Infrastructure Fit for Purpose?

Lofty Ambitions

  Next month sees the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 collapse of New York’s twin towers. The difficulties in evacuating so many people from such high buildings made people question whether mankind should continue to build increasingly tall skyscrapers – a sentiment heard again after the June 2017 fire in London’s Grenfell Tower. As testimony to the ingenuity of people to find ways around problems, architects and planners assured us that solutions would be found.  

Cold Crunch

Now another problem has cropped up. Arinite consultants recently held one of our face-to-face team meetings (mercifully outdoors in the shade) on a day when UK temperatures topped 40°C for the first time ever. Record temperatures here and abroad, coupled with sky-rocketing energy bills, are making us look again at those steel and glass skyscrapers dominating our city skylines. Those buildings – essentially large greenhouses - require huge air-conditioning systems to remain habitable. I once worked in such a building and, after the air-conditioning broke down on a mild overcast day, even the hardiest souls gave up and went home by mid-afternoon when the indoor temperature became intolerable. The International Energy Agency estimates that using air conditioners and electric fans to stay cool already accounts for about a fifth of the total electricity used in buildings around the world – or 10% of all global electricity consumption. Global energy demand from air conditioners is expected to triple by 2050, requiring new electricity capacity the equivalent to the combined electricity capacity of the United States, the EU and Japan today. Here in the UK, last month’s heatwave also threatened to melt tarmac, trip out power systems, buckle railway tracks, and we heard the usual apologies about our creaking Victorian infrastructure not having been designed for such exceptional climatic events.  

Crumbling Concrete

The Romans gave us buildings that have lasted millennia, yet I once visited an abandoned 1960’s office block where the steel-reinforced concrete floors had become depressingly banana-shaped. They had literally sagged, and needed costly replacement. A new problem has come to the fore, especially in public buildings such as schools and hospitals. Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) is light in weight - but brittle and prone to water absorption. The material was popular between the 1960’s to 1980’s, but has been found to have a lifespan of only 30 years. The UK Government has set aside £110m to remediate problems with RAAC after the sudden collapse of an Essex school roof.  

Design For A New Future

If your company inhabits a modern building, perhaps you might check with the landlord about the construction techniques? RAAC can collapse catastrophically, without warning – and don’t even get me going on external cladding systems! And will everyone be able to evacuate to a safe place within a few minutes? If you’re in the happy position of moving to a different building, or downsizing after COVID, think about those energy bills and carbon footprint. Perhaps Mediterranean countries knew a thing or two when they designed buildings with thick walls (high thermal mass to slow down heating), small windows, and external shutters. Air-conditioning: who needs it?  

Contact Us

Arinite clients appreciate we provide practical, no-nonsense advice about what you need to do to establish and maintain a safe and healthy working environment. Our team of health and safety consultants take pride in keeping health and safety simple. If you need to call upon our expert assistance, or just for an informal chat, please call our office on 0207 947 9581, or contact us here. Jan Mirkowski