Building Design and Safety

I will be looking at skyscraper construction and safety considerations in their engineering and design.

Here are some articles that discuss how the World Trade Center's design and engineering contributed to the collapse of the towers.

USA Today: High Rises Remain Vulnerable After 9-11
New York Times: A Nation Challenged - Building Design, Report Sees Lower Towers That Can Empty Faster


Three important issues stood out from the article research:

1. Until June 2007, no fire or safety tests were done for multiple floors in skyscrapers, to see how materials would stand up to heat. The primary reason these tests were not done was cost.
2. Cost, is a factor again when thinking of protecting existing skyscrapers from a similar fate. It is relatively inexpensive in new construction to use better flame retardant materials however it becomes prohibitively expensive to upgrade existing buildings. The policy so far has been to grandfather older buildings instead of bringing them up to code.
3. Since building code changes could takes years, engineering and design firms help draft model codes for use locally to help developers, cities, designers, etc. react quickly to current flaws in engineering and design.

Going forward, I want to find out:

1. What engineering and design methods are being considered in skyscraper construction in the United States and overseas to facilitate mass evacuations
2. Case studies in the United States, Middle East (Dubai in particular where skyscrapers are being built larger and faster with the newest engineering techniques) and Asia (Kuala Lumpur and China especially).
3. Which materials can withstand heat, wind and fire on multiple levels in skyscrapers (what is being used currently and what is being considered and why)
4. Alternatives to common engineering techniques
5. Landscape Architecture considerations for safety and evacuation from tall buildings
6. Expert opinions from architects and engineers

Some organizations and firms that are active in New York:

Building Owners and Managers Association
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
Kohn Pederson Fox Architects
Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Other sources of information on skyscraper design and safety:
Fire/Safety Building and Design- The Safety Library (also a good site for disaster safety, emergency management, terrorism, etc.)