How safe is your building? Post-9/11 construction concerns.

• Author: Kaelble, Steve
• Position: Real Estate & Construction

Until a year ago, building design and safety weren't big conversation topics at American water coolers, except perhaps for those at architectural and construction firms. Then came the terrorist attacks.

Now, average Americans are pondering the structure of skyscrapers, evacuation routes at public places, security systems in the workplace. Yet while 9/11 was a wake-up call for most Americans, the people designing and constructing buildings were already awake and focusing on such matters.

Because they already had natural disasters and such events as Oklahoma City and Columbine on their minds, those in the building business felt less impact from last year's terrorist attacks than one might imagine. "We were already doing things better," notes Jeffrey Deig, vice president of engineering and business development for Industrial Contractors Inc. in Evansville.

The Old National Bancorp headquarters building now going up in Evansville provides a good example, especially when it comes to structural planning. Says Mike Shoulders, president and CEO of the architectural firm Veazey Parrott Durkin & Shoulders in Evansville, "We in Evansville are in a seismic zone, so we were already compelled to do some pretty detailed structural analysis."

"The things I see 9/11 impacting more are your special systems like fire alarm and security systems, telecommunications systems, paging systems," Deig says. "The importance of those on a design and construction project has been elevated."

Indeed, of the potential threats identified in "Building Security Through Design," a primer recently circulated by the American Institute of Architects, only one category--bombs--would impact a building's structure. On the other hand, various threats the book identifies can be addressed by building systems. For example, security systems play a role in stopping ballistic assaults (think handguns and assault rifles), and improved ventilation systems may be the front line of defense against biochemical tactics.

But even with building systems, many of the bases already were covered before last September. Though Shoulders says planners of the Old National building have been taking a second look at security measures to be sure all contingencies have been addressed, "for a bank, security was always a pretty big concern."

Another new Indiana facility already designed with security high atop the priority list is Carmel-based Midwest ISO, which oversees electrical power grids that deliver...