Operation at height

The 42-storey 140-meter residential complex "February Revolution" was built in 2011 and is currently the tallest residential building in Yekaterinburg. Until 2012, the residential complex was also the tallest residential building in Russia outside of Moscow – until it was "overtaken" by 5 meters by the Olympus residential complex in Grozny. The Territory management company became the first in the city to manage a residential building with a height of more than 100 meters. Vladislav Kokovin, Executive Director of the Territory Management Company, spoke about the unique experience.

- There is no fundamental difference in the management of a typical and high-rise building. Operational and technical maintenance, to a greater extent, depends on the thoughtfulness of design solutions and on the quality of installed engineering equipment. We are lucky in this matter! Although there are nuances, of course.

- Do unique design solutions impose special features on the operation of the building?

- In order to lighten the load on the floors, the design assumes the use of lightweight materials. For example, the material of the partitions is only grooved slabs, and the window structures are made only using aluminum profiles. The use of heavy building materials such as bricks is strictly prohibited.

- What are the special requirements for engineering systems?

- Firstly, all engineering equipment is more powerful, and secondly, all materials used in the systems are more durable. For example, the facility has a German cast-iron pressure funnel-free sewer system that is resistant to aggressive environments, corrosion, wear, dynamic loads and fire. Due to the high height of the facility, we cannot use traditional plastic pipes, which are installed at standard facilities.

Imagine, from the top floor, from a 140-meter height, a pebble thrown by a negligent builder into a toilet bowl will fly through such a pipe. If it is made of plastic, it will simply burst. If it is necessary to replace a separate fragment, you can only use the same cast–iron pipe - it is not always possible to find it quickly, so we keep them and some other specific materials in stock.

The water supply system is the same as in a typical house. The only difference is that in a high-rise building there are technical floors on which step-up pumping water supply stations are installed, which supply water from the first to the 16th floor, from the 16th to the 32nd floors, etc..

- How is the elevator system organized in the residential complex?

- There are four elevators in the building today. Three elevators run from the 1st to the 32nd floor (one of them from the parking lot to the 32nd floor), one from the parking lot to the 42nd. The equipment is working properly, there are no complaints from residents. There is one more feature. Despite the fact that the house was commissioned four years ago, the residents are still carrying out repairs and finishing work in their apartments. In this regard, we have allocated one of the four elevators only for use by repair teams for lifting materials and removing construction debris through the parking lot. Plus, we periodically use the services of industrial climbers to lift non-standard furniture to the floor.

- The most important issue for high–rise buildings is the implementation of fire safety systems. How are they solved at the February Revolution complex?

- I would like to note that this is the issue that the owners are most concerned about. Although these worries are in vain – the fire safety system in the complex is implemented with a five-plus.

Fire extinguishing systems, alerts, special sensors that respond to temperature and smoke, ventilation systems, and fire alarms are installed in every apartment and in all public areas, and data from them is consolidated into a single point where specialists monitor around the clock. In addition, video cameras are installed on the facade of the building and on all floors inside the house, which also help to track fires. The system works to prevent an emergency. In addition to the entire filling of the building, a monitoring system for the vertical deviation of the building was provided. To ensure the safety of all residents, we regularly conduct fire drills, one of which may be held as part of the 100+ Forum Russia 2015.

Recall that at the 100+Forum Russia 2014 high-rise construction forum, a technical tour of the February Revolution residential complex was organized, during which it was possible to get acquainted with the design features of this facility.