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Assigned November 6, 2006
Due: December 14, 2006 (7:00 pm or earlier, my office)

Prepare a report analyzing the fire safety of an existing building. Choose a multi-story building for which floor plans are available (or that you can adequately sketch for the purpose of this assignment), and that you have access to (for examination of elements of fire safety that don't ordinarily show up in floor plans, such as interior finishes and fire protection devices).

The report should contain text, photos, sketches and/or and diagrams to illustrate and explain the following aspects of fire safety, referencing the specific requirements of the 2006 International Building Code (even though the case-study building may not comply with the current version of the code):

1. Use and occupancy classification(s) [chapter 3]
2. Detailed requirements based on use and occupancy, if relevant [chapter 4]
3. Height and area constraints [chapter 5]
4. Construction type [chapters 6,7]
5. Interior finishes in typical rooms, corridors, and exit enclosures [chapter 8]
6. Description of fire protection systems, including sprinklers, alarms, etc. [chapter 9]
7. Analysis of means of egress [chapter 10]

Alternate final project: Instead of analyzing an existing building, you may alternatively prepare a report based on your design of a multi-story building from a current or previous studio project. Such a project must have relatively complete documentation of floor and site plans; other fire safety elements not considered in the studio context can be addressed within the report.

The 2006 edition of the International Building Code is online. Follow these steps to gain access (Cornell netID required):

• Go to the Cornell Library Catalog and type MADCAD in the search field, set for "title."
• Click on the link, "Connect to full text" under electronic access.
• Click on the button to login to madcad.
• Click on IBC 2006 at the top of the left-hand menu bar, and then immediately below on "contents."
• From this point, you're on your own...