Works Corporation to help stop building sway

Press, 13 April 1988, Page 41

Works Corporation to help stop building sway

PA Wellington Motion, sickness for workers in high-rise buildings may! become a thing of the past with a new building design test being offered-locally. The Works Corporation (formerly Ministry of J Works and Development) central [laboratories in. Lower Hutt is I offering a test which tells building; developers whether their building | will ' sway too; much in strong winds, causing (motion sickness for occupants. J

With the trend towards higher buildings made out of lighter and more flexible materials, building sway was now recognised overseas! as a real prob-J lem, says the central laboratories aerodynamics section head,; Mr Peter Cenek. I . |

Designers of prestige high-rises in New Zealand were ndw starting to take notice of the problem too, he said.; i “They! don’t want people bn the penthouse floor to be complaining of

motion sickness.” ( j Apart from queasy stomachs, the movement could cause i problems in opening and 'shutting windows and lift doors, bring cracks in masonry and interior partitions J and result in creaking noises, Mr Cenek said. Ii j j Wellington’s tallest building, tije 24-stbrey B.N.Z. Centre, suffers from building sway. In the past some porkers have had to go home early on • windy days J because of motion sickness. Mr Cenek J said that for $15,000 to $20,000 hejand his team would bulla! a detailed model of a (proposed building, subject! it to blasts of( wind in| the laboratory’s (wind tunnel and measure how much, the building! flexed ini the wind. ( ! I ! If the building was too flexible, the developer would be advised to either reconsider the shape |or consider strengthening the structural frame. I '

If the building turns out to have little flexibility.

the developer can afford (to reduce expensive “stiffeners" in the building without sacrificing the comfort of occupants. Developers could save thousands of dollars by knowing precisely where the limits of comfort and safety were, Mr Cenek said.

The testing technique used (by central laboratories, the rigid model forcebalance technique, was a relatively cheap and quick test which was available only at three other laboratories in the world. ’ So far, the laboratory ' had done tests on a highrise development for central ! Auckland and was now testing one for central Wellington, Mr Cenek said. j . 'i ’

At present, there was no requirement that a developer keep building sway to a( minimum, but building standards were being drafted !to ensure designers took occupants’ comfort into account in future, he;said.