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 13, 2010
HQ renovations aim for modern look
Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects’ renovations to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s New York City headquarters will feature a reworked reception lobby with back-painted glass, silk-screened logos, and a video wall.
| Oct 12, 2010
Guardian Building, Detroit, Mich.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. The relocation and consolidation of hundreds of employees from seven departments of Wayne County, Mich., into the historic Guardian Building in downtown Detroit is a refreshing tale of smart government planning and clever financial management that will benefit taxpayers in the economically distressed region for years to come.
| Oct 8, 2010
Union Bank’S San Diego HQ awarded LEED Gold
Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building located at 530 B Street has been awarded LEED Gold certification from the Green Building Certification Institute under the standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Gold status was awarded to six buildings across the United States in the most recent certification and Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building is one of only two in California.
| Sep 21, 2010
New BOMA-Kingsley Report Shows Compression in Utilities and Total Operating Expenses
A new report from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International and Kingsley Associates shows that property professionals are trimming building operating expenses to stay competitive in today’s challenging marketplace. The report, which analyzes data from BOMA International’s 2010 Experience Exchange Report® (EER), revealed a $0.09 (1.1 percent) decrease in total operating expenses for U.S. private-sector buildings during 2009.
| Aug 11, 2010
New data shows low construction prices may soon be coming to an end
New federal data released recently shows sharp increases in the prices of key construction materials like diesel, copper and brass mill shapes likely foreshadow future increases in construction costs, the Associated General Contractors of America said. The new November producer price index (PPI) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provide the strongest indication yet that construction prices are heading up, the association noted.
