NFPA Journal - September/October 2016 - 56

HIGH-RISE CHALLENGE features and conveniences contained in ESB while still complying with new fire and lab safety codes, especially when it came to locating laboratory facilities in a high-rise building. In the nearly 65 years since the opening of the ESB, lab safety had become more of a priority. For example, experiments and procedures previously performed on open lab benches are now required to be performed in fume hoods; as The NHB was designed as a sixa result, the number of fume hoods story research building; high floor-to- increased from 77 in ESB to 234 in floor dimensions, particularly on the NHB. With the increase in fume hoods, lower floors, contribute to the NHB's a corresponding increase in the size of designation as a high-rise structure. the laboratory ventilation system was The building contains approximately inevitable. As in most new construc330,000 square feet of faculty offices, tion, floor real estate quickly became a teaching labs, classrooms, mechanical prime concern. spaces, a basement vivarium-an enFor university safety personnel like closure to keep animals in seminatural ourselves, the project came down to conditions-and research laboraa series of key issues: establishing a tories. The first phase of the NHB research environment that is both construction project, completed in late interactive and secure; safely providing 2010, had to comply with the stricter reIn order to provide a compliant means of increasing the allowable quirements of the 2006 amount of stored chemicals, the design team turned to NFPA 30 edition of NFPA 101®, for flammable and combustible liquids storage solutions. The design Life Safety Code®, and its referenced documents, team decided to construct a series of inside liquid storage areas associated with each laboratory unit. as well as the 2006 edition of the International Building Code. (The ESB was adequate hazardous chemical storage constructed under the comparatively for researchers; and making sure NHB less stringent requirements of the 1949 met the code requirements for locating edition of the Uniform Building Code.) laboratories in high-rise buildings. Later finish work and renovations were conducted under the requirements INITIAL CHALLENGES of the 2012 edition of NFPA 101, the It became apparent early in the design 2011 edition of NFPA 45, Fire Protecprocess that most of the medium- and tion for Laboratories Using Chemicals, and high-hazard laboratories in NHB the 2012 edition of NFPA 30, Flamwould have to be located on the upper mable and Combustible Liquids Code. The floors. There were several contributing official opening for NHB was held in factors for this, including a desire by March 2011. The College of Natural Sciences (CNS) There were numerous code chalto use the lower floors to showcase its lenges in designing NHB with the same resources and accomplishments for 56 NFPA JOURNAL SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016 Photograph: Joshua A. Lambert

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - September/October 2016