May2016

The High Rise By Mitchell H. Frumkin, PE, RS, CGP President, Kipcon Inc. and Allan Samuels, LEED AP Managing Partner, Energy Squared, LLC

A s residential housing in our geographic area is becoming more prevalent in city settings, the high rise condominium is becoming more and more popular. The purpose of this article is to present what comprises the phys- ical assets of this type of building and the importance of understanding ongoing maintenance and energy efficiency, which results in maintaining the value of the property while at the same time minimizing the long term operational costs. But first, what is a high rise? The definition from the International Building Code of a High Rise is “A building with an occupied floor located more than 75 feet above the lowest level of fire department vehi- cle access. “ Typical com- ponents of a high rise are shown in the diagram to the right.The modern high rise was not born until the end of the 19th century. Up until then, cities looked much different than the way they look today. The buildings at that time were rarely higher than 40 to 50 feet. Two major developments led to the high rises that dominate major city sky- lines throughout the modern world. First, in 1853, an American, Elisha Graves Otis, invented the world’s first safety lift or elevator. This new form of vertical transportation enabled people to travel safely upward at a much greater speed and with considerably less effort than by walking. The second major development occurred in the 1870s, when steel frames became available, gradually replacing the weaker combination of cast iron and wood previously used in construction. Until then, the walls had to be very thick to carry the weight of each floor. Steel frames were able to carry the weight of more floors, so walls became simply cladding for the purpose of insulating and enclosing the building. This development, which included applying hollow clay tiles to the steel supports, resulted in a fireproof steel skeleton and “also permitted movable interior partitioning, which allowed rooms to be reconstructed to meet the demands of new tenants. This new method of construction reduced the thickness of walls, increased valuable

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