Q5.26: If we had only one sufficient access point (sized 1″ wide and 2.25″ tall) between two floor areas on a floor and were to glue in a member that would act purely as a piece to hold the dead weight rods in place (i.e. a plate with a 0.5″ diameter hole), could that access point still be sufficient or will it be ruled null due to the rod-holding members?

A: This access point would be ruled null due to the rod-holding members.  The minimum 1 in. x 2.25 in. access point discussed in Section 5.6.c of the Official Rules must be clear of any balsa wood members.

Q5.27: Could a gusset plate be added to the 4 sides of an interior column, and the floor beams will be in direct contact with these gusset plates and glued instead of direct contact with the column? (The gusset plate will be added to stiff 2 columns connections together in the floor height

A: Connections of floor beams may be in direct contact with the gusset plate rather than the interior column. However, please note that  a single gusset member may not be in contact with another gusset member and that gussets must be attached to at least two frame members already in contact (in your scenario, the […]

Q5.28: In the rules it is not clearly stated if, when building the model, all the other frame members contained in a floor, besides the perimetral beams, must be placed in the same plane in order to consider the entire floor a rentable floor area. May we place some members one on top of the other as shown in the design guide, as in case of the members placed in X, as long as they do not exceed 0.2 inch in total thickness in the connection area (Figure 14)?

A: The top of each floor must be flat and level across the whole floor area according to the first bullet point of Section 5.6.b of the Official Rules.  Teams are, however, permitted to place additional members below the floor plane as long as the other requirements of the Official Rules are met.  For example, […]

Q5.29: It is said that the team must provide access point with the specification of 1 in. wide and 2.25 in. height. Does this specification only applies for the lobby floor or the base floor or does it also applies for all the floors of the building?

A: Every single floor of the building requires an access point as defined in the Official Rules Section 5.6.c within the interior of the floor. Additionally, occupants on the lobby floor, or f =1, should be able to access the exterior of the building through at least two access points or doorways.5

Q5.25: Can we have inclined columns or bracing above the interior beams of the rentable floor area? Does it follow the rule of height clearance of 2.25 inches? Because in the strict sense, vertical columns and wall members are also an interruption to height clearance, which are allowed inside the region of rentable floor area.

A: If the inclined column or bracing interferes with the opening used for the access point then the rentable area after that bracing will not be included if it has no other access points (see Section 5.6.c of the Official Rules).  Inclined columns and bracing are permitted within the middle of the floor area as […]