Sources

Electrical Willis Tower

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubS4Fy7zDUU
http://www.willistower.com/office-leasing/building-infrastructure/
http://www.chicagorelo.com/l/category.php?catID=12
http://madepossiblewith.com/campaigns/willis-tower/
http://theskydeck.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Teachers-Guide-2014.pdf
http://www.ctbuh.org/portals/0/events/Conferences/Chicago09_Report/Speakers/S7.2_Smith_ReenergizingJinMao.pdf
http://www.sandc.com/edocs_pdfs/edoc_001684.pdf
Vertical Circulation - One Spinningfields
One Spinningfields Design Proposal Statement, Ian Simpson Architects
One Spinningfields Design and Access Statement, Ian Simpson Architects
HVAC One Spinningfields
One Spinningfields Design Proposal Statement, Ian Simpson Architects
One Spinningfields Ventilation Strategy Statement, Ian Simpson Architects
One Spinningfields Energy Strategy Statement, Ian Simpson Architects
Plumbing Willis Tower
http://smithgill.com/work/willis_tower/
http://www.swegonairacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Chris-Pal-110214.pdf
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/224/when-a-toilet-atop-the-sears-tower-is-flushed-dothe-contents-fall-110-floors
http://plumbingengineer.com/content/commercial-high-rise-plumbing-design
http://digital.plumbingengineer.com/app.php?RelId=6.1.4.0&BookCode=20150401&lang=enu
Solid Waste Management One Spinningfields
One Spinningfields Waste and Service Strategy Statement, Ian Simpson Architects
Building Management Willis Tower
http://bdresearch.org/home/attachments/article/524/jp44c5ca45d23d9.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubS4Fy7zDUU

Fire Safety and Protection Management One Spinningfields

One Spinningfields Design Proposal Statement, Ian Simpson Architects
One Spinningfields Design and Access Statement, Ian Simpson Architects
Spatial Analysis
One Spinningfields
One Spinningfields Design Proposal Statement, Ian Simpson Architects
One Spinningfields Design and Access Statement, Ian Simpson Architects
Mezza II Residences
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1545133

Summary of Analyses:
Mechanical and Electrical Systems:
Vertical Circulation

- One Spinningfields, Manchester, UK

HVAC

- One Spinningfields, Manchester, UK

Electrical Systems

- Willis Towers, formerly Sears Tower, Chicago, USA

Plumbing and Waste Management Systems

Solid Waste

- One Spinningfields, Manchester, UK

Plumbing

- Willis Towers, formerly Sears Tower, Chicago, USA

Fire Protection Systems

- One Spinningfields, Manchester, UK

Building Management System

Building Management & Security-Willis Towers, formerly Sears Tower, Chicago, USA
Spaces
Analysis A

- One Spinningfields, Manchester, UK

Analysis B

- Mezza II Residences, Aurora Blvd, Quezon City, Philippines

Vertical Circulation Analysis

Building: No. 1 Spinningfields, Manchester, United Kingdom
Quick Facts:
System Concept:

Standard Building Core System

Building Height:

90.72m

No. of Floors:

24 stories

No. of Elevators:

11 Elevators (8-passenger, 2-freight, 1-firemans)

Analysis:
There are 8 passenger lifts arranged in two opposing banks of four (4) at a strategically
placed building core in order to maximize and open floor plan layout. These elevators are
reduced by three (3) at the seventh story, where the podium ends and only the tower continues.

The support spaces, i.e. the motor rooms, are located in the 19th story of the tower. They
are accessible via trap door from the 18th story but is also connected to (i.e. accessible from) the
emergency staircase.

Architectural Consequences
1. Compact Grouping of Elevators allowed for a more flexible core and saved ample spaces for
the whole building.
2. Compact grouping also allowed for a compact motor room located just above where elevator
service ends.
3. Thick walls for the elevator core.

HVAC System Analysis

Building: No. 1 Spinningfields, Manchester, United Kingdom
Quick Facts:
Site Climate:

Mild Summers and Cool Winters

Temperature Range: Average 1.6C 20.6C @ 86% Average Relative Humidity

Number of Floors:

Podium 7 floors, Tower 20 floors (Incl. Podium) @ 90m height

Ventilation Type:

Centralized Fresh Air Unit

Heating and Cooling: Low Temp. Hot Water (LTHW) and Chilled Water (CHW) System
via 4-Pipe Fan Coil Units (FCU) w/ individual control units;
Temperature Control is Decentralized
Analysis
Ventilation Strategy:
The ventilation system is a Centralized Fresh Air Unit which means that fresh air will be regularly
circulated around the building.
No. 1 Spinningfields has three major areas that require different ventilation strategies:
1.) The podium and tower which is centrally ventilated with Air Handling Units from the 19th
floor and podium roof.

2. The basement parking which receives air from the parking entrance and circulates it via soffit
mounted impulse fans which will exit at the ground floor louvres via parallel mounted
extract fans.

3. The ground floor retail area and the ground floor reception areas which will receive some
ventilation from the central AHU but will ultimately be ventilated via packaged heat
exchanger modules connected to louvers in the ground floor faade. The retail tenants
will be responsible for the installation of these modules in their units while the lobby
comes installed with the modules.
Heating and Cooling
Heating and cooling, instead of air-conditioning, will be done via Low Temp. Hot Water (LTHW)
and Chilled Water (CHW) Systems respectively.
.Water will either be cooled or boiled in air cooled
chillers and condensing boilers found on the plant
rooms on the basement and 8th floor. This water will
then be fed to various 4-Pipe Fan Coil Units (FCU)
(installed within the ceiling voids) which will provide
the heating and cooling to the individual spaces.
This system is used to allow for multiple zone usage
which allows for better user flexibility, increased
comfort, and decreased energy use.

Basement Floor Plan showing plant rooms containing

Water tanks used in the HVAC and Plumbing Systems

Architectural Consequences
1. Huge Floor Spaces as plant rooms to house Large Air-Handling Units, Boilers, and Chillers. In
One Spinningfields, there are plant rooms in the basement, the 8th floor, the podium rooftop,
and the 19th floor.

2. Service space for the piping, vents, and the fan coil units
3. Very visible Intake Grills on the Faade for the Ventilation System

Ventilation Intake Grills

Bay Section Showing Floor

and Ceiling

Electrical Systems Analysis

Building: Willis Towers, formerly Sears Towers, Chicago City, Illinois, USA
Quick Facts:
Connected Load:

124 Mw

Maximum Demand: 61 Mw
Service Feed:

Four (4) 138-kv underground pipe cables

Substation (TDC):

1 200-Mva Edison Distribution Substation @ Basement

TDC Transformers:

Four (4) 50MVA Water-cooled Transformers @ 1st UG level

Internal Distribution: Eight (8) 12-kv feeders

Total Wiring:

3200km of Electrical Wire

Generators:

Two 2,100 KW diesel generators

Power Source
The Willis Tower is powered by a 200-Mva Edison Distribution Substation located at the
basement mechanical level. They call this the Transmission-Distribution Center or TDC.
It will have the following support spaces:
Four (4) 50MVA Transformer (on the same floor) through each of which a 138kv
Underground pipe cable will supply power from the grid.
Two (2) 12.5-kv ring buses with switchgears on two different basement floors.
Each will have four (4) buses which will have ten (10) feeders each.
. The switchgears for these would be metal enclosed, and consists of
metering bays, fuse bays, and gang-operated disconnect bays.
Eight (8) of these feeders will serve the Willis Towers, the rest will serve Chicago
A capacitor would be found on another floor below the switchgears.
Distribution System
The Willis towers will have a complex of risers that will serve a group of areas in the
building. This system would require:
Two (2) vertical conduit runs or cores located on the north-east, which will run all the
way up to the top floor of the building, and the south-east, which will run up to

the 64th floor. These vertical conduit runs are actually dry-type transformer rooms
stacked one upon the other on every floor of the building.
Dry-type Transformers, on almost half of the floors of the building, located in the building
core near the load source. Each will serve three to four floors each.
Network and unit transformers located on the B2, 29th Floor, 64F, 88F, and 104F which
serve as spot network centers
Emergency Riser to which any of the systems can be switched to in case of an emergency.
Emergency Power
For emergency power, the Willis Tower has two (2) 2100 KW Diesel Generators that could
produce enough electricity to power two hundred fifty (250) typical homes. They are also found
in the basement level.
Architectural Consequences
Because of the complex amount of floor area and space types required by the electrical
system, the Willis Towers designers found it prudent to put all such mechanical and electrical
spaces in Mechanical Floors. These floors house only Mechanical, Electrical, and Planning (MEP)
Components acting as de facto large mechanical rooms and are only accessible by hidden freight
elevators.
The mechanical floors are basements 1-3, floors 30-31, 48-49, 64-65,104-108, and 110.
All these floors are open layout. The arrangements of the equipment are typically
optimized, meaning they are arranged closest to their respective load source.

Plumbing System Analysis

Building: Willis Tower, formerly Sears Tower, Chicago City, Illinois, USA
Quick Facts:
Total Plumbing:

40000km of Plumbing

Total No. of Fixtures: 992 Toilets and 796

Washroom Faucets
Analysis
Water Supply:
The Willis Towers employs a series of pumps and tanks located in
the mechanical floors in order to supply water: the basement, 31st floor,
64th floor, the 88th floor, and the 104th-110th floor.

Pressure Break Design

Piping System (For Both Water Supply and Soil Pipe)

From these mechanical floors, the Willis Towers will use
standard plumbing practice, reliant on gravity.
This systems work because the different mechanical
floors, which act as pressure breaks, make it so that the whole
Willis tower can be considered as a collection of shorter
buildings.
Another significant feature of the design is the express riser, a
riser not connected to any fixtures. Solely intermediate building
drains are connected to these risers.
This would lead to:
1.) Smaller pipe sizes
2.) Avoidance of any impacts to the operation of
the fixtures in case of any pressure surges in the
stack
Architectural Consequences
1. The design called for mechanical floors in
regular intervals where plumbing equipment
and tanks could be located.
Express Riser Configuration in the Willis Tower

2. The design is standard. The risers and pipes

are hidden in chases in walls, ceilings, and floors.

Building Management and Security System

Building: Willis Tower, formerly Sears Tower, Chicago City, Illinois, USA
Quick Facts:
Building Monitoring Type:

Full Automation

Security System:

CCTV

Spaces Involved:

Building Operations Center

Building Management Office (Suite 3530, 35th Floor)
Access Control Turnstiles and Monitors

Analysis:
Building Monitoring System
The Willis Tower is a fully automated building. All building
operations are monitored and controlled from a command
center.
This systems take up a whole office suite in the basement.
The responsibilities and capabilities of the system include:
(1) CCTV Security, (2) Building System Monitoring: HVAC, Water
Systems, and Electrical Systems, (3) Room Temperature Control,
and (4) Elevator Systems Control.

Security System
Building security is primary handled by the Command
Center which controls hundreds of CCTV cameras in the
building.One hundred (100) security guards are also employed.
Visitors are also screened through various machines, such
as metal detectors, as part of an access control system.

Willis Tower Lobby

Maintenance System
The building employs daily maintenance in cycles
because of the sheer size of the building.
The exterior is cleaned via six (6) automatic window
washers one of which is shown on the picture. They are
located on the same floors as the roof decks (50th, 66th,
90th, and 109th floor) on a mechanical room where sole
entry to the roof deck is located.
Apart from this, a hundred (100) janitors and
housekeepers are employed. There are also twenty-five (25) engineers and three (3) electricians
who handle more than one hundred four (104) elevator cabs, three thousand two hundred
An automated window washer in the Willis Tower
(3,200) km of electrical wire, forty thousand (40,000)
km of plumbing, and one hundred and forty five thousand (145,000) lighting fixtures.
Architectural Consequences
This arrangement would require the following:
1. A huge lobby that would fit 25,000 people a day and the
machinery that would require to screen them
2. A whole floor, perhaps more, to accommodate the command
center, its employees and computers
3. Floor space to accommodate the huge machineries required
4. Separate entrances and internal
circulation for the hundreds of employees
that maintain the tower. A manifestation
of this are the freight elevators hidden
from public view
5. Support spaces such as lockers and
pantry area for the hundreds of employees
that maintain the tower
6. Special roof-top tracks for the automatic
window washers

Roof Deck Entry and Washer Tracks on one of the roof tops of the
Willis Tower

Fire Safety and Protection Systems

Building: One Spinningfields, Manchester, England, UK
Quick Facts:
Monitoring System: Centralized from Command Center
System Components: Fire Control:

Fire Sprinklers

Fire Detection: Heat Detectors, Smoke Detectors, Smoke Control

Fire Escape:

Two Pressurized Stairwells and Two Firemens Lifts

Analysis
One Spinningfields uses standard fire protection practices which include the use of fire
sprinklers, and various fire, heat, and smoke detectors as well as a centralized monitoring system,
fire escape stairs, and the new firemens elevators..

Monitoring System
The Fire Control Room is located in the Ground Floor. It will be responsible for monitoring
and controlling the various Fire Safety System Components.
Fire Detection System
Advanced smoke detectors on every floor can pinpoint the source of any smoke and alert
the command center. Heat detectors are also installed.

Fire Control System

One Spinningfields has sprinkler systems installed for fire control. Water is sourced from
water tanks in the plant rooms in the basement while the sprinkler heads are installed under the
floor/ceiling.
Fire Escapes
Three (3) pressurzed stairwells: two (3) in the building core and one (1) in the building
extremity, can be used in case of fire. They are fire-rated and air-tight.
There are also two (2) firemens elevator, one in the extremity and one in the building
core.

Spaces
Buildings Analyzed:
One Spinningfields, Manchester, England, United Kingdom
Mezza II Residences, Aurora Boulevard, Quezon City, Philippines
One Spinningfields
Building Type: Office Tower
Stories:

24 Stories

Spaces found in One Spinningfields can be classified into four major types:
Office Space (which is the main use of the building)
Retail Space (which is the dominant use in the ground floor)
Restaurant Space (which is a luxury addition to the tower)
Basement and Service (where parking and service spaces are located)

Legend: A Lobby, B- Reception, C Core, D Retail Units, E Office Space, F Loading Bay, G Retail, H
Basement, I Substattion

Office Spaces totaled around 32,000 sqm. Apart from the offices, there are receptions
with back of house, lobbies (both for the building and another for a major tenant), as well as
amenity space such as a tree garden.
Retail Spaces, which totaled 1000 sqm, include individual retail units, mezzanine retail
units, as well as storage areas.
Restaurant Space, which totaled 1400sqm, include seating area, kitchen areas, storage
areas, a bar, freight elevator area, and other standard restaurant spaces.

Service Spaces include a fire control room in the ground floor, the building core which
houses the elevators, stairs, cleaners store, and water closets, an electric substation room in
the ground floor, a loading bay, a lift motor room, MEP plant rooms, and many more MEP spaces.
Basement Spaces include 100 parking spaces, 10 motorcycle and 100 cycle spaces, a bin
storage and compactor room, employee showers and lockers, and MEP plant rooms.

Legend - A MEP Plant, B Amenity Space, C Core, D Restaurant Spaces, E Parking, F Showers, G Bin
Storage and Compactor Room

Mezza II Residences:
Building Type: Residential Tower
Stories:

44 Stories

Spaces found in Mezza II Residences can be classified into four types:

Residential Space (which is the main use of the building)
Retail Space (which is the dominant use in the ground floor)
Amenity Space (which are necessary services for a residential tower)
Service Space (where parking and service spaces are located)
Residential Spaces in Mezza II include all habitable units which range from 15 sqm studio
units to 60 sqm 2-bedroom units.
Retail Spaces include the four leasable commercial spaces in the ground floor intended
for shops and/or restaurants.
Amenity Space include the ground floor lobby and the podium amenity floor which
contains the pool.
Service Space include the 2nd to 5th floor podium parking spaces, pump rooms, generator
set room, EE room, transformer room, broadband services room, the security office, admin
office, the elevators and the elevator lobby, and the emergency staircases. Individual AirConditioning Unit (ACU) slots are found in each residential unit.

Legend - A Residential Units, B Pool, C Elevators and Elevator Lobby, D Main Lobby, E Retail, F
Parking, G Pump Room, H Generator Room, I EE Room, J Transformer Room, K Broadband Services
Room