Design Standards

The Design Requirements define the acceptable and expected design practice for SCA consultants and in-house Architects and Engineers, and are generally organized by discipline and building system. Each requirement under "Description/Design Approach" may meet or exceed applicable code requirements.

For the list of deviations requested by designers that were not accepted, please click here.

The Design Requirements can be viewed in their entirety or each technical division can be seen individually. When the PDF is opened, you can save it to your desired destination for future reference; File --> Save As. On the left side are the Bookmarks that allow you to jump to the desired section or page. For your convenience, you can also print specific sections from the Bookmark column; Right Mouse Click on the specific section and select Print Page(s).

To view the Design Requirements, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed, follow the link below to install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The 2022 NYC Construction Codes were effective as of November 7, 2022.  For the complete set of Design Requirements issued prior to the 2022 code revisions, please click the Pre-2022 NYC Construction Codes Standards Page link.

• Complete List of Design Requirements
• 0.0 - Cover
• 0.3 - Table of Contents
• 1.0 - General
• 2.0 - Site Construction
• 3.0 - Structural
• 4.0 - Building Envelope
• 5.0 - Interiors
• 6.0 - Mechanical Services
• 7.0 - Electrical and Communication Services
• 8.0 - Sustainability And Resiliency
• Complete Set of Design Requirements

The Standard Details are to be used as an aid in creating Contract Documents and are based on the SCA Standard Specifications and Design Requirements. They are to be modified to suit actual project conditions.

In order to view the Standard Details, you must have a working version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. You may download the latest viewer for free by following this link: Adobe Acrobat Reader.

To download AutoCAD *.dwg files, please go click the 'Downloads' link in the page contents section and under the Standard Details section, you can download and extract each group in its entirety.

The 2022 NYC Construction Codes were effective as of November 7, 2022​​​.  For the complete set of Standard Details issued prior to the 2022 code revisions, please click on the Pre-2022 NYC Construction Codes Standards Page link in page contents.

Complete list of standard details

The Room Planning Standards provide the design basis for all spaces in New York City Public Schools, including all intended equipment and general locations of furnishings. They clearly delineate those items to be provided by the contractor and those by the Authority. They require modification based on actual (as designed) room layout and size, and for existing rooms may end up being modified due to space and program constraints.

The following table lists changes the designer is to make to the indicated Room Planning Standards that have not been incorporated as of yet into the Drawings.  Many times changes are made to one series of drawings that may also apply to others.  Our intent is not to issue new RPS until all known modifications are incorporated.  Until the new RPS is complete, please use the matrix below to modify project drawings (based on the current RPS). 

Matrix of Changes to Existing RPS

The following link lists changes the designer is to make to the indicated Room Planning Standards that have not been incorporated as of yet into the Drawings.  Many times changes are made to one series of drawings that may also apply to others.  Our intent is not to issue new RPS until all known modifications are incorporated.  Until the RPS is revised, please use the matrix to modify the published RPS for use on the project.

Matrix of Changes to Existing RPS

Matrix of New Spaces, including Finishes

The following link lists new spaces that may be included in a POR for which a room layout has not been issued.   These new spaces are typically a combination of published RPS layouts or a reduced floor area.  Also included in the matrix are the intended finishes and furniture to be used for the space.

Matrix of New Spaces, including Finishes –Room Size per POR

In order to view the Room Planning Standards, you must have a working version of Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. You may download the latest viewer for free by following this link: Adobe Acrobat Reader.

To download AutoCAD *.dwg files, please go to the Downloads page and under the Room Planning Standards section, you can download and extract each Group in it's entirety.

Complete List of Room Planning Standard

The Standard Specifications define the materials acceptable for use in New York City Public Schools, and are based on and complement the Design Requirements. For projects that have a system that is not included in the specification, the designer is to create the section based on the formatting. Deviations from the standards on capacity projects must be approved through the Deviations Committee.

During construction submittal review, Designers are to review materials/products for their projects based on the performance criteria included in the specifications. Those items listed in the specifications can meet the performance criteria but “or Equal” products are permitted to be submitted by the Contractor as per the General Conditions and are to be reviewed by designers. Refer to Procedural Guideline 5.3.1. For a list of products that have been deemed by the Authority to not be considered “or Equal” and are thus not to be approved on a project, please click on the following link: “List of Products Deemed Not Equal”. Designers are also to ensure they do not include the items from the list in their design specifications when creating project specifications.

The Standard Specifications are available in Word format and are to be edited as applicable for all projects.

General Requirements in Division 1 are not to be changed, revised, edited or omitted for projects.

Supplementary Requirements in Division 1 are to be edited as required for the project.

In order to view the Standard Specifications, you must download it.

The 2022 NYC Construction Codes were effective as of November 7, 2022.  For the complete set of Standard Specifications issued prior to the 2022 code revisions, please scroll down to the Pre-2022 NYC Construction Codes Standards Section.

Complete List of Standard Specifications

All Drawings prepared for the SCA shall use the Standard Title Sheets to ensure consistency in presentation for all projects. The Designer shall use the appropriate sheet size and border for the project, with 24½"x 36½" being the preferred size.

In order to view the Standard Title Sheets, you will need a PDF reader installed on your machine. If you do not already have it, you can download one free of charge from Adobe's website by clicking the following link: Adobe PDF Reader.