Strategies to Protect People

Safety of occupants is one of the key concerns in the design and engineering of all buildings. Life safety and security systems are a basic requisite for all public buildings. Safety issues are heightened for US Department of Defense (DoD) buildings, in which considerations range from standard safety measures to protective measures against the threat of a violent attack. The latter has become an objective of increased significance in the United States following the attack on the Pentagon and collapse of the World Trade Towers during the 9/11 terrorist attack. In many instances, safety is about having the information to identify threats before they strike. Making buildings safer demands a holistic approach to planning, design and engineering that reduces the potential for injury or loss of life across a variety of risk factors.

Life safety
Fire is one of the biggest risks to a building and its occupants, with smoke inhalation as one of the chief causes of fatalities. AECOM was tasked with performing computational fluid dynamics modeling (CFD) in sufficient detail to provide a recommended smoke detection design applicable to computer data centers in the Operations Building at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. This analysis included an assessment of the variety of data center layouts present in the Operations Building and CFD simulations that accounted for equipment heat generation, various fire locations, and a range of airflow conditions. We provided analysis of various available smoke detection technologies to determine the best application for data center requirements. We also determined the best technology for detecting fire at the incipient stage of development and the optimum distribution of detector sampling ports.

Defending against attack
All new projects for the DoD are required to meet Minimum Antiterrorism Standards for Buildings and Design of Buildings to Resist Progressive Collapse regulations. Requirements provided in these design documents include a minimum standoff distance from the edge of the road or parking area to the face of building to minimize the blast loading on the building; blast-resistant glazing for all windows, doors and skylights to minimize flying glass debris inside the building; raising the height of air intakes to minimize opportunities to introduce airborne contaminants to the building; and designing the building to minimize damage to the surrounding area to prevent progressive collapse so that the loss of a building column does not bring down the entire building. AECOM has renovated or designed DoD structures ranging from 90,000 to 400,000 sq ft for these progressive collapse and antiterrorism standards at military bases and administrative facilities throughout the United States.

Information is safety
Often, making a building safer means designing a security communications system that is quick to identify threats. AECOM's in-house System Solutions group is dedicated to providing security systems consulting and engineering and information technology, telecommunications, and audio-visual consulting, design and engineering. Our Communications Technology group specializes in wireless and emergency communications systems engineering. These systems are vital to places such as airports and sports stadiums, where many people are present and the risk of terrorist or criminal events is high. They are also crucial to operations centers with high security demands due to the sensitivity of information that the facility processes.

AECOM provided security surveillance system design services for the City of Jacksonville, Florida at the Jacksonville Jaguar's Alltel Stadium and much of the surrounding neighborhood. This was used during the National Football League’s Super Bowl XXXIX Championship game played on Sunday, February 6, 2005.

Prior to the event, Jacksonville Sheriff's Chief Bowen indicated, "We want to not only watch what is going on along the entire event, we want to be able to direct resources, track subjects during a chase and be able to coordinate a response to various kinds of medical emergencies. We are looking to AECOM to help us make this a safe and enjoyable experience for the 200,000 or so folks who will attend."

The design placed over 100 video cameras along a four mile area between downtown Jacksonville and the stadium. It provided real time video links to police helicopters and to PDAs carried by foot patrol officers. In addition to video displays in the main CCC, the video was available to FBI, Coast Guard, Customs, Florida State Police and senior local officials to make coordination easier.

AECOM has provided similar security system designand engineering for the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, The City of Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), US Naval bases nationwide, and the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the National Guard Bureau Readiness Center. For the latter project, a new facility, AECOM provided IT/telecommunications, security, audio-visual and data systems design and engineering as part of a comprehensive architecture and engineering program, which included a state-of-the-art joint operations center and command center.

A safer public realm
Beyond the walls of buildings, urban designers must assess  and minimize safety risks in the public realm. This was one consideration in the masterplanning of Upton, a mixed-use extension to the English town of Northampton. AECOM designed the street patterns and building placement to maximize visibility of public realm from within houses. Creating an open, readily viewable urban environment removes opportunities to lurk in the shadows and alleys and makes for a safer community. Lighting is another landscape design element that increases the safety of the public realm.

An industry responsibility?
Safety is always a factor in the planning, design and engineering of buildings and public spaces. But how much of the final responsibility rests with our industry? As we work toward a more holistic embrace of the factors that reduce risks to the occupants of buildings and the users of public realm, can we establish an industry standard for safety in design? It seems only logical that we would do this as stewards of the places that we develop.

Jake Herson