The architect's favorite handbook-more informative and easier to use than ever! The Architect's Studio Companion is the laborsaving design resource that architects and builders have relied on for years. Now in its fourth edition, this industry standard continues its reputation as a reliable tool for the preliminary selecting, configuring, and sizing of the structural, mechanical, and egress systems of a building. Bestselling authors Edward Allen and Joseph Iano reduce complex engineering and building code information to simple approximations that enable the designer to lay out the fundamental systems of a building in a matter of minutes and get on with the design. Now in a flex binding that makes it even easier to use, The Architect's Studio Companion, Fourth Edition provides quick access to reliable rules of thumb that offer vital help for selecting, configuring, and sizing: * Structural systems * Heating, cooling, and electrical systems * Egress provisions, including exit stairways, parking garages, and parking lots * Daylight provisions The book concludes with precalculated tables of building code height and area limitations.