The Building

9 - 1 1 R e s e a r c h

an attempt to uncover the truth about September 11th 2001

mirror of “NERDCITIES/GUARDIAN” site : disclaimer

M.I.T., Rotch Visual Collections

Visual Communications in Building Technology Project

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3.6 THE PLUMBING SYSTEM

During the course of a day there are several ways in which water is used in a building. Office workers need water for washing and drinking; custodians use water for cleaning many areas of the building; sanitary facilities in washrooms utilize water for urinals and water closets; and storm water on the roof and plazas must be directed away from areas that people use outdoors. The water used for these purposes is moved through a network of pipes and valves known as the plumbing system. Water is circulated through the plumbing system and is connected to lavatories, urinals, water closets, and drinking fountains, all of which are called plumbing fixtures.

Figure 3.23 PERSPECTIVE OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

Before the plumbing system can be efficiently designed, the number of fixtures and their placement throughout the building must be established. When this is completed, a network of supply pipes that bring potable water from the city water main (see Figure 3.23) must be designed to serve each fixture. Some of this water has to be heated in order to have hot water in lavatories. After a plumbing fixture is used, water is utilized as a medium to carry the wastes produced through the building and out to the city sewerage system (see Figure 3.24). Along with providing this 'loop' of potable water supply and waste water return, the plumbing system must be carefully designed to prevent any unpleasant odors in washrooms, excessive noise in the pipework, and inefficiencies in the storm drainage pipe network.

Figure 3.24 PERSPECTIVE OF DRAINAGE/VENTING SYSTEMS

In Sixty State Street, water is supplied through an upfeed pumping system. An upfeed system is one in which water entering the building flows through pumps which maintain a level of water pressure throughout the structure sufficient to operate any plumbing fixture. Water enters one of three pumps in the service level of Sixty State Street and is maintained at 250 psig in a vertical riser that carries the water through the 500 foot tall building, as shown in Figure 3.23. This pressure in the supply system is generally much too great to use in lavatories and water closets. In four zones, water is taken from the vertical riser, reduced in pressure to 150 psig at Pressure Reducing Stations (see Figure 3.25), and distributed to all the fixtures in that zone. This system insures that water is always kept under a constant pressure, and the pressure reducing stations are carefully gauged to monitor any variations from the specified pressure.

Figure 3.23 PERSPECTIVE OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM

1. .....2.
1. Lights and sprinkler.
2. Drainage pipe.

3. .....4.
3. Water supply and control.
4. Monitored flow control.

5. .....6.
5. Student construction tour.
6. Assembling bathroom plumbing.

7. .....8.
7. Assembling bathroom plumbing.
8. Assembling bathroom plumbing unit.

9. .....10.
9. Moving the plumbing assembly.
10. Complete assembly.

Hot water is supplied in Sixty State Street through a direct-feed hot water system. This system uses many small water heaters (see Figure 3.25) that are scaled to local demand. Approximately every three floors of the building share a heater with hot water pipes running directly to each lavatory. This method allows the distance between the heater and the pipes to be quite short, thus insuring a minimal heat loss through the pipes.

After any plumbing fixture (see Figure 3.25) has been used, the wastes are carried to a central vertical waste stack (see Figure 3.24) which collects all the wastes from each floor and transports them to the city sewer. Storm drainage is collected into a separate vertical stack which joins the sanitary wastes at the first lower level and goes to the city sewer. At the same time, sewer gases and pressure differentials in the pipes are relieved through a mirror image of the drainage piping. This network of ventilation piping extends into the atmosphere through the roof.

Figure 3.25 PLUMBING SYSTEMS

11...... 12.
11. Location of bathroom assembly.
12. Toilets mounted.

13...... 14.
13. Bathroom hardware wall construction.
14. Pressure testing the plumbing.

15...... 16.
15. Wall framing surrounds plumbing.
16. Plumbing access holes.

17...... 18.
17. Tile work around plumbing.
18. Installing toilet.

19...... 20.
19. Rough plumbing installed.
20. Mounting brackets for urinals.

21...... 22.
21. Rough plumbing and tiled wall.
22. New fixtures installed.

23...... 24.
23. Rough plumbing for sinks.
24. Hot water supply tank.

25...... 26.
25. Pumps for building.
26. Sink supports installed.

27...... 28.
27. Sinks in marble counter.
28. Fabricating a soil pipe.

A plumbing system is constructed within the mechanical spaces of the structure and is virtually sealed in the completed building. Thus, a characteristic of the plumbing system at Sixty State Street, and most plumbing systems, is that it is designed to insure a maximum degree of efficient, quiet and odorless service. Any extra initial costs for an extensive plumbing system are easily offset by the avoidance of later, extremely expensive maintenance costs.

.....36.
35. Sprinklers and ceiling sprinklers.
36. Stacks and floor recepticle.

37. .....38.
37. ?
38. Large ventilation fan and motor.

39. .....40.
39. Elevator equipment.
40. Baseboard heating.

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