QUESTION/ANSWER ASSIGNMENT

HIGH RISE BUILDING

(ASSIGNMENT – III)

SUBMITTED BY – SUBMITTED TO –
JASKIRAT ARORA (1731681) AR. SHIKHA AGARWAL
 QUESTION and ANSWER ASSIGNMENT

1. Discuss fire safety of a building in detail.

Ans. Buildings, 15m or more in height are considered as High-Rise Buildings.
All buildings are classified in group on the basis of their use or the character of occupancy.

Fire Prevention –
Every building shall be so constructed, equipped, maintained and operated as to avoid undue danger to
the life and safety of the occupants from fire, smoke, fumes or panic during the time period necessary
for escape.

Type of Construction –
The design of any building and the type of materials used in its construction are crucial in determining
the building’s fire resistance.

For high rise buildings, non-combustible materials should be used for construction.

General Requirements –
A building may be occupied during construction, repairs, alteration or addition only if all the means of
exit and well-maintained fire protection measures are in place.

During construction of a high rise building following measures must be taken:

1. Dry riser pipe (100 mm dia.) with hydrant outlets should be constructed on all floors with a fire
service inlet and in well maintained condition should be laid down.
2. 2000 L capacity water drum with 2 fire buckets on each floor.
3. There should be a 20,000 L capacity water storage tank.

Open Spaces and Street Width

1. Buildings should have 6m wide open space on its four sides.
2. At least one side main street should be 12m wide.
3. For buildings with height above 30m, the road should not be a dead end.
4. The premises should have at least 4.5 m wide and 5 m high gateway.
Set Back and Street Width

Fire Safety and Services

1. Electrical and ventilation services- Electrical installations, air- conditioning and ventilation should be
installed and maintained so as to minimize the danger of spread of fire, smoke or fumes from one
floor to other.
2. Air-conditions and ventilation should be provided with manual and automatic control to shut
automatically in case of fire and stop it from spreading.
3. Smoke venting-Smoke venting facilities should be provided for ensuring safe exit with automatic and
manual control both.

Openings and Fire Safety

1. Every wall opening should be protected with a fire-resistant door with fire rating of min 2 h.
2. Openings in wall or floor for the passage of services should be enclosed by shaft or duct with fire
rating of 2 hour.
3. Every vertical opening should be enclosed or protected to ensure the escape of its occupants and
limit the damage to the building.

Glazing
1. Wired glasses should have minimum ½ hr fire resistance rating.
2. The sashes and frame should be entirely made of iron/stainless steel or other suitable metal.
3. Electro copper glazing, casement, skylight will also follow the same criteria.
4. The glass used for facade of a high-rise building should have minimum 1 hr fire resistance rating.
5. Louvers should have minimum fire resistance rating of ½ hour.
Life Safety

GENERAL EXIT REQUIREMENTS

Every building meant for human occupancy should be provided with exits sufficient to permit safe
escape of its occupants, in case of fire, or emergency.

An exit can be-

1. A doorway
2. Corridor
3. Passageway(s) to internal or external staircase/ veranda /terrace, which has access to the street, or
to the roof or a refuge area.
4. A horizontal exit leading to an adjoining building at the same level.

Lifts and escalators shall NOT be considered as exits.

All exits should be free of obstructions and well equipped to be used in case of fire or other emergency.

Exits should be –
1. Clearly visible
2. Illuminated to value of 1 ft candle
3. Should provide continuous means of escape to the exterior or should lead to the street
4. Route to reach the exit shall be clearly marked
5. Signs posted to guide the occupants of the floor concerned.

SIGNS shall be –
1. Wired to an independent electrical circuit on an alternative source of supply.
2. The colour of the exit signs shall be in accordance with good practice.
3. Illuminated
4. The colour of exits should be GREEN.

Capacity and Arrangement

CAPACITY OF EXITS
The unit of exit width, used to measure the capacity of any exit, is 500 mm.

ARRANGEMENTSOF EXIT
1. Total time taken to evacuate a floor by all its occupants should not exceed 2½ min.
2. The travel distance to an exit from the dead end of a corridor should not be more than 22.5-30 m.
(in case of fully sprinklered building, the travel distance can be increased by 50%.)
3. In case of more than one exit, it should be placed as remote from each other as possible and should
have direct access in separate directions from any point.
4. The internal walls of staircase enclosures should be of brick work or reinforced concrete or any
other material of construction with minimum of 2 h rating.
5. They should be of enclosed type.
6. At least one of them should be on the external walls and should open directly to an open space of
safety.
7. All corridors (minimum 1000mm) and staircase lobbies should be adequately ventilated.
All high-rise buildings having floor area more than 500 sq. m on each floor should have a minimum of
TWO STAIRCASES.

Internal Staircase
1. It should be constructed of non- combustible material.
2. Self- contained unit with one external wall and completely enclosed.
3. Should not be arranged round a lift shaft.
4. The minimum headroom in a passage under the landing should be 2.4 m.
5. Maximum 15 in number per flight.
6. Handrails at a height of 1000mm.

External Staircase
It is highly desirable in high rise buildings.
1. It should be always kept in sound operable condition.
2. Should be directly connected to the ground.
3. Entrance to the external staircase should be separate and remote from the internal staircase. No
wall opening or window should open to a external staircase.
4. Should be free of obstructions.
5. Should be built of non- combustible material.
6. The angle of inclination should not exceed 45⁰.
7. Unprotected steel frame staircase is not accepted as means of escape.
8. But acceptable if enclosed with 2 hr fire resistant compartment.

Fire Lifts
The lift installed to enable fire services personnel to reach different floors with minimum delay.

High buildings can be provided with fire lift with a minimum capacity of 8 passengers and fully
automated with emergency switch on ground level.
1. In case of fire, only fireman should operate the fire lift.
2. Should be equipped with inter communication equipment.
3. Its position and number can be determined by considering population, floor area,
compartmentation.

Illumination of Means of Lighting

Emergency Lighting — Lighting provided for use when the supply to the normal lighting fails.

Emergency Lighting System — A complete but discrete emergency lighting installation from the standby
power source to the emergency lighting lamp(s), for example, self-contained emergency luminaire or a
circuit from central battery generator connected through wiring to several escape luminaries.
Escape Lighting — That part of emergency lighting which is provided to ensure that the escape route is
illuminated at all material times, for example, at all times when persons are on the premises, or at times
the main lighting is not available, either for the whole building or for the escape routes.

Fire Extinguishers/Fixed fire Fighting Installation

All buildings depending upon the occupancy use and height should be protected by fire extinguishers,
wet riser, down-comer, automatic sprinkler installation, high/ medium velocity water spray, water
storage tanks, fire pumps etc, according to the provision.

2. Discuss structure design and structural safety of a high-rise buildings.

Ans. The Structural System of High-Rise Buildings
1. The structural system of high-rise buildings is designed to cope with the vertical gravity loads
and lateral loads caused by wind or seismic activity.

2. The foundations of high-rise buildings must sometimes support very heavy gravity loads, and
they usually consist of concrete piers or piles that are sunk into the ground.

3. The most important factor in the design of high-rise buildings, however, is the building’s need to
withstand the lateral forces imposed by winds and potential Earthquakes. Most high-rises have
frames made of steel or steel and concrete.

4. Their frames are constructed of columns (vertical-support members) and beams (horizontal-
support members). Cross-bracing or shear walls may be used to provide a structural frame with
greater lateral rigidity in order to withstand wind stresses.
Basic Load Action on High-rise building

Common High-rise building structure design –

1. Parallel bearing walls
2. Core and Façade Bearing Walls
3. Self-supporting boxes
4. Cantilevered slab
5. Flat Slab
6. Interspatial
7. Suspension

1. Staggered truss
2. Rigid Frame
3. Rigid frame and core
4. Trussed frame
5. Belt trussed frame and core
6. Tube in tube
7. Bundled tube

Braced Frame –
Rigid Frame Structure –
Parallel or orthogonally arrangement of columns and girders
Simplicity and convenience of its rectangular form.

Infilled Frame Structure –

Consists of a steel or reinforced column and girder frame with infills of brickwork or concrete block
work.

Limestone infills
and facing
Wall Frame Structure –
Shear walls are combined with rigid frames.

Tubular Structure –
Types –
1. Tube in Tube
2. Braced Tube
3. Bundled Tube
Bundled Tube Structure –
The sears tower consists of four parallel rigid steel frames in each orthogonal direction, interconnected
to form nine bundled tubes.

Braced Tube Structure –

Outrigger Braced Tube Structure –
Braced-steel frame connected to the exterior columns.

Space Structure –
Space structure consists essentially of a three-dimensional triangulated frame.
Flat Plate and Flat Slab Structure –
Connected rigidly to supporting columns. Creating a minimum possible floor depth.

Shear Wall Structure –

Structural Stability of High Building –

As height increases, the rigidity and stability requirements become more important, and they are often
the dominate factors in designing.
Due to P-Δ effect, in which the eccentricity of gravity load increases to such a magnitude that it brings
about to collapse of the columns as the result of axial loads.
Therefore, an important stability criterion is to assure that the predicted wind loads will be below the
load corresponding to the stability limit.
The second consideration is to limit the lateral deflection to a level that will ensure that architectural
finishes and partitions are not damaged.
Factors Affecting the Stability of High-Rise Buildings
The factors that affect the stability of a high-rise structure as a whole are the lateral loads which include:
1. Seismic forces (Earthquake Loads) at the base of structure.
2. Wind loads at the top (Higher stories) of the buildings.

STABILIZING THE STRUCTURE AGAINST WIND LOADS

Wind is essentially the large-scale horizontal movement of free air. It plays an important role in the
designing of tall structures because it exerts loads on building.

It is a phenomenon of great complexity because of the many flow situations arising from the interaction
of wind with structures.

EFFECT OF WIND WITH INCREASE IN HEIGHT:

Wind is caused by air moving from high pressure to low pressure. Its direction is influenced by the
earth’s rotation. Near the earth’s surface, the motion is opposed and the wind speed is reduced by
surface friction. At the surface the wind speed reduces to zero and then begins to increase with height,
and at some height known as the gradient height, the motion may be considered to be free from earth’s
frictional influence and will attain its “gradient velocity.”

WIND EFFECTS ON STRUCTURES

Wind produces two different types of effects on tall buildings: static and dynamic

STATIC:
Structurally, static effect is a term of analysis independent of time and Static wind effect primarily
causes elastic bending and twisting of structure.

DYNAMIC:
But dynamic analysis is an attempt to take into account how the system responds to the change through
the period of time. For tall, long span and slender structures a dynamic analysis of the structure is
essential. Wind gusts cause fluctuating forces on the structure which induce large dynamic motions,
inducing oscillations.

3. How are high rise buildings specifically designed so that they don’t fail during disasters or
earthquakes.
Ans. Gust Velocity

Turbulence
When any moving air mass meets an obstruction,
such as building, it responds like any fluids by
moving to each side then rejoining the major air
flow.
Wind Pressure-lateral load
When any moving air mass meets an obstruction,
such as building, it responds like any fluids by
moving to each side then rejoining the major air
flow.
Building behavior during the earthquake
1. The magnitude of the horizontal inertia force F depends on the building mass M, ground
acceleration A.
2. If a building and its foundation were rigid, it would have same acceleration as the ground, that is by
Newtons Law - F=MA
Steps should be taken for earthquake
1. All portion of structure shall be designed and constructed to act as a unit in resisting horizontal
forces
2. Masonry or concrete elements shall be reinforced
3. Only roof live load may be neglected when considering the effect of seismic forces in combination
with vertical load
4. Concrete or masonry walls shall be anchored to all floors and roofs providing lateral support of the
wall

TAIPEI 101 –
Taipei 101 is located in Xinyi District, Taipei, China and is one of the tallest buildings in the world, with a
height of 1667 feet and 101 floors.
It's basically a giant metal ball that
counteracts big transient loadings like wind
and earthquakes to reduce the sway of the
supertall tower.

The TMD is supported by hydraulic damper

arms and bumper systems which function in
the same way as a car's shock absorber. When
large forces act upon the tower, the TMD
sways in the opposite direction, bringing the
entire building into equilibrium by damping
out the transient forces using the ball's mass.

This earthquake damper system is located between the 87th floor and the 92nd level.
BURJ KHALIFA –
Currently the tallest building in the World, with a height of 2722 feet. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai is one of
the best examples of seismic resistant design.
The structure is composed of mechanical floors
where outrigger walls connect the perimeter
columns to the interior walling. By doing this, the
perimeter columns are able to support the lateral
resistance of the structure. The verticality of the
columns also helps with carrying the gravitational
loads.

As a result, the Burj Khalifa is exceptionally stiff in

both lateral and torsional directions. A complex
system of base and foundation design was
derived by conducting extensive seismic and
geotechnical studies.
YOKOHAMA LANDMARK TOWER –
It’s the second largest tower in Japan, at a height of 972 feet. Since the area is prone to Earthquakes,
seismic resistance was an integral design criterion.

This building equips within itself a Hybrid mass damper (a

combination of tuned mass damper and an active control actuator) as
well as something called “bandage pillars”.
These are earthquake resisting pillars that are designed with the help
of resin fibers that essentially may allow some chunks of the pillar to
fall off but prevent it from collapsing in case of an earthquake.

THE PETRONAS TOWER –

The 1483 feet high twin towers are located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The buildings are connected
using a skybridge at a height of 558 feet.
 4. How can high rise buildings be self-sustainable?

Ans. Self-sustainable high-rise buildings do exist.

o It's called "triple net zero", which means buildings and homes are self-contained, producing
almost zero energy, zero emissions and zero waste.
o They feature cladding that optimize heat and light - and living walls that automatically adjust
temperature.
o These sustainable self-contained buildings have cheaper upkeep and power costs, while acting
as a shield from power outages and other side-effects of infrastructure and energy grid failure.

Some examples of high rise already have applied different sustainable strategies systems such are:
wind transition season,

1. wind turbines,
2. heliostats – tower spire,
3. low emissivity glass façade,
4. higher voltage power-up system,
5. sky source ventilation,
6. dedicated charcoal air filters for suites,
7. smart lighting and mechanical control,
8. electronic metering,
9. solar enhanced stack effect,
10. solar engine

Shanghai Tower, China –

Wind turbines located near the top of the structure power its outer lighting as well as park areas,
while transparent inner and outer “skins” will allow natural light to flood the building, cutting down
the need for artificial lighting.

Smart controls will monitor everything from ventilation to heating and lighting, helping to cut
energy bills in the process.

According to the tower’s architects, Gensler, over $556,000 will be saved thanks to lighting controls
alone, with the other sustainable features helping to reduce the building’s carbon footprint by
34,000 metric tons annually.
CIS Tower, UK –

Built in 1962 and one of the U.K.’s tallest buildings,

over £5 million ($8.4 million) was spent to retrofit
this skyscraper with solar panels and bring it into
the 21st century.

According to the Institution of Mechanical

Engineers, the CIS Tower has, “the largest
commercial solar façade in Europe.”

Over 7,000 photovoltaic cells cover the building,

generating 180 megawatt hours of clean energy
annually. In addition to its solar power, 24 wind
turbines have also been fitted on the building’s
roof.

Bahrain World Trade Center, Bahrain –

Three huge wind turbines – 29 meters in diameter–

are sandwiched between two vast ‘sail’ shaped
towers, generating clean energy for the building.
 5. How high-rise buildings are a part of city's development?
Ans. Problems with horizontal development –
1. Urban development occupies more and more new areas, with local flora and fauna gradually
disappearing. It means there is a complete destruction of the ecosystems, which have been formed
for several million years.
2. The city space is not used rationally, thus creating transport and social problems. Almost in any city
during rush hour, it is possible to observe congestion of all transport systems.
3. The presence of industrial zones in the central part of the city. This situation stems from the fact that
the factories built on the outskirts of town in the last century, today are in the central part because
of the high rates of urban area proliferation. In addition to environmental pollution, the negative
factor is the irrational use of industrial areas, taking into account trends in urban development.
4. Demand of housing
5. Cost of land

Factors driving for vertical development –

1. High cost of land. Cities managed to become centers of trade, administrative, political and cultural
life, which led to high demand and the growth of land value. In such circumstances, each landowner
sought to maximize the efficient use of their property. The only possible way to increase the usable
area was to grow upwards.
2. New materials. New materials such as glass and steel acquired the increasingly wide application. The
strength of the steel made it possible to shift a significant part of the load onto it, and the glass
served as a good protection against the external environment instead of the walls while being
several times lighter than the traditional facade.
3. Otis elevators – It is difficult to overestimate the invention by Otis of the elevators safety mechanism
that catches the cabin in the event of cable tear. It was thanks to him that elevators began to
 transport people, not just cargo, which solved the problem of inaccessibility of high-rise floors. From
the once cheap, they quickly turned into the most prestigious, allowing their new owners to admire
the magnificent panoramic views.
4. New constructive solutions – Until the 19th century, the increase in the height of buildings meant a
thickening of the walls, which were supposed to withstand the weight of the structure. The creation
of elevators and metal frames for the walls provided an opportunity for architects and engineers to
design and build higher and higher buildings, increasing the number of floors. Bearing capacity was
transferred to the frame of the building, the load - on the foundation.
5. The urgent need for saving resources and protecting the environment, while the arrangement of
horizontal cities does not always allow it to be done effectively, or it requires large-scale financial
costs for replacing engineering communications networks or transferring objects.

6. Discuss planning of Imperial towers and Orchid Woods Mumbai.

Ans. Imperial Tower Mumbai:-
At 116 stories and 400 meters tall, Imperial Tower was designed to be the tallest building in the city and
a prototype for Mumbai, a densely developed but mostly low-rise metropolis whose urban future
revolves around tall residential towers.
The softly curvilinear form of this tall, elegantly slender tower is aerodynamically shaped to “confuse the
wind,” minimizing the negative effects of wind action on the tower. Wind vortex shedding is also
mitigated by the north and south-facing sky gardens, which break up wind currents around the tower.
The sky gardens also provide unprecedented access to light, views and connection with the natural
world that are unprecedented in Mumbai.
Imperial Tower will also offer the most spacious and luxurious residences in Mumbai. The 76,272-
square-meter tower includes 132 residential units of between 195 and 1,115 square meters, along with
serviced apartments of between 72 and 252 square meters. All of the upper-story condominiums offer
breathtaking views of the Arabian Sea.
Orchid woods , Mumbai:-
 7. Discuss in detail the architectural planning, structural system, material used of any one
international high-rise building. Support your answer with relevant and neat sketches.
Ans. PETRONAS TOWER
• Offices: twin towers, Total gross area: 1,366,714 square meters.
• Retail: a multi‐level retail center, Total gross area 699,654 square meters.
• Hotel: a 1,800‐room convention hotel and conference center.
• Total gross area: 491,289 square meters.
• Parking: integrated parking for 6,650 cars.

Design Development: -

• The design of the towers responds to its climate and to formal characteristics of the dominant
Islamic culture.
• The towers are figurative and symmetrical and create a figurative space between them.
• Towers are tapered and set back five times in its ascent. The 88‐floor towers are constructed
largely of reinforced concrete, with a steel and glass façade designed to resemble motifs found
in Islamic art.

Floor plate design:-

• Is based on simple Islamic geometric forms of two

interlocking squares creating a shape of eight‐pointed
stars.
• Upon the eight‐pointed stars, are eight superimposed
semi‐circles softening the inner angles.
• These semicircles are themselves anchored by the arcs of
the main structural columns of the buildings.
• The semi‐circles were superimposed in the inner angles
of the interlocked squares to create more usable floor
space.
Structural Design Development:-

Early structural concepts studied for a concrete perimeter tube

frame:
Columns occur mid‐face and windows wrap around corners.
Biaxial column bending and loss of frame stiffness is avoided but
columns would block views.

Final concept:-
Columns are inset to enable a continuous uninterrupted skin and
enable clear view of the exterior from the interior.

Structural Systems:-

• Each tower is supported by

a ring of 16 cylindrical
columns placed on inner
corners of star shaped plan.
• As each towers ascends, it
sets back 6 times.
• Columns are sloped inward
over three stories.
• Reinforcing bars are added
to ring beams.
• Floor slabs resist the lateral
thrust.
• They form a soft tube.
 Concrete beams link
the columns to form ring
frames around the tower
and bustle.
Core is a box of
concrete shear walls.

Steel beams support floor

Bands of steel slabs, typically with 4.3inch
reinforcing bars tie the deep concrete fill including
bustle back to the tower 2inch metal deck
core.

Twelve concrete columns

surround the bustle, 16
columns surround the tower.

Wind & Seismic Design:-

• Rubber sheathed heavy galvanized ship anchor chain
freely swinging within a steel pipe acts as an
Construction Process:-
inexpensive, effective damper.
• Cylindrical towers sustain vortex shedding sizes and
three concrete mixes to optimize size, strength,
stiffness and cost.
• Perimeter columns varying in diameter and concrete
strength rise, upward and step back to create tapered
tower tops.
• Concrete outriggers between 38th and 40th floors
connect the core to the perimeter columns increasing
stiffness and resistance to lateral loads.

•
Materials:-

• With 88 floors of reinforced concrete and steel facade, glass and aluminum, have a total of
32,000 windows. The soils have steel frame resting on reinforced concrete plates.
• The main entrance lobbies and public use are decorated with moldings and mirrored glass
panels.
• The external enclosure is made of stainless steel, aluminum and glass. A system of deep
umbrellas modulates the vertical forms and produces a proper three-dimensional facade to the
tropics.
• The towers feature walls multifaceted stainless steel panels 33,000 and 55,000 glass panels.
Glass panels meet special features that allow viewing of both properties have noise reduction
filtering of light and provide a comfortable indoor environment. The glass is covered with
stainless steel viewers to further protect visitors from the tropical sun.
• The night lighting facades are designed to emphasize the effect pagoda and the height of the
towers.

8. What is the use of steel and glass in the high-rise buildings? And how its affect the stability of
structure.
Ans. Steel in high rise buildings:-
1. Clear expression of function enabled by externally exposed steel structure
2. Use of tubular members to provide efficient design with aesthetically slender members
3. Flexibility of openings in members, which can be used to accentuate ‘lightness’ or to
accommodate services
4. Easy forming of curved members
5. Structural efficiency of tension members, particularly for long-span enclosures
6. Ability to design connections as ‘architectural statements’ with refined detailing
7. Flexibility of managing fire resistance of exposed steelwork, utilising intumescent coatings,
concrete filling or water filling (of tubular sections)
 8. Visual effect enabled through colour and finish of coating steelwork, through painting,
galvanising or other proprietary finishes.

Types of structural steel: Various types of structural steel sections and their technical specifications are
as follows:
• Beams
• Channels
• Angles
• Flats

Steel Beams
Steel Beams is considered to be a structural element which mainly carries load in flexure meaning
bending. Usually beams carry vertical gravitational force but are also capable of carrying horizontal loads
generally in the case of an earthquake. The mechanism of carrying load in a beam is very unique, like;
the load carried by a beam is transferred to walls, columns or girders which in turn transfer the force to
the adjacent structural compression members. The joists rest on the beam in light frame constructions.
The beams are known by their profile meaning:
• The length of the beam
• The shape of the cross section
• The material used

Steel Channels:
Steel channels are used ideally as supports and guide rails. These are roll-formed products. The main
metal used for making channels is steel along with aluminum. There are certain variations that are
available in the channels category, the categorization is mainly on the shape of the channel, the varieties
are mentioned below:
• J channels
• Hat channels
• U channels
• C channels

Advantages of Structural Steel Structures:-

1. Steel is tensile. It has a high strength to weight ratio which means it has high strength per unit
mass. So no matter how large the overall structure is, the steel sections will be small and
lightweight, unlike other building materials.
2. Steel can be easily fabricated and produced massively. Steel sections can be produced off-site at
shop floors and then assembled onsite. This saves time and increases the efficiency of the overall
construction process.
3. Structural steel is very flexible. You can mold it into any shape, without changing its properties. You
can convert it into sheets or turn it into wires as per the design.
4. Structural steel is relatively cheap compared to other building materials.
5. It is very durable. Structural steel structures can withstand external pressures such as earthquakes
, thunderstorms, and cyclones. A well-built steel structure can last up to 30 years if maintained
well.

Disadvantages of Structural Steel Structures:-

1. Steel is an alloy of iron. This makes it susceptible to corrosion. This problem can be solved to some
extent using anti-corrosion applications.
2. It has high maintenance costs as it has to be painted to make it corrosion-resistant
3. There are extensive fireproofing costs involved as steel is not fireproof. In high temperatures, steel
loses its properties.
4. Buckling is an issue with steel structures. As the length of the steel column increases the chances of
buckling also increases.
5. Steel has a high expansion rate with changing temperatures. This can be detrimental to the overall
structure.
6. If you are on the lookout for structural steel fabricators, then reach out to us at the earliest. At
Northern Weldarc, we are a team of highly experienced structural steel fabricators. We specialize
in oil and gas, commercial, pulp and paper, and petrochemical industries.

Glass in high rise building:-

Glass types by Architectural treatments: -

• Patterned glass ˉ Hot glass can be rolled into sheets with many different surface textures and
patterns to obscure vision for privacy
• Fritted glass ˉ Pigmented glass particles called frits are used to imprint glass. Glass is dried and
fired in tempering furnace to make it permanent
• Spandrel glass ˉ Used to cover bands of floor/wall around the floor edges. Usually tempered or
heat strengthened with insulation behind them

Glass For Controlling Solar Radiation:-

• Tinted Glass – Made by adding small amounts of selected chemical elements to the molten glass
mixture
• Reflective Glass or Solar Control Glass – Thin Durable films of metal or metal oxide are
deposited on the surface of either tinted glass or clear glass to make the glass reflective. The
film turns away significant portion of solar radiation.

Impact of Glass Type on Control of Visible Light and Solar Radiation

• Transmitted Radiation
• Reflected Radiation
• Absorbed Radiation
• Re-radiation The Material Glass Effect of Three Different Glazing Assemblies on Incoming
Sunlight – Outside is on Left

Glazing Large Lights

• Lock strip gasket is a dry glazing method
• It is faster, easier and less dependent on workmanship then wet glazing method
• Wet glazing with good workmanship is more effective
Advanced Glazing Systems
• Butt-joint glazing system – Head and sill of the glass sheets are supported conventionally in metal
frames, but vertical mullions are eliminated – The vertical joints between sheets of glass are made
by injection of colorless silicone sealant – There is a strong effect of unbroken horizontal band of
glass around the building.
Glass as a structural component and material
The use of glass had been limited to decorations and its extensive use can be seen in the cathedrals such
as
• Notre Dame, Paris
• Crystal Palace, United Kingdom

Types of glass uses

• Monolithic annealed float glass
• Tempered float glass
• PVB laminated tempered float glass
• Sentry glass laminated tempered float glass
• Cast resin laminated tempered glass
• Polycarbonate laminated glass
 9. Explain the need of providing fire exists/fire escape routes in a high-rise building. Also discuss
in detail ant two provisions laid down by NBC.
Ans. In case of Fire in High-Rise Building, safe evacuation of its occupants is not that easy unless a plan
for orderly and systematic evacuation is not made in advance. All occupants need to be well drilled in
the operation of such plans. The Evacuation Drill shall be conducted in accordance with the Fire Safety
Plan at least once in every three months in order to ensure orderly and systematic evacuation of the
occupants of building in case of an Emergency.
NEED OF FIRE EXITS-
• They are effective for all building heights;

• They require no special skill or unfamiliar actions by evacuees;

• They are “systemic” (building-wide) solutions;

• They are suitable for all ages and physical conditions of evacuees, including disabled people;

• They have the ability to transport emergency responders and their equipment up and into the
scene;

• They enable rescue personnel to control the evacuation process; &

• They can evacuate many occupants with each rescue cycle.

NBC norms-
Means of access
• The width of means of access shall be 6 m for residential occupancy and not less than 12 m for
other occupancies depending on the length of the means of access. In addition, the road shall
not terminate in a dead-end and shall join another street of 12 m width. The compulsory open
spaces shall not be used for parking. Adequate passage way for fire-fighting vehicles shall be
provided at the main entrance with a minimum width of 4.5 m and a head room of 5 m.

• An exit may be a doorway, corridor, internal or external staircase. It can be a verandah with
access to the street or the roof. It can be a horizontal exit leading to refuge area or adjoining
building.

• All exits shall be free of obstruction

• Exits shall be clearly visible and the path to the same shall be clearly marked and sign posted.
Exits shall be illuminated and wired to an independent electrical circuit.

• The floors of the areas for exits shall be illuminated.

• Exits shall be so arranged that that they may be reached without passing through an occupied
unit
Capacity of exits
• The total population from a particular floor must evacuated in 1.5 to 2.5 minutes depending on
the type of construction. The unit width for capacity of exit shall be taken as 50 cm. The number
of people for different occupancies at or near the same levels and the number per unit exit
width for different occupancies is also given.,

• Horizontal exits shall be provided in certain occupancies. Horizontal exit is an arrangement

which allows alternate egress from one floor to another floor in an adjoining building or an
adjacent part of the same building

Travel distance
• The distance from any point to the final exit shall not be less than 22.5 m for residential
occupancies. For others it should not be less than 30m. Wherever more than one exit is required
thy shall be placed as remote as possible in opposite direction

Number of exits
• All buildings shall have minimum two exits in the form of enclosed staircases. opening to the
open space Every doorway shall open into corridor leading to an exit or to an enclosed staircase.
Exit doorways shall open outwards, i.e. away from the room but shall not obstruct the travel
along the passageway except where there is a central corridor when the door can open inwards.
Exit doors shall not open on to a staircase. Exit doorways shall be openable without a key.
Mirrors shall not be placed in the path of exit doorways.

• Corridors and passages shall be of width not less than the doorways.

Internal staircase
• A staircase shall not be arranged around a lift shaft. No gas piping shall be laid in the stair case.
Minimum width has been specified for different occupancies and it should not be less than one
meter.

• The minimum head room shall be not less than 2.2 meters. The main staircase and internal one
shall be continuous from ground to terrace

External staircase.
• Entrance to the external staircase shall be remote from the internal one. It shall not be inclined
at more than 45 degrees.

• Exit signs and the floors shall be properly illuminated at all times with independent electric
supply or other means.

• These requirements are applicable to all occupancies. Additional requirements for individual
occupancies have also been specified.

• For the safety of the general public and the occupants it is imperative that the architect provides
for all the exits as mandated and the fire services check these points before construction is
started.
 10. What techniques are applied in a high rise building to maintain thermal comfort in a building?
Explain for different climatic zones of zone.
Ans. Controlling thermal comfort
Thermal comfort can be controlled or adjusted by a number of different measures:
• Environmental monitoring and control (automated or user-controlled systems, active systems such
as heating and cooling and passive systems such as shading). NB: User-controlled systems require
that users are properly trained.

• Adapting or changing clothing. Businesses can allow people to wear different clothing depending
on conditions. They can also provide things like cloak rooms or lockers so that people can change
clothes or take off and put down coats. The golden rule is layering, generally 3 layers, and use zips
and buttons to regulate temperature.

• Allowing flexible working hours or changing start and finish times.

• Adjusting tasks. For example, allowing breaks or reducing the length of time people are exposed to
particular conditions.

• Providing information telling people what sort of conditions to expect so that they can dress and
behave appropriately.

• Providing or allowing personal equipment such as desk fans.

• Separating people from sources of discomfort. For example, putting heat generating equipment such
as ICT equipment in separate rooms, insulating pipes, preventing draughts and so on.
NB: Draughts can be caused by high local surface temperature differences even in a space where
there is no air infiltration – for example, a cold down-draught near a window.

• Providing protective clothing (PPE Personal Protective Equipment). This should be a last resort
option.

Factors influencing thermal comfort

• Thermal comfort results from a combination of environmental factors and personal factors:

• Environmental factors

• Air temperature

• The temperature of the air that a person is in contact with, measured by the dry bulb
temperature (DBT).

• Air velocity

• The velocity of the air that a person is in contact with (measured in m/s). The faster the air is moving,
the greater the exchange of heat between the person and the air (for example, draughts generally
make us feel colder
1. Use a HVAC system that regulates MRT
This is by far the biggest way to move towards achieving thermal comfort for the vast majority of occupants.
As I explained above, the MRT is highly important to human thermal comfort. As a result, using an HVAC
system that actually measures and regulates the radiant component of operative temperature goes a long
way to achieving thermal comfort. The best way to achieve this is to install a radiant cooling / heating
system with a means to measure and monitor the MRT. In addition to the best regulation of the thermal
environment, these systems are energetically more efficient than all-air alternatives, as well as quieter and
more spatially efficient.
Radiant cooling / heating systems do not directly affect air temperature, and do not
control ventilation or indoor air quality (IAQ). Therefore, they have to be used in conjunction with a system
that fulfils these purposes, such as a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS).
2. Minimize leakage
Depending on the outdoor conditions, your HVAC system may be heating up and humidifying cold, dry air, or
it could be cooling down and dehumidifying hot, humid air. Either way, the air needs to pass through the
HVAC equipment for this to happen efficiently and effectively. If there is leakage in the building envelope and
air is transferring in and out of the building other than through the HVAC system, IEQ will be lowered.
Essentially, air could be coming in that is below or above the desired temperature and relative humidity. This
will substantially lower thermal comfort. Moreover, at the site of a leak, the pressure or temperature
differential between indoor and outdoor conditions can create drafts, which can further lower thermal
comfort.

3. Maintain the thermal environment, and make changes as necessary

Good maintenance is key to properly functioning HVAC equipment. In this regard, installing a radiant cooling
/ heating system is once again useful, as maintenance costs and effort are much lower than all-air systems.
Maintenance may also require being aware of, and reacting to, seasonal changes. For regions that experience
hot summers and cold winters (as is typical of temperate zones), seasonally adjusting temperature control of
the HVAC system is vital to maintaining thermal comfort. In fact, differences in the regulation of relative
humidity and air temperature between the seasons appear in most international building codes.