Rincon Hill towers get permits after OK for seismic safety
From today’s Chronicle, “The developer of what will be the tallest residential towers in the fast-growing Rincon Hill neighborhood South of Market near San Francisco’s waterfront has obtained final permits to construct the two towers at One Rincon Hill.”
“One Rincon Hill is a special building because of its height and how that will punctuate the City skyline,” developer Michael Kriozere said in a written statement Monday. “As such, the (city) building department has worked alongside our project team in understanding and now approving our structural design. We have enjoyed working with the building department throughout this process.”
“Although a panel of experts convened to advise the city had approved the project’s engineering, city building inspectors wanted additional assurances that the towers could ride out a large quake without collapsing and also could remain habitable after the shaking stops. Inspectors said in December that they are confident the development meets state and city safety standards.”
After the terror attacks of 9/11, I was forced to wonder, how safe are high rise buildings?
In 1991, after the bombing of the World Trade Center, people spent hours evacuating the buildings, slowly moving downward in poorly-lighted, smoke-filled stairwells. In Chicago, a seemingly non-threatening fire forced people to evacuate a building, only to be trapped in stairwells where many would succumbed to smoke. In the terror attacks of 9/11, people became trapped in the towers of the World Trade Center above the impact point of the planes. Those trapped inside phoned loved ones telling them they were going to die. In moments of finally desperation, many jumped off the building to avoid the fire.
From this tragedy, I was struck with an idea which inspired me to create a high rise evacuation system. It is called . . . Frederick’s Tube.
The Frederick’s Tube is tube, 46-inches in diameter, with entry points on designated floors. The tube goes from specific floors to the ground. Carriers are inserted in the top of the tube, which evacuees then sit inside. The carrier rides a cushion of air to the ground floor where passengers are safely unloaded. This system uses no electricity and should evacuate a person approximately every 6 seconds. From a 100-story building, each carrier should reach the ground in approximately 40 seconds. The elderly and handicap can be evacuated just as easily as an able-bodied person, as opposed to the alternative of having to be carried down the stairs.
I appeal to those in the industry looking for an inexpensive way to evacuate people from a high rise building. Please take the time and go to http://www.highriseevacuations.com
Sincerely,
Kurt Fuhrmann
Kurt at January 25th, 2008 at 7:50 pm ( )