Slanting (1967)

[Music] it was always plain to man that the stone Clay Wood or metal with which he built his buildings was solid matter he could see it feel it cut it weigh it hammer it join it it protected him from the extremes of climate and the assaults of other men the discovery of radiation allowed man to probe deep beneath the crystallin and cellular structures of matter he found rigid Arrangements of atoms which are themselves mostly empty space each atom is made up of a tiny nucleus surrounded by whirling electrons from one to nearly 100 radiation can pass readily through an atom containing few electrons with slight chance for Collision Collision is more likely when radiation encounters an atom with many electrons it is this collision with an atom which reduces radiation the greater the number of atoms encountered the more the radiation is reduced these discoveries made it necessary for man to reexamine his concepts of shelter to reappraise the design structure and materials of his buildings if there were ever a nuclear attack on this country tremendous quantities of radioactive particles fall out could spread and blank it as much as 34s of the total land area to anticipate this contingency a nationwide survey was made by the government to determine how much fallout shelter space was already available in existing buildings out of the survey came techniques which can be applied to the design of new buildings along with all other elements of building design Architects are now considering radiation shielding the office of civil defense calls the this slanting the design slanting can be done with little or no extra cost and without affecting a building's function or appearance one method is to put enough Mass between the area to be protected and the sources of radiation fall out on the roof areas and ground around the building this is called barrier shielding since the atomic structure of matter varies the effective of a barrier depends on the nature of the material itself and on its thickness atoms in wood for example are Loosely packed and contain only a few electrons this allows radiation to pass through easily atoms in concrete by comparison have many more electrons and are densely packed making a more effective radiation barrier other design factors including size shape and location can also be used to increase a building shielding Effectiveness this is called geometry shielding this is the southeast poke High School in Ivy Iowa by planning for Fallout protection early in the design stage no additional costs were incurred classrooms are designed around a central core which includes the library cafeteria restrooms and study areas the architect was able to take advantage of a concrete roof slab and the combination of classroom walls to make this particular area into a shelter for 1700 people the basement of One Wing of the Somerset County home for the agent in Somerset Pennsylvania provides 1,000 shelter spaces in this type of design the area is already shielded by its location increasing the thickness of the overhead concrete slab adds enough shielding to make it an excellent shelter the cost was less than 1% of the home's total cost of just over a million dollar this is the school administration building in Pontiac Michigan here a number of factors affect shielding a hillside location a concrete roof slab and reinforced concrete walls and baffles provide 1200 square ft of shelter area there was no extra cost in this Shri Port Louisiana Bank the board of director's room offices and staff Lounge cover 23 300 S ft these rooms are protected by a below ground location and by 6-in thick reinforced concrete slabs overhead so it is also a shelter for 230 people shelter was a basic consideration in the design and added nothing to the construction costs sliding the design has not affected the aesthetic form or function of the library on the University of California San Diego campus on the bottom floor reading rooms a language lab TV studio workshops offices and storage rooms comprise a shelter for 2500 people again Fallout protection was considered in the basic design of the building so there were no added construction costs there is flexibility in any building at the design stage window sills can be raised or PLS installed to increase barrier shielding from ground radiation the building can be placed on a sloping or graded site or with part of the building below ground walls and roof can be made into more effective radiation barriers by using thicker concrete solid concrete blocks and by filling the holes in hollow blocks with sand finally the arrangement of hallways doors stairwells windows and building facilities with the addition of baffles if necessary can provide a shielded [Music] area a building is material concrete Ste steel brick stone [Music] glass it is a geometry of roof walls and interior space it is also ideas Concepts and techniques and one of these is [Music] slanting I [Music]