Integrated building services

ARK 754
Topic 2
(1) service core: planning and space provisions
(2) vertical transport system
Masters 02: 2 Credit Hour

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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 Lesson outcome

to understand design issues with regards to

(1) service core components, types and
placements
(2) vertical transport system for tall building

Main references:
Allen & Iano 2001, The architect's studio companion : rules of thumb for preliminary design, 3rd edn, Wiley, New York.
Stein, et al. 2000, Mechanical and electrical equipment for buildings, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Parlour

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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 service core

High rise buildings usually concentrate many building

services within a “core” from which services can be
distributed as needed throughout each floor.

COMPONENTS OF SERVICE CORE

The core typically contains:
-Stairs
-Passenger and service elevators
-Toilet rooms
-Service closets
-Mechanical room (AHU)
-Vertical service distribution shafts
-Electrical / telephone closets with local switching
-Fire protection equipment

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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 service core | placement considerations
Considerations of core placements
-RENTABLE SPACE
-Flexibility of typical rental areas
-Perimeter for rental areas
-Ground floor high-rent area
-FIRE SAFETY AND OCCUPANT CONVENIENCE
-Typical distance of travel from core
-Clarity of circulation
-ENVIRONMENT IN THE CORE
-Daylight and view for core spaces
-MECHANICAL SERVICES
-ease of core area expansion on the roof, at the loading
docks and in basement
-Service connections at roof
-Length of travel for ducts at each floor
-CONSTRUCTION
-Suitability for lateral bracing
Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007
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service core | types (according to placement)

types:

•Side (edge, detached)

•central (single core, two core)
•Corners
•Scattered/random/distributed

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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service core placement | comparison of core
arrangements and building plan

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007
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service core | summary of comparison

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 service core
placement |
impact on
energy
consumption

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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 design considerations to accommodate
services in tall buildings | vertical distribution
PLANNING THE INTERNAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE CORES
• The ratio of the total floor area of the core or cores of a building to
the floor area served varies widely from one building to the next.
• The average total areas of the cores in 40 to 70 storey - including
the stairways, toilets, elevators, and escalator lobbies – is
approximately 27% of the open area of each floor served by the
core. This ratio runs as high as 38% in some older buildings, but
ranges around 20% to 24% in office towers of recent design.
• A building with a fan room on each floor will need very little core
areas for ductwork, but the fan room is likely to occupy at least as
much floor space as the vertical ductwork it eliminates.
• The structural scheme of a building can also have a direct effect on
core area of a tall office building, about 12% is usually occupied
by columns, bracing, walls, and partitions. This percentage is
lower for lower buildings and can be very low in buildings whose
core areas contain no columns or lateral bracing.
• CALCULATE FLOOR EFFICIENCY OF YOUR OFFICE TOWER

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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 design considerations to accommodate
services in tall buildings | vertical distribution

TOTAL SHAFT AREA

• Total open area of all the mechanical and electrical shafts in a
tall office building is normally equal to about 4% of the total area
served on each floor. ESTIMATE TOTAL SHAFT AREA FOR
YOUR OFFICE

PIPE RISERS FOR HEATING AND COOLING

• The insulated pipes that conduct heated and chilled water to and
from the spaces in a building require considerable space.
• In a tall apartment building or hotel, a shaft of 300 mm x 1200 mm
is generally sufficient to serve two stacks of units. This may be
sandwiched between units at the perimeter of the building or located
adjacent to the central corridor, depending on where the heating and
cooling equipment is located in the units.

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

Norhati Ibrahim
design considerations to accommodate
services in tall buildings | vertical distribution

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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 service core
placement |
common
floor depth

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007
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BNI Building
Jakarta

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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UOB Plaza 1
Singapore

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Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007
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Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007
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Century Tower
Tokyo, Japan

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 design considerations to accommodate
services in tall buildings | plumbing
PLUMBING WALLS, JANITOR CLOSETS. AND
TOILET ROOMS
• Fixtures in bathrooms, toilet rooms, shower rooms,
kitchens, laundries, and other areas with plumbing
should back up to plumbing walls. A plumbing wall
has an internal cavity large enough to house the
supply, waste, and vent piping necessary to serve
the fixtures. Plumbing walls should be stacked
vertically from the bottom of the building to the
top. It is possible to offset plumbing walls a few feet
from one floor to the next, but the horizontal offsets
are expensive and cause maintenance headaches.
A typical plumbing wall arrangement, complete with
janitor closet, is illustrated and dimensioned on the
diagram to the right. The given widths are adequate
for-mounted fixtures. If wall-hung fixtures are used,
a 24 in. (600 mm) extension is needed to
accommodate the fixture carriers.
• Fixture requirements for toilets are established by
plumbing design and vary widely from one to the
next. The designers to also keep in mind the general
requirement for toilet rooms to be used by disabled
persons. (provide toilet for handicap!)
• CALCULATE FIXTURES REQUIRED FOR
YOUER BUILDING
Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007
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 design considerations to accommodate
services in tall buildings | communication
ELECTRICAL CLOSETS AND
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
CLOSETS (PABX – Private
Automatic Branch System)
• At least one telecommunication
distribution closet should be
provided for every floor and for
every 10,000 ft2 (930 m2) of area
served.
• For commercial office space,
telecommunications closets should
measure 3 m x 3.7 m internally.
For less data-intensive
occupancies, closets as small as
1.2 x 2.1 m may be acceptable.
• Separate cooling zones should
be provided to permit independent
temperature control of these areas.

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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vertical transport system

Passenger lift
-Types:
-Motorised (multi-storey)
-Hydraulic (=< 5 storyes)
-Special considerations
-For hospitals
-For very tall building
-Dumbwaiter
-Escalators

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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 elevator system for tall buildings |
concerns

passenger’s comfort and health

• ear discomfort, cab noise, rope oscillation, cab sway
passenger’s safety
• Car safety
technical issues
• Buffer length
• Hoist cable length (solution: ropeless, self-powered
elevator that permits more than one elevator car
within a dedicated hoistway. This way peak handling
capacity could be increased during intense usage
periods)

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 elevator system for tall buildings |
manufacturers
– Schindler
– Otis
– Hitachi
– Mitsubishi

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 Main lift components:
• Lift motor room
• Lift shaft
• Pit
• Lift landing
• Suspension &
driving machine
• Car / pod
• Counterweight
• Elevator well /
hoistway
• Safety gear
• Buffers

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elevator selection | performance criteria

Ideal performance of an elevator

installation provides:
• Minimum waiting time
• Comfort
• Rapid transportation
• Smooth ride and rapid retardation
• Automatic leveling at landings
• Rapid loading and unloading at all stops

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elevator selection | selection criteria

CRITERIA OFTEN USED TO ASSESS

ELEVATOR SERVICE
QUALITY/PERFORMANCE:
• Interval and average time
• Handling capacity (HC)
• Traveling time

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 elevator selection | selection criteria

• INTERVAL AND AVERAGE TIME (excellent office building design

provides an average lobby wait of 15 – 18 s during peak hours,
with 22 s considered good and 26 s borderline (Stein)
• Handling capacity (HC) (determined by (1) the frequency, or
interval, with which a car appears at the lobby, and (2) size of the
elevator car. Remember: during peak traffic periods, cars are
loaded to about 80%)
• Traveling time (is the sum of the lobby waiting time plus travel
time to the median floor stop).

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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 elevator selection | calculation
Step 1: SET INTERVAL / AVERAGE facility Interval Ave
(s) Lobby
LOBBY WAITING TIME Waiting
Because cars leave the lobby time(s)
separated in time by the interval Office buildings 25-30 15-17
(I) and passengers arrive at the City centre 28-32 17-19
Perimeter 32-35 19-21
lobby in random fashion, the Suburban
average waiting time in the lobby
should be lesser than the interval. Residential 50-70
Field measurements show that : Prestige 60-80
apartments 80-120
average lobby waiting time = 0.6l Mid-income 60-80
apartments 30-50
Low-income 50-70
apartments
Dormitories
Hotels – 1st quality
Hotels – 2nd quality
acceptable intervals for various
building types (Stein & Reynolds, 2000 pg 1408)
Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007
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 elevator selection | calculation
Step 2: DETERMINE Elevator capacity Maximum Normal
(lb) passenger passenger
HANDLING CAPACITY
capacity load per
For estimation, we can take a trip*
system handling capacity of (p)
5-min as a standard.
(meaning, a 5-min rush period 2000 12 10
is used as a measure of a 2500 17 13
system’s ability to handle 3000 20 16
traffic) 3500 (most freq 23 19
for off)
handling capacity (HC)= 300p / I 4000 28 22
p = car loading (number of passengers
per car.
This means that when the interval is •Assuming the no of passengers carried on a trip
30 sec, the system handling capacity during peak conditions is approx. 80% of the car
is 10p. capacity.

Car passenger capacity (p)

(Stein & Reynolds, 2000 pg 1409)

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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 elevator selection | calculation
The HC (handling capacity) is often facility HCP
expressed as a percentage so as to % of population
appropriately signifies the building to be carried in
size. This is normally referred to as 5 mins
the Minimum Percentage Handling Office buildings 12-14
Capacities (PHC) – meaning, a City centre 11.5-13
minimum % of building population that Perimeter 14-16
the system will handle in 5-min. Suburban

Convert HC (handling capacity) to a figure Residential 5-7

that appropriately signifies the building Prestige apartments 10-11
size. This is normally referred to as Dormitories 12-15
the minimum Handling Capacity Hotels – 1st quality 10-12
Percentage (HCP) – a minimum % of Hotels – 2nd quality
building population that the system
will handle in 5-min. Minimum Handling Capacity Percentage (HCP)
(Stein & Reynolds, 2000 pg 1409)

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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 elevator selection | calculation

Building type Net area

Office buildings Square feet per
[multipurpose] person
Large lower floors 140 - 160
Estimate population for estimating Upper floors 160 -180
elevator and escalator requirements Average use 160
single use 150
Population estimates for office
buildings are based on net area – that Hotels Persons per
is, actual available area for tenancy. Normal use sleeping room
Conventions 1.3
1.9
Hospitals Visitors and staff
General private per bed
General public (large 3
wards) 3-4
Apartments Persons per
High rental housing bedroom
Population of typical buildings for estimating
Moderate rental 1.5
Elevator and escalator
Low cost housing 2.0
(Stein & Reynolds, 2000 pg 1410)
2.5-3.0
Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007
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 elevator selection | calculation
Calculate the number As an example:
of passengers per Assuming a total population of 200 persons and a desired HCP
of 15%, one may arrive at a good estimate of the number of
trip (p) passengers per trip:
p = POP x HCP
Then: calculate p (number ---------------
of passengers per trip) 300/I
Where:
p = Number of Passengers (per trip)
POP = The number of persons on floors served
by the elevator system (ground floor
excluded)
HCP = Handling Capacity Percentage (15% = .15)
I = Maximum Acceptable Interval (in seconds)
300 = Seconds available in five-minute peak period (5 x 60)
In our example, using 30 seconds as the I:
(200 x .15) divide by (300/30) = 3.0
In other words, a trip every 30 seconds for 300 seconds, will
result in 10 trips. Carrying three passengers on each trip, a total
of 30 passengers will be carried in five-minutes, which of course,
is 15% of 200.

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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 elevator selection | calculation
Step 3: Elevator capacity Maximum Normal
(lb) passenger passenger
SET TRAVEL TIME
capacity load per
(the sum of the lobby waiting time plus
travel time to the median floor stop).
trip*
Refer to graph. (p)
In a commercial
atmosphere, a trip of 2000 12 10
2500 17 13
less than 1 min is highly 3000 20 16
desirable, a 75-sec trip 3500 (most freq 23 19
is acceptable, a 90-sect for off)
4000 28 22
trip is annoying, and a
120-sec trip the limit of
loleration. •Assuming the no of passengers carried on a trip
during peak conditions is approx. 80% of the car
capacity.

Car passenger capacity (p)

(Stein & Reynolds, 2000 pg 1409)

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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 design considerations to accommodate
services in tall buildings | conveyor systems
• Very tall buildings have sky lobbies served by
express elevators. People arriving in the lobby take an
express elevator to the appropriate sky lobby where they
get off the express elevator and wait for the local
elevator system.

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 building case |
central plaza, HK
• E.g. Central Plaza, HK
(78 storeys, anticipated
population of 8,700):
based on the design
criteria of 35 to 40
seconds average interval
between lifts leaving the
main lobby and 5 minutes
handling capacity of 12%
of total population, seven
lift zones with four lifts
per zone were provided.

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 design considerations to accommodate
services in tall buildings | conveyor systems
Sky lobby concept for Central Plaza –
• Divides the building vertically into 2 zones, each of which
served by different groups. For high zone, four lifts
provision per group.
• An additional main lobby introduced at 46th floor to serve
the floors above by local zone lifts.
• 5 non-stop express shuttles, at a speed of 8 m/s connect
the sky lobby with the main lobby.

Integrated Building System | JSB 554 | January 2007

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