these cases, special consideration of detail was required to accomplish

the desired results.
aluminum structure,

Standard building parts were used for every

Because of the high relative humidity, it was necessary to dehumidify buildings that were to house instruments, telephone equipment, and
other delicate equipment. Dehumidifications posed a serious problen,
because the prefabricated aluminum buildings, although excellent in
most other respects, were not inherently airtight. After considerable
study, 2 gprayed-on vapor seal was selected for use in making buildings
airtight.
This method was used with good results. The Instrument
Laboratory, the Counting and Sampling Building, and other buildings

requiring dehumidification were treated in this manner, with the vapor
seal sprayed directly on interior aluminum surfaces.

Wherever possible, single buildings of rectangular plan were designed and sized to conform with the established standard width of 24
feet inside dimension, and the lengths of the buildings were developed
in increments of four feet.
In the design of the mess hall and galley
at Parry, a cross-shaped plan was deemed the most functionally efficlient layout. The inside width of 24 feet was restrictive and made
extremely careful planning necessary to include equipment and at the
same time provide adequate work space and passage.
In the course of
the preparation of the plans for this building, it was decided that
only the north dining wing would be constructed, but provisions were
made for the addition of the south wing when and if it was required.

The north dining wing was constructed in the first increment of work,

and the south wing was added under the second increment. Later plans
called for 32-foot extensions for both wings, but changes were made
Which ultimately resulted in an additional dining room adjacent and
parallel to the north wing.
The introduction of plans requiring the intersecting and paralleling of standard building units produced the problem of designing satisfactory weatherproofing at intersections and between paralleled units.

The general building construction did not lend itself to usual methods

of intersecting roof surfaces, but this difficulty was overcome at
buildings intersecting at right angles by placing the individual building wings in the desired positions, slightly separated from ona ancther,
The intervening space was then closed with a special gutter installed
at eave height and pitched to downspouts at one or both ends, as conditions warranted. The remaining open vertical spaces in the walls above
the gutter were closed by means of special filler panels and, in conjunction with the roof gutter, formed a neat and weathertight installa-

tion, Where standard buildings were placed in parallel, they were
separated by approximately two feet and an aluminum gutter was suspended

between the building eaves.

For uniformity of construction and

LVapor seal is described in Chapter 5.21, Dehumidification, AirConditioning, and Ventilation.

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