When Downer Group decided to add an atrium in the second stage of its head office design, parts of the existing stage 1 building also had to be re-designed and a Verification Method design (C/VM2) carried out. Including an atrium meant we had to demonstrate that all building occupants, on every floor, could escape safely. We also had to demonstrate there was good visibility through the smoke for the people escaping during the entire escape time.
Our Lead Fire Engineer, Mathilde Girault says “At the concept design stage we considered a number of design options with the client and design team. We modelled challenging fires using computational flow dynamics software, zone model fire software and radiation calculation software to demonstrate compliance with the building code. The concept chosen by Downer involved smoke curtains and smoke-rated glazing around the atrium, allowing smoke curtain boxes to be hidden in the ceiling space.”
From Origin:
Mathilde Girault – Lead Fire Engineer from concept design to completion
Sajeesh Nair – design phase, fire dynamic simulator (FDS) models
Project Manager – Studio D4
Architects – Aqua Architecture
Structural – DHC Consulting
Mechanical – Thurston Consulting
Electrical – Electrical Consulting Services
Hydraulics – I & L Consulting