Iano's backfill

Unusual Materials In IIT Student Center

Koolhaas Encounters Mies, Building Design & Construction, 12.03, reports on the new McCormick Tribune Campus Center at Illinois Institute of Technology, by Rem Koolhaus's Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

This project uses a variety of unusual finish materials, including for example:

• 1/8 inch aluminum plate flooring (grounded for electrical safety)
• Ceilings of green water-resistant GWB coated with clear polyurethane
• Mechanical penthouse louvers made from plastic grating normally used for chemically resistant laboratory floors
• Glazing composite made from orange polycabonate infill bonded within exterior glass units
• Toilet room enclosures made of glass facing and tubular polycarbonate core material with a variable translucency depending upon the angle of view

For more on the design of the McCormick Tribune Campus Center see also ABC's of Mies + IIT, Metropolis Magazine, February 2004.

Indictments in Rhode Island Nightclub Fire

3 Men Are Indicted in Fire at Rhode Island Nightclub, New York Times December 10, 2003, reports that two owners of the Rhode Island night club and a rock band tour manager have been indicted on involuntary manslaughter charges for their parts in the February 2003 fire that killed 100 and injured nearly 200 more. The purported causes of the fire are pyrotechnics ignited by the band during their performance and the presence of a highly flammable polyurethane acoustical foam insulation that had been installed by the owners.

What controls on the design and building process exist to prevent such disasters?

The Building Code
Combustibility of interior finishes is regulated by the building code. For example, in the International Building Code, Chapter 8 provides requirements for interior finishes, including their combustibility. As an example of these requirements, see Figure 22.5, page 797 in the text, which illustrates Table 803.4 from the IBC. However, in the specific case of foam plastic, an earlier paragraph in this chapter of the code states that foam plastics may not be used as an interior finish at all, except as specifically provided for in a separate chapter devoted entirely to plastics, Chapter 26.

Fire-resistance rated construction is also addressed in Chapter 7 of the IBC, and thermal and acoustical insulation materials are specifically addressed in Section 719. However this section also indicates that in the case of foam plastic insulation, the requirements of Chapter 26 apply.

Chapter 26 Plastics of the IBC does provide detailed requirements for the use of foam plastic insulation in buildings. Here are some of the more relevant points:

• Packaging of foam plastic materials brought to the project site must provide information about the product, the product manufacturer, and how the material is permitted to be used in building construction. The labeling itself must be produced by a testing and labeling agency recognized and approved by the building department.
• Combustibility limits are set for foam plastic insulation. Generally restrictions are comparable to a Class B interior finish material.
• Under most circumstances, foam plastics cannot remain exposed in finished construction. They must be covered by a 1/2 inch layer of gypsum wallboard or some other thermal barrier material that can provide protection from the heat of a building fire.
• Foam plastics may be used as an exposed finish, without the normally required thermal barrier, when specially tested and demonstrated to not present a special fire hazard under these conditions.
• A variety of additional special circumstances, too numerous and complex to discuss here, are described where it may be permissible to use exposed foam plastics in the building without the normally required thermal barrier protection.

So in the case of the Rhode Island night club, if regulated by the IBC, the installed materials would have to have been labeled for the intended use, and either covered by a protective thermal barrier material in the finished construction, or specifically tested and approved for use in an exposed finish application. (Other building codes contain roughly similar requirements.)

Other Sources of Regulation
Fire codes regulate the ongoing use and maintenance of buildings, and in some cases aspects of building design and construction as well. States and local municipalities may legislate regulations independently from building and fire code requirements. Organizations may adopt voluntary standards--see for example NFPA 1126, Use of Pyrotechnics before a Proximate Audience.

More Information:
Nighclub safety equals life safety, NFPA Journal July 8, 2003, provides a comprehensive discussion of the factors surrounding this event and related information.
Alliance for the Polyurethanes Industry, Polyurethane Combustibility in the Regulatory Environment

Another Moisture-Resistant Board Product

Abuse, Moisture, Mold and Fire Resistant...Who Could Ask for Anything More?, ENR November 17 2003, reports on US Gypsum's newly announced Fiberock Aqua-Tough panels. Panels are gypsum-based with a specially formulated moisture resistant core material. Purported benefits include:

• Suitable for use in wet areas, such as showers, as both a ceramic tile backer board and to receive paint above the tile line
• Mold-resistance
• Resistant to flame spread and zero smoke development
• Abuse resistant, with no easily damaged paper face to

Additionally, the panels are manufactured from 95% recycled materials, included synthetic gypsum extracted from flue gas, and shredded consumer waste paper.

The Code Authority Fall 2003

The 2003 Issue of Underwriter Laboratory's online newsletter for code community includes articles on:

Fire Resistance vs. Surface Burning Characteristics discusses the difference between fire-resitance ratings for walls and ceilings, and surface burning and smoke developed limits for finish materials. In a nutshell, partitions and ceilings are rated according to their capacity to contain the spread of fire. Finishes are rated according to their propensity to spread flame along the finished surface and generate combustion smoke.

Limited Combustible Cable Category Created discusses a newly created classification for telecommunications cabling used in air plenums, where the cable's surface burning and smoke developed characteristics are a concern. The new category surpasses the current minimum requirements (in NFPA 90A) and has been developed in response to the increasing density of cabling within such spaces.

Here Comes the Sun discusses photovotaic solar electric systems and related issues such as system types, connecting to the local power grid, integration of systems into traditional building components (e.g., PV modules as part of roofing shingles), and safety issues.

Updated Fire Resistance Design Manual

The Gypsum Association has announced the 17th Edition of its Fire Resistance Design Manual. This publication is one of the easiest-to-use fire-resistance design references available, covering gypsum wallboard construction on virtually any supporting system.

22 - Selecting Interior Finishes Links

This article contains external links to resources on the Web relevant to Chapter 22 Selecting Interior Finishes.

Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industries

Trade association providing technical and instructional materials related to gypsum wallboard, plaster, EIFS, steel framing, and more.

Gypsum Association

Trade association of gypsym board manufacturers that publishes various design and technical guides

Northwest Wall and Ceiling Bureau

Trade association providing technical standards for drywall, plaster, stucco, light gauge steel framing, etc.