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INTRODUCTION
Working to live :- The work ethic has a lot to answer for until now, office design has never

had the attention it deserves because for generations we have been schooled to live for

work rather then work to live. The idea that the working environment can be enjoyed

rather than suffered is new.

Perhaps it is as well as that a massive change in office expectation is

happening now. Office work is well on the way to absorbing us all in one may or another.

Down town, in the suburbs, at home, if we work at all, more than likely we work in an

office, if office work is becoming so important to so many people then perhaps the office

environment can be allowed to become important too.

Office buildings are driven by market forces more then any other building

typology. This exposes architects to an interesting facet of the profession – The business of

architecture.

Some thing that is always believed by architects as hard to accept

commercial success and design integrity is frequently seen as opposing forces whose

marriage inevitably involves disagreeble compromise, untrained as businessmen

unacceptable as pure artists, seemingly unwilling to join the different building teams in

anything but a leadership role, architects are allowing themselves to be manginalized in

the decision making process.

It is important to recognize that design of office buildings has become

infinitely more complex than what it was fifty years back. Projects are longer, for more

agencies and business undertakings are involved and the clearly definable past from has

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vanished further more, the level of technical complexity is greater and above all team work

is a buzzword many more consultants need to be involved and technical integration has

become vital. Successful office design, today is much like a carefully orchestrates

symphony.

Office Designs now deserves a lot of attention for people now live to work,

standard of offices environments have improved a lot. For better results all offices are

now creating a better environment for their workers. Thus the building that house them

have to have a good environment and raised standards.

Here I have studied the aspects of Planning, Orientation, and Services

relating the office building, speculative offices are usually ware-house type, in India we

usually do not have good environment in such a Building. Here I have good environment

in such a Building. Here I have tried to design a Speculative office building in which a

Company would be proud to have its office. In this office building I have tried to create a

better lighted and ventilated interiors. Speculative office Buildings are usually built to

fetch better income to the owner.

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HISTORY

The Earliest Office:- The earliest office can be dated to the moment one person crouched

down and bartered with another for goods or services and some kind record was made of

the exchange. In this period kitchen or front room table serve as office.

Off all offices those of Government have been most often documented. One

of the earliest office building according to Nikolaus Pevenes in a history of building types

was the Uffizi designed by Giorgio Vasari. Built in Florence in 1500-1571 for Cosimo de

Medici it reflected Medici Enterprises. It was the administrative office for the Grand

Duchy and later housed the famous Medici art collection.

Regular meeting, interaction and the formal keeping of records can be

dated back to the earliest administrative office. The Medici’s were the innovators. The

first documented office of a banker was the Banco Mediceo in Milan, Pevsar writes, “One

must imagine negotiations taking place in any room of the palace, but some place set aside

for the storing of money and probably of certain goods and also some space for clerk

keeping the books for book keeping, this during the 15th Century had become technique

reguiring considerable skills. It revolutionised commerce. The growth of mercantitism in

Europe and eventually the rooms and building in which transaction took place. The

earliest definable “Commercial” offices were also part of a home or store. The family

lived on the upper level with the commercial space on the lower levels.

Professional offices were started in England in London around 14th Century

which were law offices.

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Impact of the Industrial Revolution:-

Nurtured by the administrative and commercial needs of palaces, farms,

stores, private house and family enterprises offices finally left homes during industrial

revolution of 18th & 19th Centuries. The transformation from agrarian to industrial

economics started in Britain with innovation in spinning and weaving.

Industrial growth required more and more offices. New machines required

new paper work which created a clerical industry. The era also created office machines to

cope with increased paper work. The development of post trains and telegraph facilitated

transactions. The office became the hub of expend trade and the development of new

machinery.

As enterprises grew in complexity so did the office function. Offices grew

when cottage industries became factories geared to large-scale production. The invention

of Alexender Bell helped in fast exchange of information contact between buyer and

supplier was speeded up not only locally but nationally and internationally.

Yet, in spite of the expansion of offices during the Industrial Revolution,

more people were involved in manufacturing than in office function.

Emergence of Office Industries:-

In any study of the history of the office Insurance companies figure

prominently. In nearly every respect they epitomize an office industry – A business whose

business in paper. Since that time insurance companies have been in fore front of the

architectural design and organisational developments in the office, as business which

manipulate information only and never handle goods they exemplify. The “knowledge

industries”.

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Insurance, and its counter-part banking and finance is labour intensive.

Many people work together performing numerous small transaction. For such industries

paper work recording storing information is essential. Yet any business even the smallest

has to maintain careful records. It is the scale and scope of record keeping in insurance

and allied industries that make the difference.

The evolution of the modern offices:-

The English architect Francis Duffy has charted three phase in the

development of office technology and the characteristic buildings that house it.

The first phase reached its height in mid 19th Century. The only technology

was pen and ink supplemented by skilled clerk. Clerk were all male. Day light,

supplemented with oil or gas lamp was the primary source of illumination, stove and fire

places provided heat.

The second phase was characterized by offices with hundreds “de-skilled”

clerks each performing specialized though routine task. Their desks were lined up on open

office and the factory was the model for efficiency and control. During this phase office

organisation grew. Numerical and alphabetical files were introduced to keep track of

increasing paper. Work office machines appeared in great numbers. Women entered the

office work force in large number hired to operate the new type writers telephones and

other equipment office management became a science around 1919.

Although electric lights were commonly used since the early 1900’s day-

light was still the major source of illumination for office work. Buildings were built with

high floor to floor heights to let in as much light as possible. For the same reason

buildings were relatively narrow, 24 feet was considered the maximum distance from a

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window to any desk all the windows were openable. They were source of fresh air and

ventilation. It wasn’t untill after 2nd World War the requisite technology for heating

ventilating air conditioning and lighting vest interior spaces were economically feasible

only then did the square plan of block – long and wide office building became possible.

Also mass produced metal office furniture was ubiquitous.

In Diffy’s opinion the third phase began in the 1970’s. In this phase

thousands of office workers are still necessary to perform numerous small transaction now

using increasingly sophisticated machinery. Architectural and interior design have

become sophisticated as well integrating the office building with the furniture it contain

the building design is user oriented consistent with a management style which allows for

individual self expression.

The Office Building:-

The rapid expansion of business and the growth of offices led to the

development of office building. There were two tradition, the custom or purpose built

cooperate head quarters and the speculative building to rent anonymous tenants. In early

19th Century the former were conceived as “palaces” constructed to glorify the company

that built them. At first speculative building tended to be utilitarian designed like the were

houses they most resembled, they were not than prestige commissions.

The need for more offices and new construction technique combined to

revolutionize office design. The steel skeleton frame created a distinctly new form of

commercial architecture the sky-scraper.

In 1871 the Chicago fire destroyed the entire business district and prompted

the need for fire proof construction. This thriving transportation center required

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rebuilding for future office growth. By applying the steel frame originally used in factory

building architect William Le Baron Janny designed in 1884 the Home Insurance Building.

It is generally credited to be the first sky-scraper. Skeleton construction reduced the

amount of masonry required. Interior partitions could be relocated because they were not

load bearing. The strength of steel enabled the building to go very high. The invention of

the elevator in 1853 made this practical. The upper most stories with the most light and

best views became more desirable.

The sky-scraper made a dramatic impact on city sky line. There was a rush

to build the tallest building in world.

During the 19th Century the number of people employed in offices was

smaller than employed in manufacturing but 20th Century reversed that fewer people

produce goods. More people process information. New York’s sky-scraper sky line

symbolizes this trend. Without traditional city back ground of palace, courts and medival

Cathedrals offices are a symbol of trade and finance, bank and transportation. According

to New York magazine (Feb.9, 1981) the “Regional Plan estimates that more than half of

New York city’s $ 100 billion gross city product ( the total value of goods and services

produced ) is generated by people who process information”. Most of them work in

offices.

According to Peter Cowan in ‘The Office a Facet of Urban Growth’, the

office function alone does not account for the whole of urban growth, but its counterpart of

other aspects which are generally accepted to do so transportation housing and

manufacturing.

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The growth of large organization with their net works of customers,

suppliers and investors, required secretaries, filling clerk, book-keepers and office

managers. They in turn contributed to the growth of office space to housing within

commuting distance of business areas and to transportation facilities.

In certain cities some area are characterized by their financial areas,

because banks, insurance companies and commodity traders wanted to be close to one

another. This concentration increases the possibility for face to face communication but

can also present urban problems, pollution, crowded side walks, blocked sunlight and

strained transportation facilities.

The spread of companies and offices from down town areas or traditional

financial centres present problems to urban planners and transportation experts. The

combination of urban congestion, high rent and the growth of electronic communication in

bringing about an interesting dichotomy : more and more professional people are setting

up offices in their own homes or converting buildings away from down town areas for

group practices. Yet in cities, office space continues to expand. The net result; more

offices.

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TYPE OF OFFICE BUILDING.

Number of offices are dramatically increased, so is the standard of each

office and building that house it. Building technique and services have also improved.

Building designed now are more user oriented. They can be divided according to use and

financial resources.

City State and Federal Government Office Building:-

Government office building are almost invariably quality structure. In fact,

they are so expansive and well constructed even though they are sometime poorly planned

that the building outlives the original plan and design concept of the year in which it was

built. Like other urban office building government building have to be planned for what is

in effect on ever changing tenancy. Organisation structure is constantly changing in city

state and federal government and flexibility to accommodate such changes should be

building in to the structure.

Government building pose special problem to the space planner, since they

are not torn down as obsolete commercial building might be. Thus they must be

modernized which is often a major operation since so many of them were built before air

conditioning or the development of modern lighting methods. Many government structure

for this reason were built around large open court which with modern technological

advances are now unnecessary. The filling in of such open areas represents an obvious

move for government to make and can expend tremendously the net usable space of

present buildings.

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Tenant Owned Office Building :-

The tenant owned or rural office building usually represents the trust

realization of ideal functionally designed office space because the architect has much

greater freedom when designing a rural structure because of the control imposed on the

architect by site limitation, city building codes and the extreme degree of flexibility that

must be built into the building to ensure the possibility of future sale return on investment

or rental of part of the area.

By contrast, in rural or suburban communities sites are not arbituarily

bounded as they are in the city, nor do land cost make a tall building on a small site

imperative. The open acerage permits the grouping on functionally planned buildings

designed for the most efficient flow of paper work operations.

Speculative Office Building :-

Speculative office building owner must plan his structure for maximum

income and minimum original investment costs. Often too he must adapt his building

design to unusually shaped sites which have been assembled through purchases of several

small adjoining properties.

This often result in an irregular plot plan shape. A variety of factors affect

and to a degree control the final building design, in other words factors that do not

handicap or control the architect of a rural building. Of course the speculative office

building also must be planned for an ever changing occupancy and thus can never be

designed to meet individual need as can a tenant owned building.

The speculative office building is therefore never quite efficient from the

tenant view point as the tailor made building or should anyone expect it to be. The true

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success of speculative building is represented by the income it produce for the owner or

sponsor of the building not by how well the building work for the tenants. Naturally there

are qualification here if the building work is highly inefficient it won’t have any tenant at

all or at least it won’t have tenant prepared to pay premium rents. So the building must be

a efficient as possible within limitation imposed by its bring designed to meet the needs to

different companies equally well to be a financial success.

Investment Type Office Building :-

The investment type of office building is usually design and constructed for

a specific corporation’s occupancy, or, on an unusually valuable site for multiple – tenancy

use, with one tenant occupying most of the building space. Many large institutions such as

banks, insurance companies, railroads, large foundation, occupy such building which are

usually quality structure and may often incorporate special – design features to meet the

needs of the principal tenant. Here again, however the limitation of the urban site and the

extreme flexibility which must be build into the structure because of probable change in

tenancy result in a building only relatively efficient in terms of space use. The principal

tenant enforced to compromise office layout planning and overall architectural design to

meet city conditions and to ensure the buildings usefulness to other tenants.

Designing the building around the concept of having service core separated

from the building. You will note that the floors in the design are open free areas and that

vertical transportation and building services are housed outside the main floor area. Such

an arrangement gives the greatest possible degree of freedom of office layout planning on

every floor even though the needs of the company located on one floor may be totally

different from those of its neighbour above and below.

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CASE STUDY I
1. Case Study of Millennium Plaza Gurgaon

Today, as corporate relocation is increasingly becoming the buzzword,

more and more corporations are finding their future at Gurgaon. Located on a 200 ft.

wide sector road in Gurgaon. Just a 15 minutes drive from the international and domestic

airports.

Above photograph shows the effective

impression of the office building. The

view of this building is effective by the use

of curtain walls.

There is two towers in the complex

and ANI empresive entrance foyer is

provided for the building.

In ground floor level slite is provide in both

the tower and landscaping mean & lots in

this building.

Elevation of showroom which is provided

for the users of building on the other tower

there is same for the bank purpose. The

hole is one floor only.

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There is own 100 % power back-up

system for the building. A electrical sub

station is located on the corner.

ABOUT THE SITE PLAN

 Two level basement parking.

 Surface parking for visitors.

 On the site there is various levels and verdant landscape.

 An service road is in back side.

 Water cascade is divide the two towers in ground floor.

 Show rooms and banking halls are located in G. floor.

 Total site area 3 acres approx.

 No of storeys – Eleven in tower “A”

Fourteen in tower “B”

 Water feature will be integrated in to the lands.

Site and podium level plan

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Different Level Plans :-

First Level Plan :- Here there is only a office space is developed. The office is about 825

sq.m area. For circulation purpose is made passage is constructed. Along this passage

electric room and AHU are provided for each floor. There is a central core which runs-1

level to +11 level in tower A & - 1 level to + 4 level in tower B. In the core there is 3

passenger lift, 1 service lift, AHU 1 electrical room, 1 stair case & one fire exit stair case

& circulation passage is provided. For every office unit there is its own toilet & a small

pantry is provided. Height of this unit is about 3cm. There is same arrangement for the

IInd tower. Column free floors upto 9000 sq. with the total area of around 2 lac Sq.ft. For

the purpose of top class business centre & conference facility.

Above picture shows the stilt part of the building here we see the hudge

sizes beams and columns which are provided to support the structure. Height is about 8 to

10 m.

In second floor there is out change, i.e. that,

the grid of the structure is changed. The grid is

now of 33.5 m x 33.5 m & the above construction is

done in this new grid only. Now for this design

aspect the size of the office units are not very large,

it is of economical size & very use for creating a

healthy environment for EMP.

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Levels Plan :-

On the tower A the above plan is contn. From 2nd to 5th and 8th to 10th floor.

And in the tower two countn. To 2nd to 5th and 11th 13th floor. In these all floors 6 Nos of

office units are provide for different Area. A big duct is provided for natural light and

ventilation. The core is of continue to the ground floor to top floor. The space is more the

no.of column is less. For that purpose copper slab is provided. Adequate toilet are

provided seperate to each unit. Each unit has its own opening.

Lift lobby is in the least of building from where the different Nurves are

exist in the core there are three Nos of

high speed passenger lift and one

service lift is provided service lift is

for goods or service purpose. One on

there elevator from basement parking

to main lobby.

There is little change in design. An terrace garden is provided on sixth

floor only, from their U enjoy the fresh Air and A look of bealy constructed south city.

Greenwoody city and Herritage city complexes. Remain part of design is same as another.

Curtan walling gives a nice look to the building and surround.

Observation

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 The site is little away from the city and in residencial zone too.

 Problem of communication. This time only private vehicles and taxies are the medium

of transportation.

 Not proper ventilation ans natural lighting to basement darking.

 Provision of health club ans multi-cuisine are create unwanted crowd if it is open for

public too. The feeling of office complex is disturbed.

 The facade of reflective glass curtain walls give good architectural look but for

creating a good and health environment in office unit it is very much importance of

natural ventilation.

 The passage for circulation is not enough for circulation on the peak useful times

their is heavy crowd in the passage and lobbies.

 There is no additional toilets are provided or the users. There is only on toilet unit in

every office units.

 Entry of basement parking is little bit faraway from the main entrance. So user of the

basement parking have to drive more then the surface parking.

 There is two towers in the site but there is no medium of connection between the two

office complexes. So problem arrises when one have to do work in another building.

Staff have to travel more because there is no upper connection in the building.

 There is no provision for servants accommodation.

 Fire staircase is only of one nos so their is over crowding on the time of fire hazard.

 The stilt is use less, this is one the treatment of elevation only.

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 A cafeteria is very essential for the staff because the complex is far away from the city

area.

 Plantation is very necessary for creating a healthy environment in and out side of the

building.

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CASE STUDY II
CAPITAL COURT AT MUNIRKA

INTRODUCTION

 The office building culture is India is undergoing a revolutionary change. Not only in

the inside environment designed to be more comfortable and efficient, conducive to a

high level of productivity. But also the look of the building is given utmost

importance. The use of latest technology in the material and construction techniques,

building services and utility areas, are all looked in to in order to provide a well

designed environment.

Back side elevation of the

capital court. Some short of

repairing work is carried out by the

means of cable suspended troully.

Height of the building is easily

assible from the back side. Granite

is the another material which is used

after the glass work.

 As one is driving on the busy ring road along wnirka in south Delhi. A mass of glass

and greenery comes into view standing out in the rather munodane surroundings of

residential flats and old shops. This is ‘The capital court’ building, with well kept

landscaped green, terrace garden in the front and ample use of glass, a visual respite

from the concrete jungle around. This corporate organization wants to bring forth a

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certain image to the clients and this done through the architecture of the office

building. The is located in Munirka in south Delhi. Munirka is very busy commercial

area which very heavy rush or a large amount of traffic. The site is about 1.75 acres

(Approx.). in the site plan there is a surface parking on the back side in basement floor

there is a parking for 30 to 35 car. And additionally advanced Hydro-pneumatic

system is placed. At basement level which height is about 3.5 m there is a generators

plant which gives the 100 % power backup by automatically. A small office space is

provided for the maintenance department. A meter room is located on the back side.

And back entry has to serve servant or employers. Entry point of basement by the

means of 4 m wide RMP. RMP goes go level to – 3.0 m level.

A view of the building is shown

in the photograph. The glass are

frequently use in elevation.

Terrace garden is also seen in the

elevation in stepped. The is total

have 6 storeys and one basement.

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Right side elevation of the

building. This is the terrace

garden in each floor on the front

side. Landscape elements are

provide in that garden.

Left side elevation of the

building shows the height, levels

arrangement and staircase tower

and the entry from this side.

Levels Plans

The basic plan of the building is very simple. The core area housing all the

services. The circulation and utility areas, is in the centre leaving the two wings on either

side to exclusive spaces for offices, which have an easy Assess to all the facilities. Hence,

a non-cluttered, clean and simple demorcation of Activities. Attentions has been given to

provided the latest building services in the office spaces. The offices have large from

20,000 sq. ft to 10,000 sq. ft. in Area, Decreasing as one goes up because of the steping up

of the floors. Large spaces with minimum columns have been provided by the use of the

flat slat construction, which gives large spans and hence more flexibility to Design the

interiors. All the office spaces look in to the control. Atrooms, which visually and

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spetually brings them together. The Architect of the building, Raja AEDERI very ARILY

puts it, in everything I plan, I strive to get my structures to interact possitively with the

work space demands made of them. The exterior finished of the building along with the

interiors reflects the clean and modern look. The exterior cladding is of Aluminium

composite panels in Metallic silver and dark blue, offset by black granile boudy and sills.

Travelling up in one of the glass backes Elevatory gives one changing view

of the Atrium and through the glass the outside

city.

The central four floor high Atrium is the hub

of all activity, serving as the entrance and

Movement Zone and visually Linking all the

office floors. It is Roofed with a hallow, Tubuler

space Frame with heat – reflective Lominated

glass. This gives on feel with the eye going upto

the sky. Through the transparent roof. During

the day, one can see

the blue sky above, and this space is lit

up by the natural light filtening on

through the glass. Once darkness

creeps, in, it is the lit up with flood

lights than can be seen from the outside.

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Facilities or positive points

 Central air conditioning with individual controls for each corporate unit.

 100 per cent power backup by automatic trip generators.

 Low profile security system that provides 24 hours building access controls through

(CTV, Watch & Ward personal & night floodlight illumination.

 A grid of interstitial raceways in floor slab for separate electrical, telecom and data

wiring. Automatic sprinkler system are also in the faulse ceiling.

 Advanced hydro-pneumatic system ensure constant supply of treated water at all

predefined points.

 Fire detection and fighting system include early an accurate detection through

interceiling zonal monitors, smoke detectors, sprinklers and fire escape.

 This facilities preventive imintenance and optional use of energy.

Facilities which are not provided or negative points

 Parking space are not sufficient for the user. There is only 40 vehicles are

accommodate at one time. This is not enough for the office building.

 The expensive use of glass in the hot Delhi climate and the subsequent increase of

load on the air-conditioning.

 Entrance foyer or the atrium is large in size and no use of that area for any of the

purpose.

 Position of passenger lift is good but the service lift is not in its correct position.

There is no provision of service entry in the ground floor level.

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 Balconies are provided with good landscape but there is no need of balconies in

office building. This is for the purpose of elevation treatment only.

 Position of electrical room and AHU are not in proper space. The entry of electrical

room in the entry of panty.

 Number of toilets are not enough for each office unit. There is only four toilets are

there, two for gents and two for ladies.

 Opening for the fire exit is swall, in the time of fire there is chances of over crowding

over there.

 Need of a information cabin or counter for enquiry. From were you got the

knowledge of the facilities which are provided for users.

An office unit with its furniture layout.

This is right workstation of workers. All

the interiors are done by the means of

wooden boards & vineers are provides

over that. A additional pantry is

formed. For the easy access to the users.

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Interiors are the important

feature of the office complex. A well

finished office unit is very important

for the healthy and working

environment.

One pantry is provided for all the corporate units for easily availability of

tea, coffees or colddrinks. The size of that unit was square in shape as shown in plan, but

there are little bit change in actually.

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SITE SELECTION
Location of center is vitally important, its sphere of influence will have to

be determined, site should be prominently urban area of a cosmopolitan character.

The city centre will ultimately be an international centre and it will visited

by all people from all over location of this prestigious centre in a central area be ideal.

My site is at Raipur. Raipur is newly framed capital of chattishgarh. The

site is located in main commercial area of Raipur.

Historical background.

Raipur is known as a educated centre and the commercial and industrial

capital of chattishgarh. This is the most developing city of this state. To king industrial &

urban development many multinational companies are invited by the state govt. The main

reason of taking the site is that Raipur is a newly formed capital & since there is no high

rise office complex which is now a days very essential for a capital town.

Location of Raipur :- Located in the centre of state chattisgarh. It is bounded by dist

Durg & Bilaspur. Calcutta, Mumbai, highway is parres through the city & the main grand

tank If-M railway. Raipur is on air map also Raipur is situated at 26.91. northern

Longitute & 81.90 Eastern latitute.

Approach to site :-

This site is located in the main administration area. The area is 1.5 km

away from Raipur Station. The main bus terminal is 5 km away from the site. The road

which is main traffic road to city centre is Cr. E. Road. The site is situated in Shastri

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chowk. In the east side one road which goes to Medical college & the other one is going

to Ghanterglah. The site is located in press complex area on a corner plot. It has 30 m

wide main G.T.road in south & 35 m wide road on east side.

Site area and constratiness

Site area - 3 Acres ( Approximate) or 13400 SOM

Permisible - up to 1000 sq.m. 33%

Covered area - Above 1000 sq.m. 25%

Hight Restricted - 22-25 AT

Set back - 10 % of site area parking area

Allowed Entry and exist point to the site – Two numbers

FAR - 2.5

CLIMATIC CONDITIONS

The topical region of the earth are divided in to 3 major climate zones and

3 sub groups on the basis of 2 atmospheric factors air, temperature and humidity.

1 – Humid Neutorial climate

2 – Not dry desert or semi Desert

3 – Compose or Monsoon climate

RAIPUR and its neighbourhood is classified under composite climate and is characterized

by 3 seasons

1 – Not dry

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2 – Warm Humid

3 – Cool-dry

Jan May August November

Mean monthly max. temp (C) 21.4 45.6 33.9 28.9
Mean Monthly min temp. (C) 7.6 26.10 25.8 11.0
Mean vapour pressure (M.B) 11.7 23.6 32.8 16.6
Mean monthly total Rainfall (M.M) 25.1 13.2 18.6 2.5

25.1
Mean monthly wind speed (kM PH) 4.51 6.76 4.99 338
Sky condition 34.0 13.9 80.3 19.3

Wind Direction

Morning Evening
Jan W/C May Aug Nov W/C Jan May Aug E/W Nov

W/SE W/SE NW/W Nw/C

Solar free not dusty during dry periods. Monsoon winds are fairly strong

and steady.

DATA ANALYSIS
A system approach to space planning is a method of handling the complex

information gathered about the network of department, the multitude of employees and the

equipment they need.

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The corner stone of space planning is data collection. It provides the

factual information in number and verbal description for analysis and design.

What information is needed ? Basically, the interviewer gathers information

that can quantity and describe what is required for work flow, equipments and

special facilities. The interviewer will gather and detail the following specifics.

1)Work Flow : How do work people work in the organisation ?

How do they work together and how many workers are there ?

2) Work Function : What tasks are performed ? How are they classified in the

organisation hierarchy ? Are there privacy requirements ? What special equipments are

required for the work functions ? What are individual work station requirements?

3) Communication within the Department : What are the personal relationships and

priorities relevant to the work flow ?

4)Communication between Departments: What are the interdepartmental contracts, their

frequency of communication and their need for share facilities ? Is the contact made in

person, by telephone or in writing ?

5) Communication with the Public : What is the frequency and nature of the contact ?

How great a penetration and interaction is there with personnel ? Are special facilities

or services needed for this contact such as waiting rooms, dining facilities or seminar

room.

6) Communication and information relevant to paper flow :

What are the requirements for clerical services, typing pools and word processing

centers ? How are documents distributed ?

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7) Record Storage: What type of record storage is needed ? What is used for active work?

What are the quantities and types of storage units, both active and inactive ? There should

they be located and what facilities can be shared ?

8) Special facilities: What are they and how the function ?

How many people do they accommodate ? What special

requirements do they need ? What furniture and equipment is needed for areas like mail

rooms, conference rooms, lounger and libraries? should be located close to work

surfaces. Task lighting is advisable it is not only practical but psychological it gives

individual workers a greater sense of personal control over their immediate surrounding.

Clerical and operational area: Clerical and operational areas offer an

opportunity for truly human design. The main point in any design concerned with the

clerical area is to give each individual a sense of personal control over the environment

and personnel involvement with it. If only within the limited space they occupy. Office

workers should be allowed to chance to express themselves perhaps in the form of extra

desk surface for framed photos or knickknacks and the like or a vertical surface for

taping of remainders or other more light hearted printed matters.

Board Room :- Unlike other office interior, the board room, on general policy rarely is

used for anything else, but meetings. The board rooms layout its unifying table

surrounded by a family of chairs is the expression, in design of how a company or an

institution is run.

The board room could be off a smaller reception room for conversion

and informal business as well as a place in which to wait. Direct access to the board

room from the main entrance is advisable and adjacency to toilet rooms is a necessity.

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The board room should be in its design, on impressive environment

that will encourage board members to rise to the occasion.

The room is dominated by the conference table and the chairs around it,

which together constitute the area of corporate decision making various table shapes

lend themselves to board meetings. A round table is best for upto 12 people, while a

rectangular table is best for upto 20 people. For more than 20 people, various table

shapes are recommended board shape, U shape, circular, oval or triangular. The design

and shape of the board room table can expressinstitution hierarchy by emphasizing

different seating positions.

In addition to the obvious table and chairs, a considerable battery of

audio-visual equipments might be necessary in board rooms if presentations are to be

made screens if there are any should be visible from every seat in the room. Microphones

are useful in large board rooms. Telephones should be placed in separate area.

Rarely is speech privacy required. Normal speech becomes part of the

overall background sound and does not interfere. In the open office, the individuals

adjust their voices according to the degree of communication or privacy they feel is

necessary. There is no false sense of security.

The main concern is to ensure that the conservations and sounds will not

interfere with another persons concentration.

Examining the basic problems of design and planning with regard to the

growing body of knowledge of how people work and changing technology of the office.

The aesthetic, functional and psychological aspects of the office have become very

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specialized subject. The task is to create a high performance work environment with the

information gather and measured against the performance goal set up by the user.

To promote the most desirable land use and direction of building

development, to protect the character of the building and its particular stability for

particular uses to conserve the value of land and building.

To identify and evaluate alternative ways to meet goals and objectives with

a view to making the optimum use of resources.

To promote freedom of architectural design in order to encourage the

development of more attractive and economic building forms within a proper standards.

Office Space

For the multinational community, International Financial institutions,

manufacturers Government trade promotion services, banks, professional services and

many more.

Meeting/Conference Facilities

The meeting rooms are specially designed for flexibility. One can

accommodate from as little as ten to as many as fifty in either Conference. With spacious

luncheon areas, Center Point is ideal for hosting corporate meetings, seminars and

workshops.

SERVICES
LIFTS ( Elevators )

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Perhaps the most important constituent of highrise of highrise buildings is

the lift (also called elevators in Western countries). It can be even said that construction

of taller buildings was made feasible only because of the invention of elevators.

Elevators of primitive type have been known to be used a s early as 3rd

century, B.C., but their use was very limited. These early elevators were operated

manually.

The first known elevator of modern times was installed in New York

city in 1857 by Elisha Otis. It was raised and lowered by a vertical screw instead of

ropes. In 1859 Otis introduced an elevator having an independent reversible steam

engine connected to the winding drum by belt and gear, with chains used to compensate

for the unbalanced weight of the hoisting ropes. This was the real beginning of the

commercial utilization of elevators.

Hydraulic elevators were introduced in 1871 and were quite popular till

the end of the 19th century when they were gradually replaced by electric elevators

which had several advantages over the hydraulic elevators such as lesser space, higher

efficiency and constant speed irrespective of the load.

Mechanism :

A round undercut groove is made in pulley giving constant pinching

action to hold the ropes. Buffer springs are used to prevent shock in case the counter

weight or car bangs on the floor. For very high-speed elevator oil buffers are used to

absorb the shock.

Lift Cage :

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The size of the lift depends upon the capacity. As per the present Raipur Lift

Act a maximum of 0.19 sq. mt. of space is allowed per person up to 12 passengers. For

every additional person 0.1 sq. mt. is permissible. (The idea is to avoid excess loading).

However, it has been observed that this results in overcrowding and at least 0.22 sq. mt.

should be provided per person. For more than 12 passengers the criteria can be reduced

to 0.15 sq. mt. per additional passenger. The lift cage should have width to depth ratio

between 1:1 to 2:1. Width is kept greater to reduce time for the passengers to occupy and

vacate the lift.

The inside of the lift cage should have a decorative appearance. It is among

the first few things which create an impression on the visitors. Even light music is

played in some elevators to make the journey more pleasing. Many times intercom is

provided in the cage which helps in communication in case of failure of lift because of

power or mechanical failure.

In some countries the cage door is eliminated. This results in saving of

time as well as less maintenance.

Speed :

The normal speed of the elevator in 0.65 mt. per second (130 ft. per

minute). However, for taller buildings high-speed elevators are adopted ranging in

speeds from 1.5 mps. (300 fpm.) to 6.5 mps. (1,300 fpm.) The highest speed adopted in

India is 3.5 mps. (700 fph) for the Taj Intercontinental and Oberoi Sheration hotels in

Raipur.

TYPE OF OPERATIONS :

The various types of operations are as follows ;

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Cars Switch Operation :

This method of operation by which the movement of the lift car is directly

under the operation of the attendant by means of a handle .is outdated and is being used

in very old elevators only.

Double Button Operation :

Operation by means of buttons or switches in the car and at the landing,

any of which may be used to control the movement of the car as long as the button or

switch is manually maintained in the actuating position.

Single Automatic Operation :

a) Automatic operation by means of one button in the car for each landing

level served and one button at each landing so arranged that, if any car or landing button

has been actuated the actuation of any other car or landing operating button will have no

effect on the movement of the car until the response to the first button has been complete.

b) The lift operates as an automatic push button type, but a switch will be

provided in the car operating panel. If it is desired to operate the lift with attendant, this

switch is turned to the desired position when it will disconnect the control of the lift due

to landing operating buttons but will provide signals in the annunciator provided in the

car. This device is advantageous for mid-rise building if the liftman is employed. The lift

remains under his control and unnecessary operation is curtailed.

Single Button Collective :

Automatic operation by means of one button in the car for each landing

level served and one button at each landing. Where in all stops registered by the

momentary actuation of landing or car buttons are made irrespective of the number of

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buttons actuated or of the sequence in which the buttons are actuated. With this type of

operation, the car stops at all landings for which buttons have been actuated making the

stops in the order in which the landings are reached after the buttons have been actuated

but irrespective of its direction of travel.

Selective Simplex Collective :

a) Automatic operation by means of one button in the car for each landing

level served and by up-and down buttons at the landings, wherein all stops are registered

by the momentary actuation of the car made as defined under non-selective collective

automatic operation, but wherein the stops registered by the momentary actuation of the

landing buttons are in the order in which the landings are reached in each direction of

travel after the buttons have been actuated. With this type of operation, all ‘UP’ landing

calls are answered when the car is travelling in the up direction and all ‘down’ landing

calls are answered when the car is travelling in the down direction except in the case of

the uppermost or lowermost calls which are answered as soon as they are reached

irrespective of the direction of travel of the car.

b) Duplex collective Operation is similar to that of Simplex Collective

Operation except that in this case two cars are operating and the first available car

responds to the landing car for its direction of travel.

Signal Operation :

a) Same as Collective Operation, except that the closing of the door is

initiated by the attendant.

Group Automatic Operation :

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Automatic operation of two or more non-attendant lifts equipped with

power-operated car and doors. The operation of the cars is coordinated by a supervisory

operation system including automatic dispatching means whereby selected cars at

designated dispatching points automatically close their doors and proceed on their trips in

a regulated manner. It includes one button in each car for each floor served and up and-

down buttons at each landing (single buttons at terminal landings). The stop set up by the

momentary actuation of the car buttons are made automatically in succession as a car

reaches the corresponding landings irrespective of its direction of travel or the sequences

in which the buttons are actuated. The stops set up by the momentary actuation of the

landing buttons may be accomplished by any lift in the group, and are made

automatically by the firs available car that approaches the landing in the corresponding

direction.

DESIGNING A SUITABLE LIFT SYSTEM :

Traffic Analysis :

It is necessary to carry out a traffic analysis for selecting a proper system

of lifts in a building. The traffic analysis takes into account the number and height of

floors, type of occupancy, estimated population of each floor, quality desired service, etc.

Thumb Rule for midrise Buildings :

The following thumb rules can be adopted for residential buildings up to

12 floors having a maximum of 4 flats (2-3 bedrooms) per floor.

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a) Up to 6 storeyed building, one lift of 5 to 6 passenger capacity having a

speed of 0.65 mps.

b) For a building of 6 to 8 floors, 2 lifts each of 6-passenger capacity

having a speed of 0.65 mps.

C) For buildings of 8 to 12 floors two lifts as follows :

i) One lift of 8-passenger capacity with a speed of 0.65 mps.

ii) One lift of 13-passenger capacity having automatic doors on car and landings with a

speed of 1.0 mps. and large enough to accommodate an ambulance stretcher.

For all taller residential buildings and office buildings having more than

three floors it is recommended to have a proper traffic analysis and design a suitable

system based on the handling capacity desired.

Estimated Population :

Smaller Offices : 1 person per 6.5 sq.mt.(Less than 50 sq.mt)

Larger Offices: 1 person per 8 to 10 sq.mt. of usable space

The ground and first floor population can be ignored while working out

total population.

Table shows the number of persons that can be carried in various types of

lifts. It will be found useful in selecting a proper system

For all non-residential buildings the traffic cleared in 50 minutes is

considered adequate whereas for residential buildings 100 minutes is adequate. For

non-residential Government buildings where a large number of visitors are expected

the period should be reduced to 30

minutes.

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Handling Capacity :

As per I.S. recommendation the handing capacity of elevators in different

types of buildings should be approximately as follows: Class of occupancy

a) Diversified (mixed) office occupancy 10-15 per cent

b) Single purpose office occupancy 15-25 per cent

c) Residential 7.5 per cent

In simple words a handing capacity of 10 per cent means the entire

population in the building can be cleared in 50 minutes.

The handling capacity is calculated by the formula.

H = 300 x Q x 100

TxP

Where H = Handing capacity as the percentage of the peak population handled during 5

minutes.

Q = Average number of passengers carried in a car.

T = Waiting interval and

P = Total population to be handled during peak period.

Q is take as 80 per cent of the maximum carrying capacity of the car.

The waiting interval is calculated by the formula.

T = RTT

Where N = Number of lifts and

RTT = Round trip time which is the sum of time required for entry and exit of

passengers, door opening and closing time for completed trip, acceleration, etc.

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Quality of Service :

Quality of service is generally measured by the passenger waiting time at

the various floors.

As per I.S. specifications the quality of service or acceptable interval is

classified as follows :

20-25 Sec. Excellent

30-40 Sec. Fairly good.

45 Sec. and above Not satisfactory.

Note :- For residential buildings longer intervals up to 90 seconds is permissible.

Various other points which require special considerations while

planning elevators are :-

FIRE SAFETY

Highrise building fires with high death tolls, in a number of countries, have

created a great interest among fire protection specialists regarding the fire hazards of

these structures. The fire-brigade is often helpless in the face of such fires and cannot save

human lives and fight the fire effectively with traditional methods. This makes fire safety

an important aspect requiring special care while designing and constructing highrise

buildings.

Snorkel Ladder

Recently the Raipur Fire-brigade has acquired a more sophisticated type

of ladder known as ‘Snorkel’ ladder from the U.K.. Although reachwise it does not have

much advantage over the conventional ladder it has several other advantages such as :

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a) It can rescue five persons at a time and bring them down to the ground

from any height up to 31.4 mts.(103 feet) in about 80 seconds, which feature has no

parallel in fire-fighting equipment. In dire emergencies, this capacity can be increased up

to 8 persons. Besides, another novel feature is that even infants, aged persons,

fractured and burnt casualties (stretcher cases) can be comfortably rescued with the

least effort which is not possible in the case of other ladders.

b) Normally, one water line at the top of a ladder is the limit. But, in the

Snorkel, there are three water jets provided at the top, one to protect the fireman within

the cage and the other two jets to fight the fire with a total delivery of about 500 gallons

per minute.

(c) This unit is versatile inasmuch as without shifting the base, the head of

the Sonrkel can be shifted from window to window at different heights and within a radius

of 15.24 mts. (50 feet), thus giving an advantage of extreme mobility to the fire-fighters.

(d) The unit is capable of reaching 15.24 mts (50 feet) vertically and

another 15.24 mts. (50 feet) horizontally. This means that the Snorkel can “jump over”

medium-sized buildings up to 5 storeys to reach the other side. This is a big advantage in

congested areas where the fire spread has to be quickly arrested by surrounding the same

with strength and mobility.

(e) A fireman, being in the cage at the height of 31.4 mts. (103 feet) can

operate the Snorkel independently of the ground operator in all directions. This will

enable the firemen to shift the ladder into desired positions without wasting them.

(f) Another fitting in this unit is the provision

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of a fresh air line. Fresh air, in cylinders, is kept at the vehicle level and the air is

supplied through a pipe at the cage level. This enables a fireman to survive and operate

in smoky and polluted atmosphere. The fresh air can also be administered to a casualty

in the building without waiting to bring him down to the ground level.

(g) A fireman is not as safe and secure on the head of a conventional

ladder as in the cage of a Snorkel, which is more stable and spacious.

(h) The fireman in the cage can keep in constant touch with the enables

proper co-ordination between the ground crews and those operating at a height.

The model of “Snorkel” acquired is about 13.71

mts. (45 feet) in length, 2.44mts. (8 feet) in width and 3.47 mts. (11½ fee) in height and

has a gross weight of 16 tonnes. Although these measurements seem to be bulky, the

actual performance has been quite satisfactory during trials in the city of Raipur.

The price paid is Rs. 16 lacks for ‘Snorkel’ imported by the Raipur

Municipal Corporation. However, in future it is proposed to import the unit only and

mount the same on Indian chassis. This will be a beneficial idea to the fire services in

India as it would make it within their easy reach, \the Snorkel is available in various

ranges from 9.14 mts. (30 feet) to 31.4 mts. (103 feet).

Special Problems of Highrise Buildings :

There are two important aspects of fire safety in highrise buildings. They

can be summarised as follows :

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Part A: This would pertain to design and construction features. This will

involve following principles.

i) The structure must remain rigid and intact throughout a fire.

ii) Smoke control is a very important element in the provision of safety capability.

iii) There must be a circulation system for people, including safe travel and safe areas of

refuge in case of very tall buildings.

Part B:- This would pertain to special appliances and equipments to be provided

within the building. This will consist of;

i) Fire-fighting appliances and facilities within the building since the fire department

must operate internally.

ii) Emergency communications and control systems providing sufficient information for

occupants and fire-fighting squad such as data on the fire, its location, its size, etc.

iii) There should be adequate maintenance securing a proper and reliable functioning of

all the mechanical and electrical appliances in the building throughout its life.

Now let us examine these aspects in detail :

DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION FEATURES

Combustible materials:

The skeleton of the modern skyscrapers does not get damaged easily in

case of fire. However, they are heavily stacked with combustible materials. The wooden

doors and windows, electric wiring, wooden partitions and furniture, clothes, paper and

other stationery, wall papers, gas pipe, etc. are the chief sources which cause the spread

of fire and smoke within the entire building.

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The flames and hot combustion fumes also rise along the facade (Torch

effect). The combustible materials are inevitably ignited by the intense radiated heat

convention of the combustion fumes within the buildings and the heat radiated by

combustion fumes and flames rising along the facade mutually support the ignition

responsible for the fir spread in highrise buildings.

Separation Walls :

For very large buildings fire-resisting separation walls are provided which

sub-divide the building. They must start at the foundation and extend through all the

storeys up to the roof level. The thickness must be min 22.5 cms. (9’) for brick walls

and 10 cms (4”) for concrete walls. The main idea is to isolate the fire completely. If at all

openings are necessary, they must be provided with fireproof doors having fire resistance

of at least two hours.

Spread of smoke :

Experimental test in a 20-storeyed apartment building at Maison Alfort

(franco) Established on amazing

speed with which smoke travels up. The results of these tests are : -

a) Within two minutes after lighting the fire, smoke penetrated the corridor and reached

the open staircase.

b) Within 7 minutes it travelled up to the 20th floor.

c) After 12 minutes the staircase could not be used. The corridors were not suitable due

to reduced visibility.

d) Enclosed staircase remained smoke-free.

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e) A corridor 10 mts. (33’) long filled with smoke cannot be used to gain entry to the

staircase.

f) Within the room the highest temperature recorded was 800°C and at the foot of

staircase 125°C after 10 minutes.

This means that escape has to be effected within 10 to 13 minutes after the

fire has broken out. This points to the need for an early fire detection system, an effective

fire alarm system and a shorter travel distance.

Enclosed Staircase and Lift Lobbies :

The essential purpose of the really fireproof building is to completely

isolate each storey, so that a fire will burn itself out on the floor or in the room of origin

without being able to spread up, down or horizontally. To accomplish this all the

communication between the floors such as staircase, lift lobby, corridors and all types of

shafts, etc. must be properly enclosed. A fire-resisting self-closing door is used to enclose

the staircase and lift lobbies from the rest of the floor. It is advisable to provide a

permanently open type louvered window in the staircase which allows the smoke to

escape. This prevents suffocation of the occupants during escape. It is also necessary

to provide permanent openings at top of the staircase which must be at least 2½ % of

the cross-sectional area of the enclosure. Besides additional 15 % openable sashes at

every floor level are recommended.

Pressurized Staircase :

If it is not possible to provide staircase facing an external wall due to

planning then pressurization as a means of controlling the smoke and toxic gases is

adopted. The pressurization can be carried out by fans connected to a duet system so that

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air could be introduced into the staircase through an input grille at each floor level. It has

been found that pressurization up to pressure differential of 5.00 mm. water gauge that

pressurization up to pressure differential of 5.00 mm. water gauge is necessary to override

any pressures likely to be encountered due to:-

1. The temperature differentials created by the fire.

2. Exterior wind conditions.

3. The temperature differentials existing anywhere between the interior and exterior of the

buildings.

Actual case histories have shown that properly designed enclosed or

pressurized staircase have played a very vital role in evacuation of occupants. In the

absence of such staircase the loss of human lives has been very heavy. (As had happened

in the Hotel Tacyonkak fire. South Korea, Sao Paulo fire, Brazil, Hotel Winecoff fire,

Atlanta, etc. The plight of the trapped occupants be comes most miserable and many have

resorted to desperate attempts of jumping out of the windows. However, it is really heart-

breaking to see that a large majority of our skyscrapers constructed so far lack even this

most fundamental necessity.

Lift Enclosure :

The walls enclosing lift shafts should have a fire resistance of at least one

hour. At least on lift (preferably fire lift) must have landing doors with a fire resistance of

1 hour. An automatic closing device which would ensure smoke tightness is necessary. If

the lift lobby is in the core of the building (not directly connected to the atmosphere) then

a positive pressure of 5mm. water gauge is necessary (as in staircase). If the lift shaft

is connected directly to the atmosphere then it should have permanent vents at the top

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having an area not less than 0.2 m2 This is necessary to allow outlet for smoke

travelling upwards.

Additional Staircase:

In order to ease evacuation and help fire-fighting operations an additional

staircase is recommended for very long lobbies. It is also necessary to provide self-

closing fire-resisting doors inside these lobbies to check the spread of fire. In certain

countries it is compulsory to provide and improved staircase on the outside of buildings,

and accessible from every dwelling irrespective of the height of the building. A special

form of escape making use of rope is also used in an emergency in some countries.

Basements :

Basements of highrise buildings are used for various purposes such as

car parking, storage or to accommodate machinery of various services like air-

conditioning etc. Basements are more vulnerable to fire mainly on account of the lack of

surveillance. Inadequacy of ventilation in basements also plays a big part in the spread

of smoke. It is necessary to be very careful in the design of basements to avoid them

becoming the root cause of fire. They must be provided with vents having crosssectional

area of not less than 2½ % of floor area. When more than one basement is provided the

venting of each level should be separated. Evenly-distributed vents can be provided in

the form of grills or breakable stall board lights or pavement lights either direct from the

basement or by way of shafts. Basements which cannot be naturally ventilated at all,

should be provided with mechanical device to extract air and should be designed to

operate effectively in the event of fire. (Because of smoke risk from basements, upper

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level exits from basement stairs should be well clear of ground floor exits and doorways

to staircases above ground floor). Care should be also taken to protect upper level stairs.

Ventilators :

The ventilators over the main doors can play a big role in the spread of

smoke. It is necessary to avoid them to minimise the smoke nuisance.

Services Shafts :

In quite a few fires (even the giant Empire State Building was once involved

in a similar type) the service shaft has played an important role in the spread. The service

shaft enclosure must have at least one hour fire resistance. They should be sealed on every

floor by carrying the R.C.C. floor. There should be no gap left between the service pipes

and the floor. The shaft for electrical cable must be separate and should not be mixed with

water or gas pipes or telephone lines.

Centralized Air-condition System :

Many commercial highrise buildings are centrally air-conditioned. Such

buildings are completely sealed on the exterior face. Such buildings have openings

only at the entrance and exits and at the intakes and exhausts of the air-conditioning.

Fires in such cases cause a rapid rise in temperature because heat cannot escape. Hot

fumes and flames are likely to spread quickly through air-conditioning ducts and vertical

openings such as lift shafts, cable shafts, and stairways to the upper floors, particularly

as a result of chimney effect of these shafts.

The ill-planned dusting and return air system in a centralized air-

conditioning system can be chiefly instrumental in the spread of smoke and fire in a

highrise uilding as had happened in the State Bank Building fire in Raipur.

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The following precautions are, therefore, necessary.

a) It is advisable to have separate air handling system for each flat or floor in the

case of commercial buildings. This can check the fire from spreading further.

b) The escape routes like staircases, corridors, etc., should be avoided as far as

possible. The return air passage can prevent them from getting smoke logged.

The general tendency is to use the space above false ceiling for return

air passage, for economy. However, it is preferable to use metallic dueling for return

air passage also .

c) The materials used for insulating ducting should have higher resistance against

spread of smoke. They should be able to withstand fire for at least 2 hours.

d) Fire dampers should be provided within the ducts which can be shut off both manually

and automatically. They must be automatically switched of when the fire alarm or smoke

detectors operate. It is necessary to shut them off during after office hours. Many times

the fire takes place during after office hours and assumes a menacing proportion before

being noticed.

It is advisable to have dampers provided in the air handling ducts at the

point of entry in each flat or office. The main ducting shaft must have a fire rating of 4

hours to check the fire from spreading further.

e) All openings around the ducts in floors or walls should be sealed properly so as to avoid

flames or smoke from spreading.

Smoke Detectors.

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Area coverage addressable smoke detectors are located in all passenger

elevator lobbies in conjunction with the elevator capture and recall system. Addressable

smoke detectors are located at the top of the all exit stairway and at the top of all elevator

shafts.

Area-coverage smoke detectors of the addressable

type provide immediate identification of the alarm location. Detector units are installed

only in areas with ceiling heights of 10.5 m (34.5ft) or less. Spacing between individual

detectors must not exceed 7.7m(24.5ft). Area coverage must not exceed 70m2 (753.ft2).

Area-coverage, system-connected addressable (maintenance-type) smoke

detectors are installed in all major electrical transformer and switchgear rooms, elevator

machine rooms hotel rooms, apartments, and similar locations in conjunction with the

special extinguishing systems protection those spaces.

Area-coverage photoelectric smoke doctors are installed within the fan

rooms to detect smoke in the exhaust air. The detectors are integrated with the controls for

the smoke management system via the emergency command center.

Because of their large open layouts, atria are also equipped with projected

liner beam smoke detectors. The detectors are so positioned that the beams have an

unobstructed projection range and provide complete coverage of the open areas.

Manual Fire Alarm Systems(Pull Station).

Pull station locations must not exceed 1.5 m (5.0ft) from exits and must be

mounted not more than 1.25m(4.0ft) above the finished floor forexits from the building,

exits to the roof, adjacent to exit stairways, and exits from parking garages. Maximum

spacing for pull station locations in corridors is 61 m (22 ft). One zone per level for each

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office tower and multiple zones for lower level structures and atria are provided. Zoning

is limited to a maximum of 2000 m2 (921.528 ft2). Pull stations are positioned so that no

person must travel more than 25m(82ft)in order to activate the system.

The following section describes the fire alarm, communications, and

emergency systems for the three case study projects in general terns. The materials are

applicable to other tall buildings as well.

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT AND APPLICANCES

Fire Elevator :

The fundamental problem in case of fire in highrise buildings is of reaching

the upper floors for rescue or evacuation purposes. As discussed earlier even the most

sophisticated turn-table ladder has a maximum reach of only 30 to 35 mts. Thus to fight

fire or rescue trapped occupants the fire brigade has to relay upon the internal elevator

within the building. At least one of the elevators has to be suitably designed to meet these

requirements. This elevator is also called fire elevator. It should fulfill the following

requirements.

1. Independent source of supply :

It must be able to run on an independent source of power supply not linked

with the main electric supply of the building. The main supply of the building has to be cut

off to avoid short circuit and further spread of fire. In fact many times a short circuit is the

root cause of the fire.

2. Dimensions :

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It has to be wide enough to accommodate a stretcher so that injured or

dead persons can be brought down. It has to be large enough to carry as many persons as

possible (at least 10-12 persons) to expedite the evacuation.

3. Control :

Whenever necessary it should be controllable from the ground floor so that

fireman can use it immediately without any delay. A special key arrangement is provided

at the ground level for this purpose.

4. Speed :

It should be a high-speed elevator so as to reach the topmost floor within

one minute.

The Fire-Fighting Pump and extra Water Storage Tanks:

An exclusive water supply within the highrise building is usually provided

for fire-fighting for immediate use till the municipal supply is secured. The capacity of the

tank is dependent upon the size of the building and may vary from 45,000 litres to

2,00,000 litres. The supply may be, either stored at the ground level or at an upper level.

If provided at the ground level, the arrangement shown in figure 9.5 is usually adopted.

The arrangement keeps the water in fire tank under circulation. This is necessary to

avoid mosquito breeding. The regular domestic and flushing supply is fed through the

overflow level of this tank.

A special pump is provided on the fire tank and a 100 to 150 mm. diameter

pipe serves as a delivery line for this pump. This delivery line runs up to the topmost storey

of the building. Water is pumped through this line so that it can reach the topmost storey

under the required pressure. The capacity of the pump is such that it can supply 1,200 to

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2,400 litres of water per minute under a pressure of 1.4 to 3.2 kg/sq.cm. on the top most

floor of the building. The delivery line known as the wet or dry riser is usually located in

the main staircase lobby of the building with an outlet on each floor (known as internal

hydrant). A hosepipe is provided on each floor in a glass cupboard for spraying water.

Overhead Water Tanks for Fire Fighting : I

The present fire-fighting code for Raipur city and (see Appendix B)

stipulates the provision of an overhead water tank of 20,000 litres connected with riser for

apartment-type buildings (having a height of 24 to 35 mts.) which can be utilized in the

initial stages by the occupants for fighting the fire. To overcome the difficulty of

insufficient pressure on the floors below the terrace, a booster pump which can give a

pressure of 1.05 kg/sq.cm. (15 lbs./sq. inch) at the topmost hydrant is to be provided along

with a non-return valve on the downstream side(between the pump and the tank).

Although these buildings are within the reach of the fire-brigade ladder the idea is to

provide them with some additional fire-fighting device compared to lowrise buildings. The

overhead storage tanks can provide some water immediately which might be useful in the

initial stages of the fire.

Dry and Wet Risers :

In dry riser the pump has to be started manually whereas in the automatic

wet riser system, the pipeline is always full of water under pressure and as the water

flows, the drop in pressure starts the pump automatically. In spite of the higher cost, the

wet riser is recommended. There is always a considerable delay (ranging from 15 to 30

minutes) in the dry riser system before the water supply under the

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required pressure is obtained from the hydrants. This delay can prove very dangerous

because the fire can assume a menacing proportion if not checked in the initial stages.

The wet riser system has also an inherent advantage in that the whole system has to be

foolproof all the time. Many times it is found that hydrants etc. might be leaking in the

dry riser system which is noticed only during the actual operations. It becomes too

late and difficult to rectify the defects during the actual operations. (See also comments on

the wet riser system as adopted by the Raipur Municipal Corporation for highrise

building Appendix B).

Automatic Sprinklers :

This system consists of an arrangement of pipes regularly spaced under

the ceiling in all or the most hazardous parts of the building and supplied with water

from fire tank pumps, at regular intervals depending upon the hazards. There are sprinkler

heads which contain a fusible plug. This plug is designed to open at a pre-determined

temperature which is usually 70 deg.- 75 deg.C (160 deg.-170 deg.F) for the ordinary

sprinkler head, thus releasing a flow of water under pressure which will continue, and to

avoid unnecessary water damage, as well as to notify the concerned authorities that there

is a fire, the sprinkler system should be provided with a water flow alarm to sound at some

central station or fire alarm headquarters.

The advantage of such an automatic system lies in the fact that when

properly supervised it is always on duty. Installing a sprinkler system is like stationing a

fireman every 3 meters or so; each with a nose ready for action in an instant, 24 hours a

day . The efficiency of the plan is shown by the fact that 95 per cent, of the fires occuring

in properties equipped with sprinklers have been controlled without resulting in serious

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losses. It was found that in the U.S.A., out of a total of 71,519 fires reported and covering

all types of properties equipped with sprinklers, 69 per cent were extinguished and 26.9

per cent were held in check. The effectiveness of automatic sprinklers is further shown by

the large reduction in fire insurance rates granted upon installation of the system. In

spite of its high installation and maintenance cost the automatic sprinkler system is

perhaps the most effective means to combat fire.

The latest thinking in Western countries is to have a statutory

requirement for the sprinkler system in buildings of stipulated heights and sizes. The

sprinkler system has also a very vital role to play in protecting the basement parking

garages, commercial rooms, restaurants and storage areas which have a much higher

chance of being the root cause of the fire. The sprinkler system could have gone a long

way in checking the spread of fire in the initial stage only in the Hotel Tacyonkak, South

Korea, and Sao-Paulo, Brazil, cases. The Sears Towers, presently the tallest building in

the world has employed the totally automatic sprinkler system as the primary life safety

tool.

Portable Fire Extinguishers :

These extinguishers are widely used in factory buildings. On account of

their easy and quick action it is suggested to make them compulsory in tall buildings.

They should be provided on each landing. For bigger flats and offices it would be even

worth while to have one installed inside the premises only. Soda Acid CO2 and dry

powder type are recommended.

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Air Conditioning and refrigeration subsystem.

Refrigeration Machine. The most widely used refrigeration system in tall

buildings employs centrifugal refrigeration machines operating on a compressive

refrigeration cycle (ASHRAE, 1989, 1992). Despite the obvious benefit of being very quiet,

absorption machines are usually not applicable in tall buildings because their operation

requires high-temperature heat, and tall buildings often do not have a heating plant

sufficient to support this.

Centrifugal refrigeration machines consist of two parts-the evaporator, or

water chiller as it is frequently called, and the condenser, which is typically water-

cooled. Chilled water generated in the evaporator, usually about 5.60C (420F) is

distributed to various air handling units in the building, thus cooling the air that passes

through the air handling units. The used chilled water, usually about 13.90C(570F is

returned to the chiller. The heat picked up from the air by the chilled water is

transferred to the evaporating refrigerant in the evaporator, thus rechilling the used water.

The gaseous refrigerant is compressed into the condenser by the centrifugal compressor,

and the compressed hot refrigerant condenses in the condenser, giving away its heat to

the surrounding condenser water. This warm condenser water, usually about 37.70C(1000

F), is pumped up to the cooling tower to be cooled down to around 29.4 0 C (850 F) by

dissipating its heat to air by evaporation. This water is returned to the condenser to

continue the refrigeration process (ASHRAE, 1992).

Depending on the size of the building, the cooling load in a tall building

may range from a few to several thousand tons. Although the exact requirements depend

on the specifics of the building, in the absence of any specifics, one may assume about I

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KW of cooling load for approximately 8 to 12 m2 gross (86 to 129 ft2 gross) of the

building (or 1 ton for 300 to 400 ft2 gross) Of course, one could use a single refrigeration

machine for the entire load. However for greater system reliability and operational

flexibility it is much more desirable to use multiple units of smaller capacities. Usually

the equipment is sized in such a way that the operational versatility under different

cooling requirements ever different seasons can be maximized while still maintaining

relative simplicity of maintenance and stocking of spare parts. For example, for a

relatively small building with a total cooling requirement of 7000 kW (approximately 2000

tons) one might use two machines of 3000kW (800 tons) and 4000 kW (1200 tons) each so

that three different operational levels of 3000 kW (800 tons), 4000 kW (1200 tons), and

7000 kW (2000 tons) of cooling can be possible. Oakbrook Terrace tower (Figs. 9.6 and

9.7) is an example. It has two refrigeration machines of 3300 kW (950 tons) and

4000kW (1200 tons) each (Murphy/Jahn,1985). On the other hand, for a building with a

maximum of 10,000 kW (3000 tons) one might elect to use three identical machines of

3300kW (1000 tons) each, as is the case with the USG building in Chicago (Skidmore,

Owings & Merrill, 1990). This will still give three levels of operational capacity while

greatly simplifying the task of maintenance and the inventory of spare parts. Normally

three to five pieces of equipment yield enough operational versatility with economy in

terms of both operation and maintenance as well as the initial cost of purchase and

installation.

Refrigeration Plant: The Primary Mechanical Room.

The equipment is installed in a large mechanical room along with a host

of chilled water pumps, condenser water pumps, and other necessary equipment such as

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an air compressor and domestic water heater. (This room should really be called a

"refrigeration plant" to distinguish it from the other kind of mechanical room, which

houses air-handling units. However this is not the case, and confusion continues).

Obviously a refrigeration plant has an unusually heavy dead load, and the structural

engineer must consult the equipment manufacturer for recommended design loads as well

as the architect and the mechanical engineer for the specific equipment layout. Also the

plant requires unusually high headroom because of the enormous amount of piping work

in addition to the height of the refrigeration machines themselves. For this purpose,

usually at least 6.1m (20 ft) of headroom is required. Thus unless the plant is in the

basement, common practice is to design it as a two-story space. This gives the obvious

benefit of being able to accommodate the mechanical space within the tower without

disrupting the vertical rhythm of the building from the outside.

A basement is an obvious candidate for the plant from the structural point

of view, and this is the case with the Lucky-Goldstar twin tower in Seoul (Hee Sung

Industry, 1987; . However, there are two other points that must be considered. One is its

relationship with air-handling units, the other is construction scheduling. Heavy

mechanical equipment normally has a long lead time for delivery, and usually the floor

slab over a mechanical room cannot be poured until the equipment is fully in place. This

could mean a serious delay in the entire construction process. Unless the equipment is

ordered by the owner long before the award of the construction contract, whoever the

contractor may be, the basement may not be adequate from this point of view.

Furthermore, since every air-handling unit in the building, with the

probable exception of small packaged air-conditioning units, needs to be served by

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the central refrigeration plant, the cost of chilled water piping as well as the operational

efficiency of the entire system could be seriously affected by the location of the

refrigeration plant. As will be seen later, there could be several major mechanical rooms

distributed vertically in a tall building. One could be at the top of the building, another

one just below the grade, and perhaps one to three more in midlevels at every 20 to 40

stories. It is clear that the basement may not necessarily be the optimum location for the

refrigeration plant from this point of view. In fact, many tall buildings have their

refrigeration plants somewhere near the bottom one-third of the building. The AT & T

tower and 900 North Michigan Avenue are two examples. The 60-story AT & T tower

has its refrigeration plant on the 16th floor (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, 1986),

whereas the 66-story 900 North Michigan has it on the 14th floor (Kohn Pedersen Fox

Associates, 1985; ). Of course, the refrigeration plant is also the best location for

major air handlers.

Cooling Tower. Undoubtedly the most obvious and convenient location for a cooling

tower is the rooftop, and that is in fact where most of the cooling towers in tall buildings

are found. The cooling towers are enclosed at the top of the building in an ornamental

"cap." Louvered openings allow the air to freely flow through to enhance the efficient

functioning of the cooling tower. Rooftop cooling towers, however, cause an extra

burden on the construction costs because a pair of condenser water pipes, which are

substantial both in size and in cost, must be installed from the roof to the

refrigeration machines, wherever they are located. As mentioned earlier, this could be a

distance of as much as two-thirds of the total building height or even the entire height.

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Occasionally there could be a low-rise companion of the tower in a tall

building complex. If that is the case, then the rooftop of the low-rise portion could be a

convenient place for a cooling tower. This is the case with 900 North Michigan. As the

building section view indicates, the mechanical floors are zoned in the tower to reduce

duct and piping runs and to increase both the economy and the efficiency of the HVAC

system. However, one should be cautious about possible condensation of moisture

vapors from the cooling tower on the surfaces of the surrounding buildings, including

the very highrise tower that it is to serve. When the low-rise location is available and

particularly attractive from the construction and operational points of view, then one

should seriously explore ways of dealing with the moisture problem.

Similar to the case of refrigeration machines, system reliability and

operational versatility are also very important for cooling towers. For this purpose,

cooling towers are usually compartmentalized into several chambers. Furthermore,

being core-dominated, tall buildings need year-round cooling. This means that some

sections of the cooling tower need to be operating even in the middle of winter. For this

purpose, that part of the cooling tower is "winterized," that is, protected from freezing by

heating elements.

Finally, a cooling tower is not the only means of cooling the condenser

water. In the case of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, ocean water is used as the heat

sink. Sea water is brought into the basement of the building through an intake tunnel of

more than 305 m (1000 ft) in length at the rate of about 57 m (15,000 gal) per minute,

and it is this water that cools the condenser water (walker,1987). In the Christian Science

Center in Boston the condenser water is cooled in a specially designed cooling pond,

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which occupies an entire city block. Although such a pond is visually appealing, the

evaporation from the cooling pond impacts the microclimate of the surrounding areas

significantly, and one should be very cautious about its use. Perhaps a more innovative

solution to the problem could be actively harnessing the waste heat in the condenser

water for other beneficial uses. This water is already about 38 0 C ( 1000 F),and it is hot

enough to preheat domestic hot water or even to heat small neighboring buildings in

winter. If necessary, the waste heat in the condenser water can be pumped out, thus

generating hot water of a higher temperature while cooling the condenser water on the

other end. Developers, who usually own tall buildings, may not wish to do this because of

the extra initial cost, but it is more than worthy of exploring.

Provisions for Auxiliary Air-Conditioning Units. In designing a tall building, many

different kinds of tenant requirement’s must be anticipated, not only initially but also over

the life of the building. Appropriate responsive measures must be provided in the

initial building system design to permit accommodating such requirements. One

particular point of concern is added cooling requirements due to extensive

computerization of offices.

Rather than trying to provide "enough" cooling through the central

HVAC system without knowing exactly what the added cooling load might be, the usual

strategy is to have the tenant handle the extra load directly with additional packaged air-

conditioning units. These units come in two different types-one with air-cooled

condensers and the other with water-cooled condensers. Since an air-cooled condenser

requires direct access to outdoor air as the heat sink, this type is at best very difficult to

use in a tall building. Appropriate ones are typically those with water-cooled

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condensers because these units can be cooled by the condenser water from the central

cooling tower. For this, takeoffs are installed in the condenser water pipes as anticipated

during the initial construction and capped off until needed, as in the Lucky-Goldstar twin

tower and the AT & T tower. Of course, the primary condenser water pipe, as well as the

cooling tower, must be designed with these extra loads in mind. Once the tower crane is

taken down, adding an extra cooling tower on a tall building is difficult and expensive.

Air-Conditioning and Distribution Subsystem

Air Handlers. The heart of air-conditioning and distribution systems is

the air handler. It is in this equipment that the air is conditioned, thermally and

chemically, and it is also through this equipment that the air is propelled to travel to

various parts of the building.

Generally speaking, there are three kinds of conditioning. The first is the

replenishment of oxygen and the removal of carbon dioxide and any other pollutants

through fresh air intake on the one hand and exhaust on the other, as well as through

active filtering of airborne particles. Another kind of conditioning is heating and cooling

of the air. Since tall buildings have a much greater cooling than heating requirement

typically cooling alone is provided in the air handlers. As is discussed in Subsection 7,

the heating of the air accomplished in variable-air-volume (VAV) boxes when and where

needed. The third kind of conditioning is humidification and dehumidification.

Dehumidification is achieved in conjunction with the cooling process, and humidification

is done by the spraying of steam.

Once conditioned, the air is blown into a carefully engineered supply air

duct system by the supply fans. After conditioning various spaces, the used air is

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collected and drawn into the return air shaft by the return fans. After passing through the

return fans, some of it is exhausted and the rest is fed into the air handler for

recycling.

For tall buildings, large-capacity air handlers are typically field-assembled

in a configuration and specification that is most suitable for the particular case. The fans

could be either centrifugal or axial types. However, an axial fan offers greater versatility

in configuring the air handlers, leading to greater constructibility. These are frequently

used in pairs-one pair for the supply and the other for the return. Note the mirrored

arrangement of these fans in each mechanical room .

Mechanical Room for Air Handlers. For operational efficiency and system reliability, as

well as for construction economy, tall buildings are without exception divided into

several HVAC service zones vertically, usually no more than 40 stories but no less than 20

stories each, so that each zone can be served autonomously by a set of air handlers . As

noted earlier, mechanical rooms require high vertical clearance not only for the air

handlers themselves, but for huge air trunks, and are generally designed as double-story

spaces. In tall buildings these are usually seen as slightly different bands compared to the

rest of the building surface. This is due to the fresh air intake and exhaust louvers (Fia.

9.12). For more information on facades, refer to Chapter 7.

Often the decision on the location of mechanical rooms is strongly affected

by nonmechanical consideration; This could include investment concerns, such as the

number of floors between mechanical spaces that might be most attractive to the

prospective tenant, programmatic concerns for the separation of occupancy,

architectural concerns for the esthetic implications, and structural concerns, structural

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concerns include considerations for preferred location of a belt truss or outrigger for

best performance with regard to literal load. This also includes the consideration for

vertical load transfer from the columns on one set of the grid to another which often is

necessary in tall building profile. Mechanical space is a very convenient place to

accommodate all of these. Structural system are discussed in chapters 2,10, and 11,and

tall Building systems and Concepts (CTBUH, Group SC, 1980) and Structured

Systems for Tall Buildings (CTBUH, Committee 3, 1994).

Air-Duct System. The air duct system consists largely of four parts-supply air trunk,

supply air branches, return air plenum, and return air shaft. The conditioned air, after

leaving the supply and fan, travels through the supply trunk and then is delivered into the

supply branches. After servicing various spaces, the used air is returned to the air handler

by the return air fans through the return air plenum, which in a tall building is usually the

ceiling space, then travels upward or downward through the return air shaft, finally

reaching the return air fan.

Service shafts : All electrical and other vertical shafts are sealed off at every floor level,

thus cutting off any possible path of vertical spread of fire.

Active Fire Protection

(1) Fire Protection and Fire Alarm System :

The entire building is protected by Ionization Chamber type smoke, rate of rise of

temperature and fixed temperature and fixed temperature detectors. The smoke more than

0.0002 cmt,(0.006 c.ft.) triggers off the Fire Alarm. It automatically rings the electric

bell on the floor and indicates the zone of fire on the floor and indicate the zone of fire

on the local console panel provided in the lift lobbies facing ‘fire lift’ and also

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simultaneously in the main panel in the Fire Control Room on the mezzanine floor. It

also gives the visual indication on the floor on which the detector has been actuated.

Thus the control room operator is able to alert the fire squad immediately.

The fire squad can reach any floor in a matter of minutes by using the

“Fire lift”. On reaching the affected floor, they can quickly see the affected zone on the

local console panel in the lift lobby and extinguish the fire by using portable

extinguishers or the wet riser with first aid hose system.

2) Public Address System : From the control room instructions can be given to any floors

or all the floors in an emergency to evacuate the building.

3) Fire-Fighting Equipment :

a) Sprinklers and Mulsifyre : The basements (car parking area) are protected by the

sprinkler system and the electric transformers, generator etc, are protected by the

mulsifyre system. Other areas of the basement have the smoke heat detection system and

segregated by automatic fire doors.

b) Wet Risers : 15 cms,(6”) wet risers, one riser in each stairwell, are provided. They are

provided with twin 6.25cms (2.6") female couplings. 30.5 mts (100 ft) hose reel with shut

off nozzle connected to one of the female couplings by male adapter is also provided.

Pumps with a capacity of 2840 litres per minute (625 g.p.m.) at 152.5 mts

(500 ft) head pressure for high level riser and 91.5 mts. (300 ft) head for low level riser

are provided. The system is automatic and comes into operation, the moment the pressure

falls below the pre-determined pressure. The efficacy of this system has already been

proved in the last fire, when the pumps worked for more than 24 hours. The capacity

of water static storage tanks exclusively for the fire fighting is 6,85,000 litres (1,50,000

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gis.). Besides arrangements are also made to augment the supply from the overhead

tanks with the capacity of 1,14,000 litres (25,000 gls). Fire-brigade inlets to augment the

water supply are also provided. Four courtyard hydrants are provided connected with

the low level pump. Thus, it will be seen that sufficient water has been provided for

fire-fighting operations. Any time the wet riser is used both the audible and visual

indications are received in the Control Room.

c) Adequate numbers of portable fire extinguishers are distributed in the basements and on

all the upper floors. Soda Acid CO2 and dry powder types of the approved pattern are

installed.

4) Emergency Power Supply :

a) There are electric cables supplying from a grid of substations interlinked with

alternative supply substations.

b) In addition, a diesel generator is being installed, capable of supplying power to

fire lifts and emergency lights. Orders have been placed for the diesel generators as

standbys for the electrical fire pumps. In case the BEST (local electric company) supply

fails which is unlikely on account of special arrangement (see (a) above) the generator

will be commissioned automatically. This will keep the essential services working even

though the general electric supply to the building is disconnected.

5) Control Room : In order to monitor the fire protection system, quite a modern

control room on the mezzanine floor is provided. The control room is manned by

operators round the clock in 8 hour shifts.

The control room consists of the following;

a) Smoke and heat detectors main console panel.

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b) Power supply unit to this panel with automatic switch over relay to the battery unit

(emergency power supply).

c) Push button type Fire Alarm panel.

d) Wet Risers system panel.

e) Public address system panel.

f) Direct hot line to Raipur Fire Bridgade (non-exchange line) which will enable the

control room operator to convey message to mobilizing officer in Fire Brigade

Control Room at an instant’s notice.

It will be seen that an occurrence of fire can be noticed by the control

room operator immediately through the actuation of smoke heat detectors. The second

line detection is provided by the push button type fire alarm. The control room operator

will also get the indication when the wet riser system is operated. Once the fire is detected

the same is conveyed to the Fire Brigade without any waste of time by lifting the hot

line, direct to the mobilizing officer in the Fire Brigade Control Room.

Storage Tanks and Pumps :

The capacity of underground tanks also known as suction tanks range

from 6 to 12 hours of average daily consumption depending upon the number of hours

the supply is available from municipal mains. The lift pumps should have a capacity to

fill the overhead tanks in 4 to 6 hours time. The pumps are fixed over the suction tanks.

They operate on electricity. It is essential to have at least two pumps so that each one

can be operated alternately. One acts as a stand-bye in case of failure of the second

one.

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The capacity of overhead tanks is usually kept at 75 per cent of domestic

and full flushing requirements of daily consumption of all the occupants. If the

municipal supply is continuous, both the overhead and underground tanks can be reduced

to the minimum.

The R.C.C. tanks have a definite advantage over steel tanks due to lesser

maintenance and longer life. Their initial cost is about 50 per cent higher than steel tanks

but it is more than compensated in the long run. The water also remains cooler in

overhead R.C.C. tanks.

The Raipur Municipal Corporation insists on separate domestic and

flushing tanks and supply lines. These requirements increase plumbing cost

considerably. The arguments for separate supply are;

1. To prevent pollution of water in domestic tanks: it is argued that the

foul gases in w.c. pans can travel upwards and enter the overhead tanks, through the

flushing cistern which is connected to w.c. pans. This possibility is extremely remote.

Even here also the chances are practically nil because even if the flush tank is empty a

little quantity of water is always left behind in the tank after it is flushed. This water

can certainly act as a seal agents the foul gasses.

2. To ensure longer flushing supply : However, this argument also does not

hold much ground because if the domestic supply is over there is always a tendency to

use flushing supply for domestic purposes.

The author’s observation is that the system of providing separate

domestic and flushing supply had its origin when the highrise buildings were not

constructed and the domestic supply was direct from municipal mains (without any

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overhead or underground tanks). As this supply was intermittent, the flushing supply was

regulated from an overhead tank to ensure 24 hours supply in toilets for hygienic

conditions. Even now one can find this system in many old chawl type buildings in

Raipur where due to limited hours of municipal supply and absence of overhead or

underground tanks occupants have to store the water in drums and buckets.

Hydro Pneumatic System :

Pressure Vessel: In this system the overhead water storage tanks are

avoided all together. Instead a small pressure vessel is fitted on the suction tank, which is

made larger to accommodate the combined storage of overhead and suction tanks. The

water remains under constant pressure in the vessel and is supplied directly to each flat

from suction tank. The pressure is maintained by means of an air compressor and

automatic electric control unit. The size of the pressure vessel is such that it can

accommodate half an hour to one hour supply of the total requirements of the

building.

Pumps, Air Compressors and Delivery Lines : Pumps are required in this

system to boost water to the pressure vessel and to the pipe lines. Sometimes the height

of the building is divided into two zones i.e. low-pressure zone (up to mid-height of the

buildings) and high-pressure zone (mid-height to top of the building). The pressure zone

from 10.5 to 11 kg./cm2. Two sets of pumps are required with different capacities for these

two zones.

The air compressors are required to maintain constant air pressure in

the surge tanks. The compressor is connected with the tank and automatic control panel.

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When pressure in the tank reduces, the compressor starts automatically, replenishes

air in the pressure tanks and runs till the correct air water ratio is reached in the tank.

Pipes distribute water from the pressure vessel to individual flats. Pressure

reducing valves are necessary on lower floors. However, when zoning is done there is

no necessity of these valves. The diameter of the pipe depends upon the rate of water

supply and the height of the floor to which it is to be supplied.

Advantages of Hydro-Pneumatic System : 1. The overhead tank is

eliminated. Against this the capacity of the suction tank has to be increased. It is more

economical to construct a suction tank than an overhead tank. The elimination of the

overhead tank also gives cooler water.

2. The system being completely automatic, constant attendance is not

necessary to operate the pumps.

Disadvantage : The failure of electric supply even

for a short time can stop the supply of water within 5 to 6

minutes. The stand-by generator would prove too costly.

MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES

POWER DISTRIBUTION

The buildings utilize more power per capita due to additional electrical

necessities such as lifts, pump etc. Average requirements of power for non-air-

conditioned buildings is estimated at 10 to 15 watts per sq.mt. of area in non-residential

buildings and 7.5 to 8.5 watts for residential buildings. To meet this requirement power has

to be taken at high voltage from the electric supply authorities. Adequate and suitable

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areas for sub-station should be provided for in the overall layout. An area of 15 mts. x

10 mts. should be adequate for sub-station including two transformers. For very tall

buildings it might be necessary to provide a number of smaller sub-stations at different

levels. This would he slightly expensive in equipment cost and create problems for

maintenance. However, from distribution and safety point of view they offer a lot of

advantages. The saving in distribution would more than offset the equipment costs. The

vertical bus bars are useful for use as mains. They are preferred because of ease with

which the tapping points can be inserted along its length.

Internal Installation :

The installation should be such that it can safely permit provision of

additional points at a later date with only minor alterations. A diagram must be provided

of the circuits and wiring arrangement to every flat-owner especially if concealed wiring is

to be used. This will enable him to carry out alternations with ease or locate the fault in

case of defects. It should be ensured that electrical load distribution in each floor or flat

is balanced in the 3 phases to the maximum extent. This will avoid excessive heating of

contacts of weitches leading to breakdowns.

COMMUNICATION SERVICE :

Telephone Conduits :

Proper planning of telephone wiring must be done in advance to avoid

haphazard wiring later on. For residential buildings at least one telephone per flat

should be planned. The telephone cables can be run in the same shaft as electrical risers.

An independent system of conduits and junction boxes should be provided in a planned

manner during the construction itself. In non-residential buildings a more comprehensive

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system should be planned in view of the large number of telephones involved. The size of

telephone conduits should be sufficiently big to provide for increasing number of

junction boxes later on.

Common Telephone Exchange :

In view of the long waiting list of the telephones (at some places it is as

much as 5 years in this country)it is good to encourage common telephone facilities for

the entire building. This can be manned by the young or retired persons from within the

building. Besides the waiting period, the price of providing phone facility has also

increased tremendously (the deposit payable is as high as Rs.5,000/- in Raipur City). Even

the upper middle class families are finding it hard to afford it. The common facility would

be a boon to many of them. This authorities should give top priority to such schemes.

This common exchange could also serve the purpose of intercommunication facilities

within the building. If it is not possible to provide telephone exchange facilities then at

least a public telephone booth should be provided in every highrise building.

Intercom Facilities :

An intercom facility within a highrise building can be an asset for the

occupants. It can help a great deal in promoting contact between flat-owners, thereby

reducing isolation and promoting a feeling of security. The communication between

ground floor and the upper floor occupants can be helpful for outside visitors who can

save precious time by avoiding unnecessary trips. Flat-owners can communicate with

servants like chauffeurs or their children while playing downstairs. For preventing

misuse of this facility proper care should be taken.

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LIGHTNING :

Lightning can be defined as the usual manifestation of the sudden

electrical upheaval in the atmosphere during a thunderstorm which is the principal

source of lightning.

The lightning stroke equalizes the potential difference between the

clouds in the thunderstorm and the ground by conducting cloud charges towards the

earth and neutralizing these charges with those of opposite polarity in the soil.

Lightning Protection :

Benjamin Franklin (U.S.A. ) was the inventor of the lightning rod system of

protection for houses and buildings. In the laboratory experiments he found that sharp

metallic conductors placed on a roof could conduct the stroke safely to the ground

without causing damage to the structure. The present day lightning protection system is

essentially the same as proposed by Franklin.

Lightning protection is a kind of insurance. Besides prevention of

damage or fire it often calms the fears of people particularly afraid of lightning.

The steel frame buildings do not require lightning rods as the steel members

themselves serve as conductors to the ground. However, care must be taken to see that

lightning can reach the steel structure without having to penetrate the brick or stone.

Building Bye-Laws :

As in other requirements our municipal building codes cut a sorry figure

in this aspect also. There is no city which makes lightning protection compulsory for a

highrise building. It is suggested that insurance rates should be enhanced on buildings

which have no lightning protection. We are indeed lucky that so far not a single highrise

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building has been struck by lightning. The cost of providing lightning protection is very

negligible compared to the overall cost of the building. It is suggested that this should be

incorporated by the builders or flat occupants themselves without waiting for building bye-

laws to make it compulsory. This is all the more necessary after advent of television in

most of the cities. The T.V. antennas installed in terraces pose a great danger and can

straightway attract and being lightning to the flat itself.

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LANDSCAPE
I believe that ‘pure’ landscape does not exist. It is does, it is only very

rarely like in parks and gardens. Otherwise, it is only to read alongwith and to be

experienced in the context of built forms and architecture. Also, the landscape designer

is introduced only after the building is built, so that architectural decision itself generates

a very logical landscape form.

The major decisions are taken by the building architect like locating the

building on site, its height, size, form, colour, materials used. The success of a

landscape project is based on the planning of the different areas already created by

existing built forms. So I try to make a complementary design, which can then be

further developed visually with the help of detailing.

A harmony is be achieved between the built up space and the natural

environment.

The attempt to create a natural atmosphere has been enhanced by

providing a plant which merge into the natural outside through the transparency of glass

wall and due consideration is given to the landscape become landscape surrounding

enhanced the building.

Through landscape, backside entrance is provided to the entertainment

centre which finds somewhat interesting view while passing through.

PLANTS FOR TERRACE GARDENS

Plants suitable for terrace gardens

Plant materials should be selected keeping the following factors in mind:

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 The limited space available in the terrace for the spread of the foliage.

 Limitations in the depths of the flower beds and tree depths of the flower beds

and tree containers. For lawns and ground cover, not more than 6” to 1” depth of

the soil bed. For shrubs and flower beds 1’ to 2’ and trees from 3’ to 5’ of soil is

sufficient.

 The root systems of the plants should be adaptive to restrictive space. They

should be shallow rooted rather than of vigorous and penetrating type.

 Hardy plants, capable of withstanding windy conditions at the terrace level should

be chosen.

 The shape, colour and texture of the plants should compliment the design

features and not clash with them, huge plants look uncomfortable in small spaces

and tend to dwarf adjoining smaller plants. The same thinking applies to the

combinations of different plant colour schemes. Foliage plants provide an

interesting backdrop to flowering varieties.

 Plants are the growing element of a landscape design, so the rate of growth, size of

the full grown plant and the relationship of a plant with its neighbour has to be

considered.

 Shade loving plants are preferable in case of scarce sunlight. The main

criterion in the selection of plant material is that they should be suitable to

"potculture" as the built-in flower beds of the terrace gardens are nothing but

oversize pots.

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Waterproofing

The various alternative methods for waterproofing of the terrace slab are

as follows:

Bitumen and coal tar

This is an old age method of waterproofing. It is cheap, easily available and

requires little or no skilled labour. However, it has no tensile strength, tends to crack

and peel, and requires constant maintenance. One advantage of coal tar and bitumen is

that it acts as a natural retardent to the roots of plants. It can be reinforced by the

following to give it more strength and a longer life.

Just Hessian :

This organic fibre is chemically treated and impregnated with a

bituminous coating, to pass all the ISI 1322 tests. The trade name being Bitumen Roofing

Felt, it is available in light, medium, heavy and very heavy, and can be applied hot or

cold.

LDPL film :

Similarly Aluminium Foil or LDPL film or 20/30 microns can be used,

following the same treatment procedure. This gives an additional protection from solar

radiation, and has a longer life span.

Fibreglass :

It is chemically inert and inorganic, hence makes an excellent

waterproofing agent. Fibreglass of 0.5mm thickness, embedded in 3 mm thick of

bitumen, imparts a tensile strength of 270 Kg in the longitudinal direction.

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A torchable waterproofing membrane, made up of non-woven polyester

reinforced base, saturated and coated with plastomeric modified bitumen, finished on the

upper side with fine sand, and the underside with a thermodiffusible, is manufactured by

STP Ltd. This can be used in many layers, and is available in different colours, and can

withstand movements without cracking.

Cement based waterproofing :

This method needs proper consultation, technical handling of the

materials, skilled workmanship and proper currying by ponding. This is an almost

permanent method of waterproofing and is good in RCC structures.

This has cement additives in the form of chemicals available easily in the

market. Dichtment-DS, manufactured by MC-Bauchemie (India) Pvt. Ltd., consists of a

mineral based hydraulically setting powder, and has liquid component Nafufill BB2.

This system works on the principal of crystallization, where the components in the

slurry react with the substrates, giving rise to insoluble crystals.

This layer should be covered by a protective layer of BB Coba or IPS.

Epoxy resins

These polymeric materials are available in the form of sealants, coating

materials and caulking compounds. The major advantage of epoxy resins is that they can

be applied on complicated structures with domes, shells, paraboloid roofs. They are non-

toxic; therefore prevent, fungus, moss and the growth of roots, hence are ideal for

terrace gardens. Epoxy resin coatings are jointless and can be applied on damp surfaces.

They are more expensive then the conventional methods, but have a longer life span, a

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greater tensile strength and can withstand pressures, movements and temperature

fluctuations.

Companies like Techseal, Choksey Chems Ltd., Sektra Reliance Silicones

etc. manufacture these products.

They are available in paste like consistency, and can be applied by paint

brushes or rollers on one coat of a primer called primex 250. This jointless coat has an

elongation of 82 percent and retains the breathing properties of concrete.

Drainage:

The drainage system is the key to a successful terrace garden. This has

to take care of the drainage of the daily watering as well as of the monsoon water.

The slope should be worked out according to possible locations of

downtake drains. Channels of clay, asbestos or bricks can be made, covered with rough

shahabad or precast concrete slabs. Inspection chambers should be provided at the

junctions of the drains for periodical checking and cleaning when required. Higher

invert levels at the downtake pipes aid in clearer filtration of water by collecting the

soil particles. Filtration bed.

The filtration bed is laid on the drainage system.

This consists of different grades of gravel laid in layers.

This bed ensures the trapping of the soil particles, and allowing the excess water in the

soil to seep through.

For efficient drainage, this layer should be at

least B thick.

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The drainage system should be covered by a protective layer of either

gunny bags or Notion, which prevent the soil particles from filtering through.

Wind :

Wind is an important factor which we tend to overlook, while designing

a terrace garden. At the rooftop level, wind velocity is higher as compared to the ground.

The presence of taller buildings nearly channelises the wind causing high speed winds.

These winds create problems for the plants like :

 Faster evaporation of water from the plants, an increase in the transpiration rates,

and hence the defoliation of plants.

 Yough plants and plants with soft roots can hardly support themselves, and thus get

uprooted easily.

 Wind causes a fall in the temperature, which may prove to be uncomfortable.

 Moving wind carries dust and hence the plants have to be washed regularly.

The wind shelter can be either structural or of foliage. It should be

lightweight, able to withstand wind and rains, as well as allow air to filter through,

easily. Lightweight trellis of wood or hollow metal pipes, bamboo etc. can be covered with

creepers. Parapets can have lovres to allow air to filter through. Hedges can also act

a windbreakers. However, as in terrace gardens the plants are shallow rooted, their

dependability as wind breaking screens is limited.

Maintenance of the terrace garden

Proper maintenance of the rooftop gardens is essential to ensure a

healthy, workable garden. The plants are not the only elements which require constant

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maintenance. The drainage channels have to be inspected regularly to check the

obstruction due to soil, vegetative matter etc., and have to be cleared manually.

The soil has to be enriched with nutrients at least once a year so that

the exhausted minerals are replenished.

Fertilizers and manure have to be added to ensure the healthy growth of

the plants.

Pesticides and insecticides have to be sprayed regularly to prevent the

damage to the plants by insects and pests.

Regular checking has to be done of the garden slab to ensure that there is

no leakage or cracks.

Above all, controlled and regular watering of the garden is essential.

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DESIGN CONSIDERATION
The Problem:-

The evolution in planning and design of commercial building is rooted in

two stimulating factors. One in the search for maximum economy in structural methods,

the other is our growing awareness of the importance of healthy environment. Both aims

challenge our ingenuity. It is from these same roots that the style of our period evolves.

The first significant step towards economy of construction started with the

replaceing of load bearing wall by a skeleton in steel or reinforced concrete supporting

storey – high panel of masonry. The second step followed by replacing the materials used

both in load-bearing and panel walls by material lighter in weight but yet reliable for their

function of protecting indoor space from ever varying outside condition. The use of non-

carrying walls element has opened the way toward changing an antiquated process of

building to a process of assembling prefabricated elements.

Healthy working conditions depend on light and air. Where as adequate

amount of day light can be secured only by limiting the distance of working space from

generous sized window artificial illumination and air conditioning give us a wider margin

as they enable us to simulate a pre-determined and constant climate for all indoor spaces

of building.

Healthy working conditions once establaished in a number of new building

become a must for future planning as they determine the rental value of office. A

comparative analysis of initial building cost and the running expenses for these

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improvement is infinitesimal compared with the loss on work output caused by fatigue and

lack of spirit in unhealthy environment.

Architectural style and what it should mean has hardly in any period been

more misunderstood than today. Fashion is not style. Fashions have sprung into being in

all periods and they may be considered a testing ground for new ideas. Where there are no

ideas behind them other than the which for glamorous individuality without constructional

raison detre fashions interfere disturbingly with the continuity of development

characteristic of a style.

Our period is directed by an asthetic feeling which will accept a solution as

right only when on more direct or simple approach can be envisaged. Enrichment through

sculptural features and ornamentation enter in time as it did in al periods of architecture.

The problem for the architect is similar to that of the sculptor who models a draped figure.

Unless he masters the correct interpretation of function in the nude figure his drapes will

not hide but rather emphazise functional shortcoming.

The days of the architectural one man show has passed. Rapid growth in

size and complexity of architetural probem faces us to consult during the various stages of

design with experts on construction and mechnical serices. This may be regarded from the

stand point of individual expression but it is responsible for general improvement in

quality. Architects, builders, engineers, real-estate experts, financiers, lawyers all of them

contribute something from their experience as well as imagination. Such team work

protects against hasty decisions and secure consideration of all aspect of the project.

It is similarity of purpose and use which leads to classification of building

type. We classify as office buildings those which provide space convenient for business

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meetings in addition to space suitable for all categories of clerical work. There are

variation inside the general classification of office building caused by varied intentions.

In the case where the intentions. In the case where the intention is capital investment, the

architect mission will be first of all to tackle in his preliminary project the major project of

cost and return either for a given site or a site to be found.

If a firm desires to establish by means of the new building an expressive

representation of their importance such an intention will direct planning from the start into

different channels from that of a mere rental proposition. Thus initiative comes from the

client who by the pecularities of his needs challenges the architects skill to express and

portray them. In cautions of the financier investing in a speculative building the margin

drawn for the architects imagination is wider. It is therefore not concidence that the most

interesting experiments with new materials and consequently new forms occur in building

of this category.

Planning Approach:-

In planning after questions of zoning building development restriction and

preferential orientation have been considered the rational means of approach to planning

is to start with analysis of the possibilities which the figurations of the site offer for the

layout of office space with maximum light and air. The most important act in this process

is the making of the TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN. This should take precedence even over the

consideration of the ground floor and one cannot over stress the part played by the typical

floorplan in creating and formulaing the design form of the building.

Various studies for a typical floor should be made and their merit

compared. These studies should be undertaken in spirit as free as possible from the

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conventional prejudices and pre-conceived ideas which most clients give to their architect

as direction. Nothing but the aim to create the best conditions of light and air should

guide this first stage of planning. It is the comparison of these preliminary studies that

will disclose the possibilities a given site hold regarding its best use as well as it maximum

exploitation for desirable office space. These studies will also disclose the most

economical solution because the cost of the building depend chiefly on the built area of the

typical floor. It this built area of the typical floor. It this built area produces office space

of high quality the money available will be intelligently spent.

Artificial light is easily provided any where but natural light coming from

window is limited and what adequate amount of it can be secured for the working space

will determine maximum desirable desk distance from windows. This distance will depend

upon many local factors and upon geographical latitude as already discussed.

Workable daylight normally penetrates into a building a distance about one

and on behalf times the height of the top of the window from the floor say this to be 8 ft. to

9 ft.workable day light penetrates about 12 ft. General man with a 12 ft. office needs an

inner space of 10 ft. to 15 ft.for secretary filling and receiption space. If a deep office or a

conference room is wanted the outer and inner offices can be combined into one space

between 24 ft. and 27 ft. from wall to corridor.

Office may run through from window to window without dividing corridor

distinctly marking the depth of each office unit. As we have consider in our planning the

possibility of future divided offices it is advisable to allow in the aggregate dimension

additional width for a corridor. Investigation into all the determining factors derived from

conditions of local and specific use will result fundamental dimensions which one

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established should be carried logically throughout the typical floor plan. The importance

of providing for a future subdivision of office space, through change of use or tenant will

require planning to be made completely flexible. This can be done by the adoption of

module established by careful selection of number and width of window within each bay of

structural frame.

Deep office space may be especially required in some instance but the

rising standards of light and air requirement involving more intense artificial lighting and

air conditioning tend to make deep space less economical. Whatever office space is

provided for ultimate divisions by tenants it must be ensured that the permanent

installation for lighting, air-conditioning, heating, telephones etc., will remain undisturbed

and yet accessible for any practical layout of partitioning.

Partition layout usually depend on office layout and the type layout and an

office need for it functioning. At this juncture if one has to decide the layout for an

particular office a detaialed study of its functions and management has to be carried out.

Even the reason for it renovation or acquiring new space. Usually this gives the

company opportunity to take a closer look at its organization in terms of both practices

and its goal. Filing system, distribution of office supplies, mail distribution, copying

operations, telephone systems, maintenance programmes and furniture can all be

examined with an eye towards improvement. Once this is considered that actually comes

the physical changes – changes that can lead to increased efficiency and new economies in

office operation.

In designing office building it becomes necessary to know the possible types

of office layout especially when it is speculative type building for various type of tenancy

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because in that case any layout should be possible in given area. In building built by a

company for its own use it is usually designed around one concept which on study found to

be the best for the company functioning. The possible type concept around which a

company layout is done are :-

1.Convential Plan or Closed Plan :-

In this system a series of cellular offices that very in size to reflect the status

of its occupants. Such layout might include “bull pen” areas adjacent to enclosed provate

office as in the case of many office building in the United States. On the other hand, it

might feature cellular offices linking both sides of a so called double-loaded corridor as in

case in Europe where floor area is less abundant than in United States.

The advantage of a closed plan concept are

a) The plan can be adopted to any configuration of building shape and any floor size both

large and small.

b) Visual and acoustical privacy are assured.

c) Security is easy to maintain.

The advantage of this type of concept are :-

(1) The plan itself does not give employee a fealing of being part of the company even if

the company has an open door policy.

(2) Supervision is difficult.

(3) Future layout changes will be both difficult and costly.

(4) The hierarchical plan makes it difficult to follow a functional flow of work particularly

when paper and communications cut across departmental lines.

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2. The Open Plan :-

It is layout with no enclosed offices at all. Here the heirarchy of status is

abandoned. Executives for instance are located near their departments and not

necessarily near other executives. The result? Increased communication and improved

work flow. Nevertheless employees views should be considered before switching to an

open plan. As environmental psychologist Rob Kaminoff writes in such situation “while

employees feel that their manager are more accessible...they may also feel they are under

the constant surveilance of their superiors who used to be tucked away on another floor”.

Thus open plan moves entire company operation in open space and by removing all

individual department boundaries permits planning to freely follow work flow. The only

barriers to this free flow are those created when a company occupies many floors.

The open plan concept can further divided into two type :-

(i) The layout of furniture and equipment follows the geometric pattern of the modified

plan but uses a variety of work station systems and sizes that tend to minimize the

regimental looks.

(ii) The work station units are arranged in group free of geometric patterns and separated

from other groups and screens and plants provide visual limit for individual and group and

also accord a fair amount of acoustical privacy. The advantage of the open plan concept

are

a) By eliminating departmental barriers the plan can conform to the functional flow of the

company.

b) Communication among working unit is simplfied.

c) Plan changes becomes easy to accomplish and extremely inexpensive.

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d) The lack of private offices add to the individual feeling of involvement with the

organization.

e) Air conditioning is less expensive. The disadvantage of this type of concept are

a) It is most effective on large, open floors that are at least 50 to 60 ft. wide

and as column free as possible.

b)New furniture and equipments are essential.

c) Accoustical control is far more critical in large open areas and will

therefore be most costly.

3. Modified Plan:-

It is a compromise between conventional plan or open Plan. It maintains

those private office that study indicates are essential for functional reasons, while every

one else is housed in open areas in arranged rows of regimental work stations. Whether

departmental delineation should be rigidly adhered to or not and what kind of

acknowledgement to heirarchical protocol should be made within the open space is a

decision of management. It is not dictated by the concept itself. For privacy reasons and

security reason conference room, meeting rooms libraries, reception rooms, file room and

mail rooms should be walled.

The advantage of this type of plan are :-

a) Departmental lines do not have to be maintained rigidly as in the closed plan. Thus

making it possible to follow to some extent the actual operational follow.

b) A greater degree of flexibility make physical change easier to accomplish.

c) Security and privacy can both be maintained.

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The disadvantages of this concept are :-

a) The plan is not as readily adaptable to small or narrow spaces.

b) The individual is still restrained with organisational registities.

Whatever layout a company’s organizational structure suggests it is found

to determine the type of building the company rents or has designed as its head quarters.

If conventional offices are contemplated the perimeter of the building has to be designed to

readily accept partitions ( In view of the popularity open plan layouts enjoyed in the

1970,s though not all recently completed building have been designed with all this

possibilities in mind). Air-conditioning and heating to have to be considered in term of

layout.

At this juncture it is important to consider the inner core of the building

giving close attention to the provision of adequate ducts for all services false ceilings are

necessary to accommodate air trunking over office space and appropriate additional

height must be given to each storey. Vertical air duct also can generally be planned into

the compact core, duct for rain water down pipe and flow and return heating pipe are

concealed in the ladding of stanchions also without interference with useful floor space.

Toilet facilities and ancillary services can normally and with little difficulty

be arranged next to escape stairs with window to open courts obligatory in cases where

mechanical ventilation is not provided. Services should under no circumstances be

disposed with any sacrifice of qualified office space.

The typical floor plan of the new time and life building London shows an

arrangement in which all accessories together with vertical circulation way are assembled

in the centre core thereby permitting well lighted office space to continue uninterrupted

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along the perimeter of the window fronts. This office space can thus be used either without

any sub-division or with what ever ultimate sub-division may be desired. Compliance with

escape and sanitary regulations is secured without interference with maximum flexibility.

The location of stair case is determined by escape regulations and the fact

that they have to be entirely enclosed has reduced them to a merely practical feature not

conducive to any display of architectural grandeur as in past. Instead of any main stair

way the lift landing form the focal point of the floor plan and of its horizontal traffic

circulation. The grouping of lifts serving a specific number of floors determines size and

shape of landings. These landing may either form independent lobbies or become part of

the reception area for individual floors.

In tall building sufficient space has to be allowed for betteries of express lift

running to higher floor only, that is without landing facilities on lower floor. In such

building the various bank of lift will in most be concentrated in centre section of the tower

and their location is thereby determined by lower floor.

In multi-storey office building that have predominant horizontal extension

more then one location for vertical circulation has to be arranged on each floor not only to

reduce walking distance from lifts but also to facilitate escape by stair cases in emergency.

The typical floor plan of UNESCO in Paris is of ‘Y’ shaped shows excellent example of

vertical traffic ways for a building of usually long horizontal extension.

The location and construction of escape stairs vary according to local Law.

Concerning toilet accommodation number of fittings required may either be

estimated by the architect on reasonable assumptions to the number of people using

building. Ventilation may be effected either through window commanding interior court

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open to sky or where this is not possible by mechanical means. The adequacy of natural

ventilation through an interior court is necessarily dependent upon the horizontal area of

the court in relation to its height. In tall buildings therefore the provision of mechanical

extraction is the only practical solution.

Apart from toilet accommodation for staff a certain amount of space

sometime made available facilities reserved for higher executive and their visitors.

Close to plumbing ducts it is important to provide facilities for office

cleaner to draw water and empty dirty water and store materials vaccum cleaner, polisher

etc.

Another provision involving plumbing in the tea kitchen particular

appreciated in British office buildings. Whilst the existence of a canteen within the

building and available to all tenants might make the superflueus it may be preferred to

have facilities to make tea and coffee independently floor by floor according to individual

policy.

A certain amount of space must be reserved for meter cup-boards and

electrical and telephones distribution boards. Postal chutes should be of generous size to

avert blockage. The collecting – box on the ground floor has to be constructed to the

requirements of the postal authrities. Having established size and shape of office area and

utility core in our studies of the typical floor plan having evaluated the quality of each

study in respect of light and air and horizontal circulation ways the architect is in a

position to decide upon a preliminary plan for the layout of the typical floor. It is then and

not before that consideration should be given to individual requirement forth coming either

from the client or from principal tenant.

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AREA ANALYSIS

Basement floor plan –

S.No Requirements Area per M2

1 AC plant room 244.5 sq.m.
2 Water storage and equipment 75 sq.m.
3 Generator room 171 sq.m.
4 Treatment plant 126 sq.m.
5 Store 14.875 sqm
6 Rest of the part is for four wheeler parking ( 75

cars )
Total Build up area 2698 sq. m.

Ground floor

S.No. Requirement Area per M2

1 Entrance foyer 168 sq.m.
2 Atrium 318.5 sq.m

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3 Recaption 20 sq.m
4 Office 27 sq.m
5 Shops ( 3 nos) 36 sq.m
6 Showroom 173 sq.m
7 Banking hall 255.25 sq.m
8 Atm 9 sq.m
9 Cafetenia 467 sq.m
10 Pantry 22.75 sq.m
11 Kitchen 60 sq.m
12 Store 24 sq.m
13 Washup 14 sq.m
14 Cold storage 18.25 sq.m
15 VIP loung 137.5 sq.m
16 Show room 101 sq.m
17 Total Buildup area 2698 sq.m

First Floor plan

S.No. Requirement Area per M2

1 Lobby 80.75 sq.m.
2 Lift lobby 2 m wide
3 A.H.U. 10 sq.m.
4 Lounge 36 sq.m.
5 Meeting (3 nos) 36 sq.m.
6 Seminars 65 sq.m.
7 Seminars 93.5 sq.m.
8 Lounge 61.75 sq.m.
9 Multipurpose 228 sq.m.
10 Seminars (2 nos) 90 sq.m.
11 Lobby 4 m wide
12 Conference (2 nos) 50 sq.m.
13 Conference (2 nos) 33 sq.m.
14 Seminar 56.25 sq.m.
15 Lobby 63.75 sq.m.
16 Library 126 sq.m.
17 Office 123 sq.m.

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18 Office 174 sq.m.

Total Buildup area 2264 sq.m.

Second Floor

S.No. Requirement Area per m2

1 Lounge 42 sq.m.

2 Lobby 2 nos 61.5 sq.m.

3 Office 1 105.5 sq.m.

4 Office 2 126 sq.m.

5 Office 3 191.65 sq.m.

6 Office 4 265 sq.m.

7 Office 5 228 sq.m.

8 Office 6 188 sq.m.

9 Lecture room 2 nos 46.5 sq.m.

Total build up area 2264 sq.m.

Third Floor

S.No Requirement Area per m2

1 Office 1 105.5 sq.m.
2 Office 2 126 sq.m.
3 Office 3 189.75 sq.m.
4 Office space 4 236.87 sq.m.
5 Office 5 265 sq.m.
6 Office 6 262.85 sq.m.
7 Office 7 320 sq.m.
8 Void 334.12 sq.m.
Total buildup area 2264 sq.m.
Fourth floor

S.No Requirement Area per m2

1 Office space 1 663.75 sq.m.
2 Office space 2 575.25 sq.m.
3 Office 3 174 sq.m.

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4 Office 4 112.6 sq.m.

5 Terrace garden 75 sq.m.
6 Terrace garden 82.5 sq.m.
Total buildup area 2264 sq.m.

Fifth Floor

S.No Requirement Area per m2

1 Office space 1 616.25 sq.m.
2 Office space 2 612 sq.m.
3 Office 3 105.5 sq.m.
4 Terrace garden 36 sq.m.
5 Terrace garden 215 sq.m.
Total buildup area 2000 sq.m.

Sixth floor

S.No Requirement Area per m2

1 Office space 1 580.25 sq.m.

2 Office space 2 576 sq.m.

3 Office 3 105.5 sq.m.

4 Terrace garden 36 sq.m.

5 Terrace garden 205 sq.m.

Total buildup area 1928 sq.m.

Seventh floor

S.No Requirement Area per m2

1 Office space 1 544.25 sq.m.
2 Office space 2 540 sq.m.

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3 Office 3 105.5 sq.m.

4 Terrace garden 36 sq.m.
5 Terrace garden 20 sq.m.
Total buildup area 1892 sq.m.
Eighth and nineth floor

S.No Requirement Area per m2

1 Office space 1 508.5 sq.m.
2 Terrace garden 36 sq.m.
3 Terrace garden 20 sq.m.
Total buildup area 975 sq.m.
Service Core area

S.No. Requirement Area per m2

1 Lobby 80.75 sq.m.
2 Lift lobby 2 m wide
3 A.h.u. 10 sq.m.
4 L toi 16 sq.m.
5 G toi 17 sq.m.
6 Store 17.75 sq.m.
7 Electric room 8.75 sq.m.
8 Lift lobby 3 m wide
9 L toi 18 sq.m.
10 G toi 21 sq.m.
11 A.h.u. 8 sq.m.
12 Lobby 12.25 sq.m.
Total buildup area 275.5 sq.m.

Total Area of site = 12103 sq.m.

FSI =2

Total allowable buildup area = 12103 x 2

= 24206 sq.m.

Allowable buildup area - Total buildup area = Balance FSI

24206 - 22287 = 1919

DESIGN CONCEPT
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(1) Aspects of Zoning

Keeping in mind the particular site, location and our consume design

problem, site is roughly divided in four parts. The middle vertical 1 part of site is just

considered for the building and rest of the part is considered for landscape, parking and

electrical sub station.

The figure shows the main building in the middle part. Left side of site is

one part of parking area.

(a) The office block are placed centrally so as to get easy accessibility from all sides.

No doubt office blocks are of utmost importance. But it is interesting to

note that all this is done by considering massing of each and their appearance from all

sides

(b) Parking :- Parking in the site is distributed in a three parts namely, staff parking,

reserved parking (for owners), visitors parking. It is so designed that each zone will get its

separate parking. Parking is done in 900 so that, one can park the vehicle easily. The

circulation of all the parking is interconnected.

(c) Entrance and Exit :- Entrance and exits in the site are given by considerating the

public flow and individual importance of each block.

The front side is having three entrances and exit. As they are most

trafficated. The two sides are having single entrance/exit to achieve flexibility of site.

The rear side is having two entrances for the residential zone and other site

services .

(d) Water Supply :- Water supply for the site will take from the Bombay Municipal

water supply. Which is use for the domestic, drinking purpose and the private water

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supply is by the tube wells which will in our site. First water will collect in the

underground water storage tank and it is pumped out in a overhead water storage tank

and distributed to the different unit. Water tank are divided into four parts, tank for

domestic use water, tank for drinking purpose water, tank for fire fighting purpose and

tank for cooling tower.

(e) Drainage :-

In the metropolitan city like Bombay, water is valuable. There where a

sullage treatment plant in the building which having the great quantity of sullage.

The sullage is treated in a normal water, and that water is used for the A.C. plant.

Ultimately the water required for A.C. plant is taken out from sullage treatment plant.

Sewage is directly drained out to the municipal sewer line out of the

site on road. Incase of high-rise building The velocity of the sewage is break in pressure

break up plant which is on 8th floor of building so that the pipe will not break.

(f) Electrification :-

Electrification is divided in three parts, C.S.E.B ( Chattishgarh state

electricity board ) C.E.E.S (Chattishgarh emergency electricity Supply) , supply by

generator.

The main electric supply taken by the C.S.E.B. which will use for the

domestic electric power supply, A.C. plant and for lifts. Cable will take from the C.S.E.B.

supply and attached to the transformer which are located on right corner of the site.

Office block.

Planning concepts of different units is as under :-

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Most of the fames high-rise buildings are in a square or rectangular shape

so that I had chosen square shape for the office block. In square shape the space available

can be used easily and the circulation can be done in the best may the planning of this

block has been done by under standing the activities services and function of the building.

I had dived the square in 6 ports. The central part is A hudge 5 floor hight

Atrium. Front covers of squares is for core. The core containing the shafts at various

services and lifts, lift lobbies, toilets pantary and store, electrical rooms A.H.U.. Fire exits

are located on the central part of the back face of building emergency exits containing the

wel risens and the five store. Remaining parts are used for the office and other purpose.

(a) Basement floor :- On the basement A.C. plant room, water storage and pump room,

one emergency power supply, treatment plant are provided. That covers the 1/3 of the total

basement area and rest part of basement is for parking purpose.

(b) Ground floor :- The entrance of the building of the ground floor, through that one can

enter in the world of office centre, with the security check post and exist also having the

security check post. Entrance is lavishly treated when one can enter the building can feel

of International touch. Ground floor having the entrance foyer receptionist Desk, public

relation office, stores waiting and seating office, lift lobby. A hudge 5 floor high Atrium is

provide with full landscape for creating a healthy environment for the building users.

One can come in entrance foyer can be reach the lift lobby very easily and

can teach. The required floor. Groundfloor is 4.5 m high. Banking hall, shops, showroom

and cafeteria is provided for the users a well furnished V.I.P waiting lounge is having its

own entry from the east side of building.

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(i) The first floor is totally officially floor have there are conference room of different sizes

and capacity, meeting room, seminar rooms, A library multipurpose hall is provided rest

part is of office uses.

(ii) Rest of the floors:- rest of the floors one of offices space of diff. sizes and capacity

every office has its own terrace garden. Every floor the views the central atrium and from

the window the out skits of the site which are well landscaped.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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1. Business Buildings

2. Space Planning - Designing the office Environment

By :- Shushker Lila

3. The office Book

By:- Klein Judy Oraf

4. High Rise Buildings

By:- R. Erlwin

5. Architect Data

By:- Ernst Neufert

6. Time Saver Standards

7. Inside Outside Magazine

8. Indian Architect and Builder

9. Detail of Commercials Building

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