DMG 04. Junior Ranks' Single Living Accommodation JRSLA

DEO(W) Design Guide JRSLA 2 General Functional & Design Requirements
The JR Club is the servicemen's off-duty retreat, providing bars and social rooms
for informal and organised social events.
The day-to-day working patterns of occupants will vary between units, with some
personnel working a '9 to 5', some doing shift work and others away for periods on
exercise. The organisation of the building design and the allocation of
accommodation to personnel, needs to take working patterns into account, to
minimise noise disturbance and to allow effective management and servicing of the
building.
Personnel working the same hours can be grouped within flats or discrete
accommodation blocks, reflecting company or squadron units. The smaller the size
of these blocks, the greater flexibility there is for room allocation by work team, or
for segregation into male and female designated accommodation.
The nature of this type of accommodation also means that there will be a regular
change over of personnel, due to staff postings abroad or within the UK. There
may be periods when sections of the JRSLA will be left vacant between occupants.
The design of JRSLA must assume occupation by either male or female personnel.
Accommodation is normally divided between male and female by building block or
by floors within a block, depending on numbers. The determining factor is the
number of rooms sharing the WC and ablutions. Although the design of these
facilities is unisex, male and female personnel do not share the use of WC and
ablution areas. Where ensuite facilities are provided to individual rooms there is
the opportunity for mixed corridors, but greater privacy is afforded by the
allocation of designated male and female accommodation.
Personnel returning to the JRSLA may have left an office job, technical or manual
task or be returning from a training exercise. The entrance area will be shared by
a group of bedsits, receiving considerable traffic, and will be the first area in
contact with any wet or mud brought in from outside. Access into the
accommodation blocks should progress from dirty through to clean areas to ensure
that the sitting room and bedrooms are maintained as clean areas. Utility rooms
and drying areas should be sited close to the accommodation entrance to allow
dirty and wet kit to be left before personnel enter the living areas. These rooms
can also act as a sound barrier between the circulation core and bedrooms to
minimise the noise disturbance.
2.3 LOCATION AND SITING
2.3.1 Infrastructure
The junior ranks' living accommodation should be sited within a zone dedicated to
living and mess accommodation. This should be sited away from any working zone
within the Unit to protect the sleeping quarters from noise, and provide privacy
from overlooking. General vehicle access into and within the unit should avoid
passing through this living zone.
2.3.2 Access / Parking
Service access is needed for collection of refuse, for deliveries and for fire vehicles.
General vehicle access is required to the accommodation entrance for the transport
of furniture and belongings, with a designated drop-off point.
Parking adjacent to the living accommodation is not encouraged for security
reasons. The parking rules within a unit will be determined by local security risks,
but generally parked cars are restricted to a minimum of 25m from occupied
buildings.
The provision of garaging and covered cycle storage is dealt with under JSP315
Scale 17 and detailed within Section 5 of this Design Guide.