Global design harmony

NFPA Journal, May/Jun 2002 by Reiss, Martin H, Antell, James H

Completed in 1998 and located in Pudong, the city's financial and trade district, Jin Mao is a 3,001,065-square-foot (278,800-square-meter), multi-use complex consisting of the 88-story tower and a 6story podium building. The tower houses the Grand Hyatt Shanghai Hotel and office space, while the podium consists of hotel function areas, a conference and exhibition center, an auditorium, and a retail galleria. Both structures are designed to withstand earthquakes and typhoons, which can create winds up to 125 miles per hour (201 kilometers per hour).

Jin Mao project designers had to establish a level of fire safety consistent not only with the codes of the People's Republic of China, but also with the intent of North American codes and standards. Among the documents they used were several developed by NFPA, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and AirConditioning Engineers, and Underwriters Laboratories. These included NFPA 13, Installation of Sprinkler Systems, NFPA 70, National Electric Code(R), ANSI 117.1, governing handicapped accessibility; and the Uniform Plumbing Code.

Because the building's height and size make it difficult to fight an uncontrolled fire manually and evacuating the entire building would take quite a bit of time, the life safety and fire protection systems specified for the Jin Mao Tower focus on early detection and suppression, coupled with selective evacuation of the building. As in the Kingdom Centre, a defend-in-place strategy was adopted to confine fire growth to one floor or fire compartment, manage the spread of smoke beyond the floor of fire origin, and facilitate evacuation. Areas of refuge were established in the tower, compartmentalized with fire walls and floors and independently ventilated.

Low-pressure carbon dioxide systems were provided for all high-voltage substations, switchgear, and engine generator rooms. In addition, the building's boiler room and fuel oil transfer pump room were equipped with dedicated overhead sprinkler systems using water and aqueous film-forming foam in a balanced proportioning system.

Despite the pressures of the global economy, no single set of building standards is universally accepted throughout the world. However, NFPA's consensus-based code set, including NFPA 5000, Building Codi, if adopted, should provide the world with a comprehensive set of building construction and fire safety regulations.

* MARTIN H. REISS, P.E. AND JAMES H. ANTELL, AIA, P.E.

MARTIN REISS

is president and CEO of The RJA Group and chair of the NFPA Board of Directors.

JIM ANTELL

is director of Business Development for The RJA Group, a subsidiary of which participated on both The Kingdom Centre and Jin Mao Tower projects.