- Use engineered timber in lower buildings with a decreased risk of vertical propagation.. - Involve specialist contractors and fire specialists from early stages to ensure the material’s structural integrity in the event of fire and robust co-ordination between disciplines.. - Engage early with statutory bodies, supply chain, and timber contractors.. - Consider the use of sacrificial layers of timber to protect the rest of the structure and potentially result in self extinguishment.. - Use timber fire treatment such as intumescent paint to prevent the spread of fire and reduce the amount of smoke produced, taking account of the impact on recyclability.. - As a last resort, consider full fire bonding if there is a risk of debonding of layers.
The step change achievable with P-DfMA is in bringing the benefits of standardisation across all services and to the entire building – and adding value at every stage.P-DfMA sees the project as a whole, understanding the positive and negative effect of each design decision on as many other aspects of the project as possible; seeking shared efficiencies between all elements of the building.
This is unlike traditional design and build, where a project is often more like a linear series of separate tasks, where consequences can be passed down the chain..So unlike in standard construction, M&E system requirements – initial and on-going – are factored in from the start, in minute detail, as an integral part of the design.We include routing and fixings in the design of the fabric of the building, with precision, so as to minimise on-site adjustment and facilitate installation.
We maximise the use of off-site pre-fabrication, and share elements across M&E services as much as is practicable..This approach means that, for M&E services, as well as across the whole project, we reduce cost, time, materials and waste, while increasing quality, worker safety and overall efficiency..
It is Bryden Wood’s integrated approach – where our M&E team forms a core part of the project team – that makes this possible.. M&E design at the Forge: a working example.
The Forge, a commercial office development with Landsec in central London, is the first major building to use P-DfMA from building design to delivery.oxygen, or even inert materials like liquid nitrogen) this can be particularly challenging.
Further complications may also arise where labs divide up previously open plan offices with new partitions, corridors, airlocks, pods, or inner rooms – further complicating egress routes.. For office to lab conversions, fire and egress strategies must be reviewed holistically with the whole building in mind.For example, neighbouring tenancies may currently rely on staff crossing through the new lab to reach a second means of escape, which might no longer be possible.
Similarly, labs in office buildings can result in additional occupancy types (‘purpose groups’ in the UK) and will therefore drive the need for additional fire compartments.. Possible solutions could include storing materials or siting labs on ground or lower floors, local gas generation (to reduce peak volumes), detection, shut-off and alarm systems, local extract or natural ventilation, and it may be necessary to divide labs up into smaller compartments to keep hazardous material quantities below acceptable limits.In the UK it can also be useful to appoint a specialist Approved Inspector rather than go through the Local Authority Building Control.