ISO 2848

International standard ISO 2848 (Building construction - Modular coordination - Principles and rules, International Organization for Standardization, 1984) is an ISO standard used by the construction industry. It is based on multiples of 300 mm (30 cm) and 600 mm (60 cm). The numbers 300 and 600 were chosen because they are preferred numbers due to their large number of divisors - any multiple can be evenly divided into 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 25, 30, etc., making them easy to use in mental arithmetic. This system is known as "modular coordination". A related standard is British Standards 6750.

Basic module

The standard unit of ISO 2848 is a basic module, a length of 10 centimetres (3.937 in) which is represented in the standards by the letter M. Adherence to the standard means that major dimensions such as grid lines on drawings, distances between wall centres or surfaces, widths of shelves and kitchen components are multiples of the basic module. As dimensions increase, preference is given to lengths which are multiples of 3 (see metric foot), 6, 12, 15, 30 and 60 basic modules. For smaller dimensions, the submodular increments ¹⁄₄ M (see metric inch) and ¹⁄₂ M are preferred.

Metric foot

A metric foot^[1][2] is a nickname for a preferred number length of 3 basic modules (3 M), or 30 centimetres (11.811 in). The 30 cm metric ruler was a similar length to the traditional imperial one-foot ruler. A metric foot is 4.8 millimetres (0.189 in) shorter than an imperial foot.

Although the term "metric foot" is still occasionally used in the United Kingdom, in particular in the timber trade, dimensions are most likely to be quoted exclusively in metric units today.

The sizes of the studios at BBC Television Centre in London, which opened in 1960, are specified and measured in metric feet, in contrast to film stages where imperial feet and inches prevail.

Metric inch

A metric inch^[1][2] is a nickname for a preferred ¹⁄₄ subdivision of an ISO 2848 basic module, or ¹⁄₁₂ of a metric foot measuring 25 millimetres (0.984 in). A metric inch is 0.4 millimetres (0.016 in) shorter than an inch.

The term was similarly used to refer to the historical Soviet Bloc practice of spacing integrated circuit pins at ¹⁄₁₀ of a 25 mm "metric inch" length, instead of the western practice of ¹⁄₁₀ of an imperial inch.

Further reading

• British Standard BS 6750: Modular coordination in building.
• Martin Kempton: An unofficial history of Television Centre
• A similar naming and metric rounding has been done for various measures called a "Metric mile"
• The Pied was used in France between 1812 and 1839, which was ¹⁄₃ of a metre

References

1. Timber and Plywood Annual, Middlesex Publishing Company, 1969, p. 26
2. Encyclopedia of Distances, Springer, 2014, p. 597, ISBN 3662443422