B.Arch CurriculumFree, forever
A tribute to Amogh N P
Building Services for Special Buildings
A house has services; a tower has systems. As buildings grow tall and complex, their services — water, drainage, power, lifts, air-conditioning and fire safety — stop being simple installations and become engineered systems that the architecture must be designed around. This sequel to the first services course covers the high-rise and special-building scale: pumping water up a hundred metres against gravity, moving thousands of people by lift, cooling a sealed glass tower, and — above all — keeping everyone safe when it burns.
Course byAmogh N P· Architect & interior designer
The syllabus
5 units · 5 liveTranscribed from the official B.Arch syllabus. All 5 units are live as full interactive lessons, each with original diagrams, a self-assessment quiz and a studio task.
Unit 1 — Water Supply for Tall Buildings
LiveWater demand and storage; the high-rise distribution systems — down-feed, up-feed and hydro-pneumatic; and pressure zoning with break-pressure tanks and pressure-reducing valves, because static head must be kept within fixture limits.
Unit 2 — Drainage & Sanitation
LiveDrainage systems for tall buildings — one-pipe, two-pipe and single-stack; venting and anti-siphonage to protect trap seals; and on-site sewage treatment, greywater reuse, refuse chutes and rainwater harvesting.
Unit 3 — Electrical & Vertical Transport
LiveElectrical services — HT/LT supply, substation, standby DG and distribution; and vertical transportation — lift types, speeds and capacities, traffic analysis, the zoning of lift banks and sky lobbies, and escalators.
Unit 4 — HVAC & Ventilation
LiveAir-conditioning for large buildings — the central plant, chillers (air- vs water-cooled), AHUs and ducting, the refrigeration cycle and the ton of refrigeration, and VRV/VRF; and mechanical ventilation of basements, car parks and kitchens (air changes per hour).
Unit 5 — Fire Safety & Smart Buildings
LiveFirefighting for high-rise — wet and dry risers, down-comers, sprinklers, hydrants, the static tank and pumps, detection and alarm, refuge areas and pressurisation; and intelligent building management systems integrating HVAC, fire, security and energy.
Course outcomes
What you will be able to doApply water supply and pressure zoning to a high-rise building.
Design drainage, sanitation and waste systems for tall buildings.
Apply electrical services and vertical transportation (lifts, escalators).
Apply HVAC and mechanical ventilation to large buildings.
Apply fire-safety systems and intelligent building management.
Integrate building services with architectural design at scale.
The author
Amogh N P
Architect, interior designer, and creative polymath. Studio Matrx began in his notebooks — his vision of design made honest, useful, and open to everyone. Its Academy is written and taught in his memory, and free, forever.
More about Amogh →A house has services; a tower has systems.
High-rise water, drainage, power, lifts, HVAC and fire safety. Read the five units, study the diagrams, then test yourself.
The curriculum is free, forever