Around 20% of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude six or greater occur in Japan. When the ground shakes, elevators tend to stop, and it can take hours until passengers can be rescued.
Mental Floss reports that policymakers in Japan are considering a new building code that would mandate plumbing and running water in every elevator. According to The Australian, the Japanese government estimates that up to 17,000 people will be stranded in elevators in Tokyo alone when “The Big One” strikes, referring to a huge quake seismologists are almost certain will hit Japan within the coming decades.
Currently, many Japanese high rises have included emergency boxes with bottled water and blankets in elevators, with the boxes doubling as makeshift chamber pots.
The building code’s discussion was first reported by The Japan Times, which says that the discussion was spurred by a magnitutde-8.1 earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan on May 30.
“The earthquake caused about 19,000 elevators to stop in the capital and neighboring prefectures,” the article says. “People were trapped temporarily in 14 elevators and it took 70 minutes to rescue them in one case, ministry and industry officials said.” No deaths were reported from the earthquake.
Related Stories
| Oct 22, 2013
World's tallest twisting tower added to Dubai skyline [slideshow]
The 75-story residential building, designed by SOM, features a dramatically rising helix shape for a distinctive addition to the city’s skyline.
| Oct 1, 2013
13 structural steel buildings that dazzle
The Barclays Center arena in Brooklyn and the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., are among projects named 2013 IDEAS2 winners by the American Institute of Steel Construction.
| Sep 17, 2013
World's first 'invisible' tower planned in South Korea
The 1,476-foot-tall structure will showcase Korean cloaking technology that utilizes an LED façade fitted with optical cameras that will display the landscape directly behind the building, thus making it invisible.
| Sep 11, 2013
San Francisco expected to drop firefighter air tank refilling station rule for skyscrapers
San Francisco is poised to drop a requirement that skyscrapers have refill stations so firefighters can recharge their air tanks during a blaze. The city has required that new high-rises have the air refill systems for about ten years.
| Aug 26, 2013
13 must-attend continuing education sessions at BUILDINGChicago
Building Design+Construction's new conference and expo, BUILDINGChicago, kicks off in two weeks. The three-day event will feature more than 65 AIA CES and GBCI accredited sessions, on everything from building information modeling and post-occupancy evaluations to net-zero projects and LEED training. Here are 13 sessions I'm planning to attend.
| Aug 2, 2013
Design of world’s tallest wood skyscraper would be more sustainable than steel alternative
Architecture firm C. F. Møller has proposed building the tallest wooden building in the world in Stockholm, Sweden.
| Jul 10, 2013
World's best new skyscrapers [slideshow]
The Bow in Calgary and CCTV Headquarters in Beijing are among the world's best new high-rise projects, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Jul 10, 2013
TED talk: Architect Michael Green on why we should build tomorrow's skyscrapers out of wood
In a newly posted TED talk, wood skyscraper expert Michael Green makes the case for building the next-generation of mid- and high-rise buildings out of wood.
| Jul 9, 2013
AISC releases Design Guide on Blast Resistant Structures
Design professionals now have a valuable new resource on blast resistant structures with AISC Design Guide No. 26, Design of Blast Resistant Structures.
High-rise Construction | Jul 9, 2013
5 innovations in high-rise building design
KONE's carbon-fiber hoisting technology and the Broad Group's prefab construction process are among the breakthroughs named 2013 Innovation Award winners by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
