Joe Architect
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The number of fire stairs is NOT a technical detail. It is a basic building component!
This competition was not an “open” competition for concepts. It was a competition open to Architects who should know the basic design components of a building.
My point about questioning this issue in the first place was based in concept. My first concept was to do a slender 4 to 1 tower, but I had to abandon it since I could not get it to realistically work.
If you add a stair to the winning scheme, with its 15m x 15m floorplate, it will not leave enough room for usable area. It therefore will not work. If you use a larger footprint, it will not only change the proportions of the tower, it will violate the Master Plan.
This being a real commission the winner should be evaluated for its ability to be built.
Being a Yank, and not being familiar with Building codes in Ireland, can anyone answer my question?
In a high-rise building are two means of egress required or just one?
If you look at the plans of the winning entry on the DDDA site, the winning entry only has a single fire stair in the tower.
Even if the current codes alow it, it is a really bad idea to only have one way out of a tower, especially after what happened at the WTC. Here in the USA there is a great debate over whether to require even more exit width or even number of exits.
Plus we are getting closer and closer to an International Building Code, that Ireland could adopt in the future. And I am pretty sure that will require two ways out.
Now I have been faithfully monitoring this site, but have been quiet till now since I had entered the competition. Now that it is over, I am free to say some things.
As to all the concern regarding this entry, do not worry this scheme will never be built. The more significant problem is a much worse version of it probably will.
I work for one of the preeminent high-rise Architects, and I have done several REAL high-rises myself. So I know a few things about how buildings like this are done.
If some of you are not aware, the tower portion of the World Trade Center Competition will not be designed any further by Libeskind. It will be done by David Childs of SOM. The original tower design just did not meet financial requirements, plus Libeskind’s office is in no way capable of developing a tower.
The “Landmark Tower” winning entry cannot be built as designed with its 15M x 15M floorplate. By the time you put in two fire stairs, a minimum of two elevators, plus U2’s elevators, shafts, corridors, etc. there is very little floor area left.
One significant flaw (of the many) in the presentation was that the required plans , and in particular the ONE “typical” tower plan, was way too small a scale to determine if the design was feasible (there was no leeway in the scale presented).
Even the DDDA themselves answered one of the competitor’s question by saying that it was assumed that a “dissagregated block” would be required to do the scheme. This would mean a floorplate of 15M x 30M was possible, assuming that the skin of the building was broken up vertically.
Design is a very subjective issue, Building codes, practicality and financial performance are not.
Also keep in mind that the winner of the competition was to be given 12,000 Euro and ….
“If the project proceeds, the winning participant, will be invited to execute a commission for architectural services to Planning Permission stage”
This does not guarantee that this design will get built or that even that the “winning” Architect will be involved any further in the process.
Oh what a great “profession” Architecture has become.
