Classical architects, drawing from ancient Greek and Roman traditions (as codified by Vitruvius), regarded building entrances as the primary expression of venustas (beauty), alongside strength and utility. Entrances served as grand thresholds, symbolizing transition from the profane exterior to the ordered interior.They achieved beauty through harmonious proportion, symmetry, and the golden ratio, ensuring visual delight.
Porticos with elegant columns (Doric, Ionic, or Corinthian), entablatures, and pediments framed doorways, creating majestic first impressions. These elements conveyed prestige, invited reverence, and embodied ideal order, making the entrance the façade’s focal point of timeless elegance and civic or domestic dignity.
We present improvements that are possible on the University of Michigan Ann Arbor campus. We acknowledge that interior design and functionality may have to change.
Mason Hall South Entrance NOW | University of Michigan
Standards of beauty for building entrances in architecture emphasize creating a welcoming, harmonious, and memorable first impression. Core principles draw from timeless design tenets like proportion, scale, balance, and emphasis, ensuring the entrance feels appropriately sized relative to the overall structure and surroundings—neither overwhelming nor insignificant.
A beautiful entrance often features symmetry or thoughtful asymmetry for visual harmony, grand yet human-scaled elements like arches, columns, porticos, or recessed doorways that add depth and shelter. Materials matter: high-quality doors (glass for transparency, wood for warmth, or metal for modernity) combined with textures that complement the building’s style create tactile and visual appeal.
Ultimately, beauty arises from blending functionality (accessibility, security, weather protection) with emotional impact: an entrance that feels inviting, ordered, and reflective of the building’s purpose or cultural context.
Mason Hall South Entrance IMPROVED | University of Michigan
Means of egress rules, primarily from the International Building Code (IBC) and NFPA 101, dictate the number and sizes of exit doors to ensure safe evacuation.
Number of exits: Most spaces require at least two exits when the occupant load exceeds 49 (for many occupancies like assembly, business, or mercantile). Loads of 501–1,000 need three exits, and over 1,000 require four or more. Single exits are allowed for low-occupant areas (often ≤49 people) with limited travel distances.
Sizes: Exit doors must provide a minimum clear opening width of 32 inches (813 mm). Required total egress width is calculated from occupant load (typically 0.2 inches per person for nonsprinklered buildings or 0.15 inches for sprinklered), distributed across exits. Doors swing in the egress direction for loads over 50 and must remain operable without keys or special effort.
These ensure adequate capacity and redundancy during emergencies. We treat security standards separately. See our CALENDAR
Anglosphere (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) ~ $31T (or ~32% of GGDP)
United States GDP $27T (or about 1/3rd of GGDP)
“Livres des Merveilles du Monde” 1300 | Marco Polo | Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Today we break down consultations on titles relevant to the technology and management of the real assets of education communities in the United States specifically; but with sensitivity to the global education markets where thousands of like-minded organizations also provide credentialing, instruction, research, a home for local fine arts and sport.
“Even apart from the instability due to speculation, there is the instability due to the characteristic of human nature that a large proportion of our positive activities depend on spontaneous optimism rather than on a mathematical expectation, whether moral or hedonistic or economic. Most, probably, of our decisions to do something positive, the full consequences of which will be drawn out over many days to come, can only be taken as the result of animal spirits — a spontaneous urge to action rather than inaction, and not as the outcome of a weighted average of quantitative benefits multiplied by quantitative probabilities. Enterprise only pretends to itself to be mainly actuated by the statements in its own prospectus, however candid and sincere that prospectus may be. Only a little more than an expedition to the South Pole is it based on an exact calculation of benefits to come. Thus if the animal spirits are dimmed and the spontaneous optimism falters, leaving us to depend on nothing but a mathematical expectation, enterprise will fade and die; — though fears of loss may have a basis no more reasonable than hopes of profit had before.”
Extended Versions Certain standards are required to be read in tandem with another standard, which is known as a reference (or parent) document. The extended version (EXV) of an IEC Standard facilitates the user to be able to consult both IEC standards simultaneously in a single, easy-to-use document.
A partial list of projects with which we have been engaged as an active participant; starting with the original University of Michigan enterprise in the late 1990’s and related collaborations with IEEE and others: (In BOLD font we identify committees with open consultations requiring a response from US stakeholders before next month’s Hello World! colloquium)
IEC/TC 8, et al System aspects of electrical energy supply
We collaborate with the appropriate ANSI US TAG; or others elsewhere in academia. We have begun tracking ITU titles with special attention to ITU Radio Communication Sector.
main(){printf("hello, world\n");}
We have collaborations with Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, Sapienza – Università di Roma, Universität Zürich, Universität Potsdam, Université de Toulouse. Universidade Federal de Itajubá, University of Windsor, the University of Alberta, to name a few — most of whom collaborate with us on electrotechnology issues. Standards Michigan and its 50-state affiliates are (obviously) domiciled in the United States. However, and for most issues, we defer to the International Standards expertise at the American National Standards Institute
* A “Hello, World!” program generally is a computer program that outputs or displays the message “Hello, World!”. Such a program is very simple in most programming languages (such as Python and Javascript) and is often used to illustrate the basic syntax of a programming language. It is often the first program written by people learning to code. It can also be used as a sanity test to make sure that a computer language is correctly installed, and that the operator understands how to use it.
A standard is a common solution to a recurring problem. The purpose of standards is to create uniform and transparent procedures that we can agree on. It is in everyone’s interest to increase quality, avoid misunderstandings and avoid reinventing the wheel every time.
Standards pave the way for more efficient and resource-efficient production. They also make it easier to procure and sign contracts, as they ensure that buyers and suppliers speak the same language.
This content is accessible to paid subscribers. To view it please enter your password below or send mike@standardsmichigan.com a request for subscription details.
This content is accessible to paid subscribers. To view it please enter your password below or send mike@standardsmichigan.com a request for subscription details.
This content is accessible to paid subscribers. To view it please enter your password below or send mike@standardsmichigan.com a request for subscription details.
“Starry Night Over the Rhône” 1888 Vincent van Gogh
Today we refresh our understanding of the moment in illumination technologies for outdoor lighting systems— related but different from our exploration of building interior illumination systems in Illumination 200. Later in 2024 we will roll out Illumination 400 (Holiday illumination) and Illumination 500 which explores litigation related to public illumination technology. As cities-within-cities the shared perimeter of a campus with the host municipality has proven rich in legal controversy and action.
Illumination technology was the original inspiration for the electric utility industry; providing night-time security and transforming every sector of every economy on earth. Lighting load remains the largest component of any building’s electric load — about 35 percent– making it a large target for energy regulations.
Our inquiry begins with selections from the following documents…
2023 National Electrical Code: Article 410 (While the bulk of the NEC concerns indoor wiring fire hazards, there are passages that inform outdoor lighting wiring safety)
…and about 20 other accredited, consortia or ad hoc standards developers and publishers aligned principally with vertical incumbents. Illumination was the original inspiration (i.e. the first “killer app”) for the electrical power industry in every nation. Its best practice literature reflects a fast-moving, shape-changing domain.
Click in today with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
Upper Wharfedale Primary Federation School District Yorkshire Dales
Outdoor lighting systems can be owned and maintained by different entities depending on the context and location. Here are some examples of ownership regimes for outdoor lighting systems:
Public ownership: In this case, outdoor lighting systems are owned and maintained by the local government or municipal authority. The lighting may be installed in public spaces such as parks, streets, and other outdoor areas for the safety and convenience of the public.
Private ownership: Outdoor lighting systems may be owned by private individuals or organizations. For example, a business owner may install outdoor lighting for security or aesthetic reasons, or a homeowner may install outdoor lighting in their garden or yard.
Co-owned: Outdoor lighting systems may be owned jointly by multiple entities. For example, a residential community may jointly own and maintain outdoor lighting in their shared spaces such as parking areas, community parks, or recreational facilities.
Utility ownership: Outdoor lighting systems may be owned and maintained by utility companies such as electric or energy companies. These companies may install and maintain street lights or other lighting systems for the public good.
Third-party ownership: In some cases, a third-party entity may own and maintain outdoor lighting systems on behalf of a public or private entity. For example, a lighting contractor may install and maintain lighting in a public park on behalf of a local government.
The ownership regime of an outdoor lighting system can have implications for issues such as installation, maintenance, and cost-sharing. It is important to consider ownership when designing and implementing outdoor lighting systems to ensure their long-term effectiveness and sustainability.
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwBpic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
