Stress on need to develop security graded land use

A COMPREHENSIVE document ?On measures to mitigate effects of terrorist attacks on buildings?, prepared by two Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) professors Dr Sudhir K Jain and CVR Murthy, lays down guidelines to make new buildings blast resistant. The document suggests that people should go for new buildings considering the measures to mitigate the effects of terrorist attacks on building. The planning and designing of such buildings is not very expensive .

A COMPREHENSIVE document “On measures to mitigate effects of terrorist attacks on buildings”, prepared by two Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) professors Dr Sudhir K Jain and CVR Murthy, lays down guidelines to make new buildings blast resistant.

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The document suggests that people should go for new buildings considering the measures to mitigate the effects of terrorist attacks on building. The planning and designing of such buildings is not very expensive and if the mitigation measures are incorporated in them, these could prove to be the safest buildings in times of blast shocks.

The design philosophy of the buildings should aim at making the “sieve of deterrence and protection finer, making it extremely difficult for terrorists to penetrate further deep into the faculty.” The space between the blast and the interior of the building can be divided into three zones which include the zone where the blast loading effects dominated, where structural damage may be expected and where damage was not expected.

If the differential design approach is adopted, the area where structural damage was expected, needs to be provided with higher hardness to resist the worst effects of blast loading. The critical facilities and important spaces should be located behind the building in the area where damage was not expected and was designated as the “secured area”.

The document further observes that the macro issues of urban planning that are crucial in protecting assets and mitigate effects of terrorist threat include land use, site selection, orientation of buildings on site and integration of vehicle access, control points, physical barriers, landscaping, parking and protection of utilities. In master plans of townships, higher priority areas for increased security need to be isolated gradually from the lower priority area, as one moves towards areas of higher priority, the mass residential layouts and commercial places are reduced gradually and eventually eliminated.

Developing such a security graded land use is the first step in successful macro-planning of townships, the document says. To maximize safety, security and substantiality, designers should implement a holistic approach to site design that integrates forms and functions to achieve a balance among the various design elements and objectives pertaining to security oriented design and conventional site design, the document suggests.