
principal building types
gives you additional search, select and
insert facilities
shows you space requirements between furniture
as well as standard sizing specifications

The drawings can be used with AutoCAD R12, R13, R14 and AutoCAD LT also with
MicroStation SE, MicroStation 95 and MicroStation TriForma and IntelliCAD 98.

CONTENTS: Notation; Design Data; Sanitary Installations; Transport; Mechanised

Movement; External Design; Workplaces; Public Buildings; High Street; Eating and
Drinking; Entertainment; Sport and Leisure; Learning and Research; Dwellings

0 7506 3293 3 CD-Rom 1999 150.00 + VAT

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 METRIC HANDBOOK
Planning and Design Data
EDITED BY

David Adler

Architectural Press

OXFORD AUCKLAND BOSTON JOHANNESBURG MELBOURNE NEW DELHI

Architectural Press
An imprint of Butterworth-Heinemann
Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford OX2 8DP

A member of the Reed Elsevier plc group

First published as AJ Metric Handbook by The Architectural Press 1968

Second edition 1969
Third edition 1970
First published as New Metric Handbook 1979
Revised reprint 1981
Reprinted 1984, 1985, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
Second edition (as Metric Handbook) 1999

Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd 1979, 1999

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in

any material form (including photocopying or storing in any medium by
electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some
other use of this publication) without the written permission of the
copyright holder except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the
Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London,
England W1P 9HE. Applications for the copyright holders written
permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed
to the publishers

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Metric handbook. 2nd ed.
1. Architecture Handbooks, manuals, etc.
2. Architecture Standards Handbooks, manuals, etc.
I. Adler, David
721'.028

ISBN 0 7506 0899 4

Composition by Genesis Typesetting, Laser Quay, Rochester, Kent

Printed and bound in Great Britain

PTLANT
REE
A

FOR EVERY TITLE THAT WE PUBLISH, BUTTERWORTH-HEINEMANN

WILL PAY FOR BTCV TO PLANT AND CARE FOR A TREE.
Contents

Preface vii 19 Studios for sound and vision

David Binns
Acknowledgements viii
20 Auditoria
1 Notation, drawing office practice and dimensional Ian Appleton and Joe Aveline
coordination
21 Community centres
2 Basic design data Jim Tanner
David Adler
22 Swimming
3 Sanitary installations and cloakrooms Gerald Perrin
Alan Tye Design Ltd
23 Boating
4 Design for the vehicle John Rawson
David Adler
24 Outdoor sports and stadia
5 Aids to pedestrian movement Peter Ackroyd and Geraint John
David Adler
25 Indoor sports
6 Landscape design Peter Ackroyd
Michael Littlewood
26 Equestrian design
7 Terminals and transport interchanges Rod Sheard and Frank Bradbeer
Chris Blow
27 Places of worship
8 Factories Leslie Fairweather, Atba Al-Samarraie and David Adler
Jolyon Drury
28 Schools
9 Industrial storage buildings Guy Hawkins
Jolyon Drury
29 Higher education
10 Farm buildings
John Weller 30 Laboratories
Tony Branton and Chris Bissell
11 Offices
DEGW 31 Museums, art galleries and temporary exhibition spaces
Geoffrey Matthews
12 Law courts
Christopher Rainford 32 Libraries and information centres

13 Retail trading 33 Houses and flats

Fred Lawson Ian Chown

14 Payment and counselling offices 34 Student housing and housing for young people
Derek Montefiore Liz Pride

15 Public service buildings 35 Homes for old people

Derek Montefiore Ian Smith

16 Primary health care 36 Hotels

Ann Noble Fred Lawson and John Rawson

17 Hospitals 37 Tropical design

Rosemary Glanville and Anthony Howard Martin Evans

18 Eating and drinking 38 Thermal environment

Fred Lawson, John Rawson and Frank Bradbeer Phil Jones
vi Contents

39 Light 44 Access for maintenance

Joe Lynes
45 Service distribution
40 Sound
Neil Spring 46 Materials

41 Structure Appendix A The SI system

David Adler
Appendix B Conversion factors and tables
42 Fire
Beryl Menzies Appendix C List of contributors

43 Security
David Adler Index
Preface
Seventeen years have passed since the last main revision of the
Metric Handbook. While the changeover from the Imperial system
of measurement to metric in the building industry has passed into
the mists of time (it started over thirty years ago), we are still in the
throes of an almost equally traumatic change. This is the change
from our British system of standards and codes of practice to ones
that will eventually be common over most of Europe, and even in
some cases over the whole world.
This radical revision of our standards is still in process. While
the information in this new edition is as up to date as possible,
further changes occur almost daily. While the basic concepts of
design are constant so the information should be adequate for
initial design purposes, the latest and fullest information should be
consulted before finalisation. The bibliographies at the end of most
of the chapters should assist in this.
In a handbook covering such a wide field as this, it is inevitable
that not everything can be as detailed as one would prefer.
Statements are made that may require qualification. When
frequently repeated, it becomes tedious to continually read terms
such as generally, normally, in many cases. The actual use of such
terms has been restricted, but the reader should treat all statements
made in the book as covered by a general proviso. Each situation
is unique, and its problems may demand solutions that break rules
found in sources such as this.
Very many people have assisted me in the preparation of this
new edition, and I have built upon the many others who were
responsible for material in earlier editions, going back to the three
special editions of the Architects Journal in 1970 that started it
off. I thank all of those that I remember in the Acknowledgements
which follow, and apologise to those whom I fail to mention.
Fuller details of major contributors than can be included in the
chapter headings will be found in Appendix C at the end of the
book.
This new edition marks the honoured passing of the doyen of
architectural reference books. I refer to Planning, The Architects
Handbook which is now not to be republished since the recent
death of its distinguished last editor, Derek Mills CBE. Planning
evolved in the 1930s from weekly notes in the Architect and
Building News, and was a vade-mecum for generations of
architects I myself found it invaluable as an engineering student
in the fifties. I have incorporated some of its material in this
new edition of the Metric Handbook, and I hope that this, while
something of a johnny-come-lately, will be regarded a worthy
successor.
A project of this scale is bound to contain errors, and I would
be grateful to be informed of any that are found. However,
neither I, the contributors nor the publishers can accept responsi-
bility for loss or damage resulting from inaccuracies or
omissions.
David Adler
November 1998
Acknowledgements

Organizations who have contributed and/or helped are: the John Jordan Paul Noble
British Standards Institution, Department of Environment, Trans- John Keenan Julian Oseley
port and the Regions, Health and Safety Executive, Institution of Alexander Kira Oliver Palmer
Structural Engineers, Steel Construction Institute, the late David Knipe Tim Pharoah
lamented Greater London Council, County Councils of Cheshire, Leslie Knopp Esmond Reid
Devon, Essex and Lancashire, and the Cyclists Touring Club. Sarah Kors David Schreiber
Individuals who have made substantial contributions to the book Mary Langshaw Steve Scrivens
are generally named in the chapter headings. In addition, the editor David Lush Jan Sliwa
has received help from a large number of other people over the years Jim McCluskey Peter Stubbs
for this and for previous editions. He wishes to express his sincere Tony McKendry Patricia Tutt
thanks to all of these. Some of those in the list below are Jay McMahan Maritz Vandenberg
unfortunately no longer with us, but deserve to be remembered. If Bruce Martin Neil Warnock-Smith
anyone is omitted from the list (which is in alphabetical order), my Colin Moore John Weller
apologies it will be due to a fallible memory! John Nelson Jeremy Wilson
Anthony Noakes David Wolchover
Peter Ackroyd Renata Corbani George Noble Zo Youd
Don Adie Susan Cunningham John Noble
Tanya Bocking Betsy Dinesen
Brian Barclay Francis Duffy A special acknowledgement to my wife Jill Adler, who took on the
Brian Brookes Peter Forbes mammoth task of proof-reading.
Geoff Burt Brenda Goddard Extracts from British Standards are reproduced with the
Ruth Cannock Selwyn Goldsmith permission of BSI under licence number PD/19990450. Complete
John Carter Godfrey Golzen copies can be obtained by post from BSI Customer Services,
Mike Cash John Gridley 389 Chiswick High Road, London, W4 4AL.
Richard Chisnell Simon Inglis Crown Copyright is reproduced with the permission of the
Mike Chrimes Geraint John Controller of Her Majestys Stationery Office.
METRIC HANDBOOK
PLANNlNG AND DESIGN DATA
Edited by DAVID ADLER BSc DIC DEng MICE Civil Engineering Consultant

The leading book on planning and design data now thoroughly revised for the second edition

An invaluable tool for all architects, planners and designers

Includes contributions from over 30 experts

30 chapters on the main building types ranging from airports, payment and counselling offices and retail trading; to

places of worship, auditoria and student housing

10 chapters on building services including tropical design, structure and security

Unique authoritative source for solving everyday planning problems

Essential reference for every design-office desk and drawing board

Over 100 000 copies sold worldwide in its various editions

Companion CD-ROM also available for transporting drawings into CAD

ISBN 0-7506-0899-4

Architectural Press
An imprint of Butterworth-Heinemann
http://www.architecturalpress.com 9 780750 608992