Page 90 - Vertical City
P. 90
90 The vertical city
These structures are now generally protected in
a passive manner by flocking, paints or intumescent
coating, or by their encasing in materials that are not
harmful to health.
This protection, which now must be ensured for the
duration of any fire, is cumbersome and costly.
An alternative solution exists, although for the main
supporting structural elements. It consists of irriga-
ting the structure much like the installation of central
heating, the fire causing the circulation of the water
contained in the principal columns and beams thus cools
down the zone exposed to the fire 8.
8 Numerous examples of irrigated structures exist, the first being the
64-story US Steel Tower in Pittsburgh, USA (1970).
