Friday, February 22, 2008
Emergency Preparedness Experts: Giegerich's Budget Line
Remlu Inc. is a top emergency preparedness expert company that considers all offices involved in keeping a building safe (corporate management, building staff, and building tenants) when creating preparedness plans for individual buildings. Remlu looks at building structure, possible hazards, staff size, building location, tenant demographics, and local building laws and regulations to create the most effective plan. I plan to profile this company and possibly others like it to learn how each of these components contribute the best safety plan for different types of high-rises in New York City. I will also investigate how necessary companies like Remlu are for safety, how many buildings employ such experts, and if there is a push from the government for high-profile builders, contractors and businesses to at least consider all the aspects of building safety that Remlu does, if not to hire a consulting firm like Remlu.
History: Safety and the Bottom Line
BUDGET LINE:
Changes in New York City building code meant to make life in high-rises here safer have followed disasters like a devastating 1911 fire that claimed about 150 lives and the Sept. 11 attacks. But economic concerns have had a similarly substantial impact on high-rise construction and maintenance. Often, the two concerns – economic and safety – clash. With the memories of Sept. 11 still fresh, the history of how building construction has evolved in the world’s tallest city can help explain how safe skyscrapers here are now, if many are still vulnerable, and why.
Changes in New York City building code meant to make life in high-rises here safer have followed disasters like a devastating 1911 fire that claimed about 150 lives and the Sept. 11 attacks. But economic concerns have had a similarly substantial impact on high-rise construction and maintenance. Often, the two concerns – economic and safety – clash. With the memories of Sept. 11 still fresh, the history of how building construction has evolved in the world’s tallest city can help explain how safe skyscrapers here are now, if many are still vulnerable, and why.
FIRE SAFETY: WORDS VS. ACTIONS - Galyean
Galyean BUDGET LINE
FIRE SAFETY: WORDS VS. ACTIONS: The 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center demonstrated several fatal flaws in fire safety and evacuation procedures in the buildings. Many of these had already been identified in a Congressional report issued in 1995 following the 1993 WTC bombing. Of the nineteen recommendations made in the 1995 report, only a handful were implemented by 2001. The local real estate lobby was largely opposed to most of the safety revisions due to both immediate costs and the potential of lost rental revenue (if floor space was dedicated to escape routes, additional stairwells, etc.).
Why were so few of the 1995 recommendations implemented in the WTC and in the subsequent NYC fire safety codes? Is there reasonable evidence to suggest that implementing some of the other recommendations would have saved lives in the 2001 attacks? Is the response to the 2005 report on the 2001 catastrophe following the same pattern?
FIRE SAFETY: WORDS VS. ACTIONS: The 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center demonstrated several fatal flaws in fire safety and evacuation procedures in the buildings. Many of these had already been identified in a Congressional report issued in 1995 following the 1993 WTC bombing. Of the nineteen recommendations made in the 1995 report, only a handful were implemented by 2001. The local real estate lobby was largely opposed to most of the safety revisions due to both immediate costs and the potential of lost rental revenue (if floor space was dedicated to escape routes, additional stairwells, etc.).
Why were so few of the 1995 recommendations implemented in the WTC and in the subsequent NYC fire safety codes? Is there reasonable evidence to suggest that implementing some of the other recommendations would have saved lives in the 2001 attacks? Is the response to the 2005 report on the 2001 catastrophe following the same pattern?
Design for Safety: Parkins' Budget Line
After the World Trade Center collapse, a number of questions on the quality of the building design arose- what could have made the building stronger? Is it possible to build a safer skyscraper today? What about the skyscrapers that already exist?
Architects and engineers have been contemplating the same thing and have been developing techniques in the years since to not only construct taller towers but to make them safer as well. Wind, fire and evacuation are three of the top concerns that architects and engineers have been testing out- sometimes to great effect.
But are their techniques too far-fetched and expensive for cities to adopt? How will they influence building codes? Will they ever know how safe their designs are without the ultimate test of calamity?
This article will explore the design elements that architects and engineers have been testing in skyscraper developments in New York since September 11 and the feasibility on the city level of adopting the techniques. Is the city open to them? Is it a priority? How are they working together to make skyscrapers safer?
Architects and engineers have been contemplating the same thing and have been developing techniques in the years since to not only construct taller towers but to make them safer as well. Wind, fire and evacuation are three of the top concerns that architects and engineers have been testing out- sometimes to great effect.
But are their techniques too far-fetched and expensive for cities to adopt? How will they influence building codes? Will they ever know how safe their designs are without the ultimate test of calamity?
This article will explore the design elements that architects and engineers have been testing in skyscraper developments in New York since September 11 and the feasibility on the city level of adopting the techniques. Is the city open to them? Is it a priority? How are they working together to make skyscrapers safer?
Giambusso Budget Line
WHO'S PAYING ATTENTION? (Giambusso): In the rush to build new housing, stores, and community spaces are politicians and developers ignoring important safety precautions? Environmentalists, safety experts and advocacy groups have called for caution in the rush to build, but their voices are often drowned out by business friendly city agencies and political leaders eager to point to construction as a sign of progress. Only six years after 9/11 what lessons have we learned about building safety and environmental impact? Are those lessons being heeded by our political leaders? Through an examination of specific sites targeted for development, the piece will examine the political battles and interplay between pressure groups that brought these sites to bear.
Air Quality
Post 9/11 Air Quality regulations (Mike Weiss)
Who is responsible for monitoring and alerting, and has this improved after 9/11?
The 9/11 air quality issue at the time of the attack arose because (1) building materials (primarily asbestos) had been used in the Towers’ construction and (2) right after the attack there was confusion between government agencies as to who was responsible for monitoring and alerting people about air quality hazards.
1. So far, there doesn’t seem to have been any news about improving building materials standards (which materials are safer during a disater, as well as during demolition and construction). The use of asbestos was outlawed just after the construction of the Twin Towers, and there doesn’t seem to have been any other toxic contaminants that were found during 9/11 which then led to use restrictions. Instead, this aspect of the story has shifted to the cleaning of the asbestos-laden residue from 9/11 which still covers buildings downtown.
2. Right after 9/11, many observers feel that the Federal EPA and OSHA should have stepped forward and centralized efforts to immediately issue accurate air quality alerts, and to then coordinate all government agencies’ activities during the clean up. Further, once in this position a centralized authorithy would have been able to oversee the construction boom that is happening in Lower Manhattan (35 new buildings since 9/11, 68 currently in the works) in order to monitor and alert people about air conditions.
This didn’t happen. For various reasons, seemingly stemming from Mayor Giuliani’s insistance that City government and the City agency DDC (Dept. of Design and Construction) oversee all 9/11 building issues, there is now no central authority accountable for air quality issues. Instead, there is a mix of City, State, and Federal agencies which are performing various regulatory roles they were used to performing from before 9/11, but in the post-9/11 world it is unclear what their formal responsibilities are, what they are responsible to report and who they need to report to.
To sum up, the issue of air quality standards and how they may have been improved after 9/11 seems to focus on alerting procedures. This means how have procedures improved which will alert people better next time in the event of an emergency, and also who is monitoring and alerting people about the current air quality relating to the post-9/11 demolition and construction boom.
Who is responsible for monitoring and alerting, and has this improved after 9/11?
The 9/11 air quality issue at the time of the attack arose because (1) building materials (primarily asbestos) had been used in the Towers’ construction and (2) right after the attack there was confusion between government agencies as to who was responsible for monitoring and alerting people about air quality hazards.
1. So far, there doesn’t seem to have been any news about improving building materials standards (which materials are safer during a disater, as well as during demolition and construction). The use of asbestos was outlawed just after the construction of the Twin Towers, and there doesn’t seem to have been any other toxic contaminants that were found during 9/11 which then led to use restrictions. Instead, this aspect of the story has shifted to the cleaning of the asbestos-laden residue from 9/11 which still covers buildings downtown.
2. Right after 9/11, many observers feel that the Federal EPA and OSHA should have stepped forward and centralized efforts to immediately issue accurate air quality alerts, and to then coordinate all government agencies’ activities during the clean up. Further, once in this position a centralized authorithy would have been able to oversee the construction boom that is happening in Lower Manhattan (35 new buildings since 9/11, 68 currently in the works) in order to monitor and alert people about air conditions.
This didn’t happen. For various reasons, seemingly stemming from Mayor Giuliani’s insistance that City government and the City agency DDC (Dept. of Design and Construction) oversee all 9/11 building issues, there is now no central authority accountable for air quality issues. Instead, there is a mix of City, State, and Federal agencies which are performing various regulatory roles they were used to performing from before 9/11, but in the post-9/11 world it is unclear what their formal responsibilities are, what they are responsible to report and who they need to report to.
To sum up, the issue of air quality standards and how they may have been improved after 9/11 seems to focus on alerting procedures. This means how have procedures improved which will alert people better next time in the event of an emergency, and also who is monitoring and alerting people about the current air quality relating to the post-9/11 demolition and construction boom.
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:
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.)
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- What engineering and design methods are being considered in skyscraper construction in the United States and overseas to facilitate mass evacuations
- 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).
- 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)
- Alternatives to common engineering techniques
- Landscape Architecture considerations for safety and evacuation from tall buildings
- Expert opinions from architects and engineers
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.)
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