Schaumburg, Ill. -- As tornado season escalates and increased tornado activity has devastated parts of the Midwest and the South during the past few weeks, the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) has released a voluntary specification for testing and rating building components that will be exposed to tornados and similar extreme wind and rain conditions.
AAMA 512-11, Voluntary Specifications for Tornado Hazard Mitigating Fenestration Products, uses existing test methods and other procedures to qualify windows and other glazed fenestration products for tornado hazard mitigation. The newly released document provides a system for rating the ability of windows to withstand impact, pressure cycling and water penetration, which are generally associated with tornado conditions.
AAMA 512 is a voluntary specification that was developed by the AAMA Tornado Hazard Mitigation Task Group and is recommended for buildings heavily affected by tornados.
“The National Climatic Data Center estimates that a series of tornados in the Southeast and Ohio Valley in February 2008 caused $1 billion in damages,” says Gantt Miller (Winco Manufacturing) who chaired the Task Group that created the Specification. “In creating this specification, the intent is that injury, loss of life and damages resulting from tornados and severe weather can be prevented or greatly lessened.”
The specification outlines that different levels of protection apply to different buildings such as, but not limited to, hospital emergency rooms, community shelters, and police/fire headquarters. These levels of protection are specified based on requirements of the authority having jurisdiction, and each level corresponds to different testing requirements. The level of testing required for each of these types of facilities also depends on the FEMA performance zone where the building is located, as the weather conditions and likelihood of a tornado varies depending on the part of the country.
The Testing and Performance Requirements section of the specification outlines the necessary test conditions for adhering to AAMA 512. According to the specification, test specimens should be tested for anchorage, missile impact, water testing and cycling (for windows used in hurricane-prone zones only).
AAMA 512-11, Voluntary Specifications for Tornado Hazard Mitigating Fenestration Products is available to AAMA members at a cost of $15 for download, $30 for a paper copy and $35 for a CD. Non-members may purchase the document at a cost of $45 for download, $90 for a paper copy and $96 for a CD. To order AAMA 512-11, visit the AAMA Online Publication Store. AAMA 512-11 is also available to AAMA Category 1 members through the Publication Licensing Program.
Related Stories
| Oct 13, 2010
Hospital tower gets modern makeover
The Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, Tenn., expanded its D unit, a project that includes a 243,443-sf addition with a 12-room operating suite, a 36-bed intensive care unit, and an enlarged emergency department.
| Oct 13, 2010
Modern office design accentuates skyline views
Intercontinental|Exchange, a Chicago-based financial firm, hired design/engineering firm Epstein to create a modern, new 31st-floor headquarters.
| Oct 13, 2010
HQ renovations aim for modern look
Gerner Kronick + Valcarcel Architects’ renovations to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s New York City headquarters will feature a reworked reception lobby with back-painted glass, silk-screened logos, and a video wall.
| Oct 13, 2010
New health center to focus on education and awareness
Construction is getting pumped up at the new Anschutz Health and Wellness Center at the University of Colorado, Denver. The four-story, 94,000-sf building will focus on healthy lifestyles and disease prevention.
| Oct 13, 2010
Community center under way in NYC seeks LEED Platinum
A curving, 550-foot-long glass arcade dubbed the “Wall of Light” is the standout architectural and sustainable feature of the Battery Park City Community Center, a 60,000-sf complex located in a two-tower residential Lower Manhattan complex. Hanrahan Meyers Architects designed the glass arcade to act as a passive energy system, bringing natural light into all interior spaces.
| Oct 13, 2010
Community college plans new campus building
Construction is moving along on Hudson County Community College’s North Hudson Campus Center in Union City, N.J. The seven-story, 92,000-sf building will be the first higher education facility in the city.
| Oct 13, 2010
County building aims for the sun, shade
The 187,032-sf East County Hall of Justice in Dublin, Calif., will be oriented to take advantage of daylighting, with exterior sunshades preventing unwanted heat gain and glare. The building is targeting LEED Silver. Strong horizontal massing helps both buildings better match their low-rise and residential neighbors.
| Oct 12, 2010
Holton Career and Resource Center, Durham, N.C.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Special Recognition. Early in the current decade, violence within the community of Northeast Central Durham, N.C., escalated to the point where school safety officers at Holton Junior High School feared for their own safety. The school eventually closed and the property sat vacant for five years.
| Oct 12, 2010
Richmond CenterStage, Richmond, Va.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Bronze Award. The Richmond CenterStage opened in 1928 in the Virginia capital as a grand movie palace named Loew’s Theatre. It was reinvented in 1983 as a performing arts center known as Carpenter Theatre and hobbled along until 2004, when the crumbling venue was mercifully shuttered.
| Oct 12, 2010
Cell and Genome Sciences Building, Farmington, Conn.
27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Administrators at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington didn’t think much of the 1970s building they planned to turn into the school’s Cell and Genome Sciences Building. It’s not that the former toxicology research facility was in such terrible shape, but the 117,800-sf structure had almost no windows and its interior was dark and chopped up.