Yale updates its general requirements and accessibility guidance for design

Yale’s design standards for capital projects have been updated and are now available to project teams. These new and revised specifications outline the requirements for a project, serving as a bridge between the contract and our technical specifications. These standards are intended to assist design architects and engineers in maintaining consistency on a particular project and continuity with existing university facilities, systems, and equipment.

For the summer 2025 update, there are many new general requirements spanning regulatory and directive standards to construction waste management. There is revised accessibility guidance on specialties, furnishings, and exterior improvements; a new HVAC standard; and a revised fire alarm standard. Additionally, the sustainability design standard for comprehensive scope projects now requires that Environmental Product Declarations be Red List approved.

An updated table of contents [1] and the introduction and general guidelines [2] provide an overview of changes since spring 2025 with more detail below.

Division 01: General Requirements

These specifications determine how the project is managed and executed according to Yale-specific procedures. They cover a range of topics including, but not limited to, change management, quality control, contract modifications, product requirements, and documentation.

New standards

01 21 00 Allowances: [3] This includes governing allowances. It defines the types and processing allowances on projects.
01 25 00 Substitution Procedures: [4] This includes substitutions for products during the submittal process.
01 26 00 Contract Modification Procedures: [5] This includes the handling and processing contract modifications like minor changes in the work, administrative change orders, proposal requests, change orders, and construction change directives.
01 31 00 Project Management and Coordination: [6] This includes provisions for coordinating construction operations on a project like general coordination procedures, coordination of drawings, studies, project meetings, and online software.
01 32 00 Construction Progress Documentation: [7] This provides the requirements for project schedule, project reporting, and photographic documentation.
01 45 00 Contractor Quality Control: [8] This outlines the requirements in developing and implementing a Contractor Quality Control program during construction.
01 45 29 Testing Laboratory Services Standard: [9] This provides quality control guidance for inspections and the testing of materials as required by the technical specifications and regulatory bodies.
01 50 00 Temporary Facilities and Controls: [10] This includes temporary utilities and support, security, and protection facilities.
01 60 00 Product Requirements: [11] This includes a selection of products in the project, product delivery, and storage and handling. It also outlines warranties on products and comparable products.
01 74 19 Construction Waste Management: [12] This includes waste management goals, diversion and disposal of demolition and construction waste, waste management plan, and basic sustainable building requirements.
01 81 19 Construction IAQ Requirements: [13] This includes requirements in the development and maintenance of an indoor air quality (IAQ) management plan.

Revised standards

01 06 00 General Regulatory and Directive Standards: [14] This identifies general plumbing, fire protection, HVAC, and electrical design regulatory and directive standards, codes, and references. It contains project documentation and occupational and environmental health guidelines. It also identifies the desired quality, type, and characteristics of certain materials and facilities and the regulations and standards for the design of building systems.
01 73 00 Execution: [15] These requirements govern the execution of work. This includes layout, cutting and patching, coordination of owner-installed products, progress cleaning, and the protection of installed construction.

Division 10: Specialties

10 14 00 Signage: [16] This revised standard contains general design criteria for signage and graphic standards.
10 21 13 Toilet Compartments: [17] This revised standard contains general design criteria for toilet and urinal compartments and shower stall doors.
10 28 00 Toilet, Bath and Laundry Accessories [18]: This revised section contains general design criteria for toilet, bath, shower room accessories, and custodial closets.

Division 12: Furnishings

12 24 50 Laboratory Casework: [19] This revised standard contains general design criteria for laboratory casework, countertops, sinks, and service fixtures.

Division 23: HVAC

23 36 00 Air Terminal Units, Lab and Non-Lab Applications, Equipment Requirements: [20] This new standard specifies the requirements for different types of air terminal units that are intended for use in fan-powered HVAC systems in lab and non-lab environments.

Division 28: Electronic Safety and Security

28 00 00 Fire Alarm: [21] This revised standard defines the general installation and minimum product requirements for fire alarm systems.

Division 32: Exterior Improvements

32 01 01 Exterior Improvements Design: [22] This revised standard for landscape design indicates the requirements for all Yale’s landscapes.
32 10 01 Parking Lots: [23] This revised standard describes criteria for parking design beyond municipal ordinances and local building code.
32 14 40 Bluestone Paving and Appendix A: [24] This revised standard contains criteria for bluestone paving. This standard is intended to act as a guideline for specification details. Individual site conditions and requirements must be incorporated into a project’s final specification.

These standards were developed through a collaboration between Yale’s Engineering and Energy Management, Facilities Operations, and Capital Program Support and Technical Services departments as well as a contracted engineer.