Retail
THE CHALLENGE
Stansted Airport, Essex
During 2014/15 the airside retail complex at London’s third busiest airport, Stansted, was to be completely refurbished. This involved a comprehensive strip-out and reconfiguring of the internal building fabric including the building services. The life safety fire sprinkler system was a vital part of these services and this too had to be stripped back to the main supply pipe downstream of the control valves. From 2013 Vipond Fire Protection, working closely with Carillion, and Jacobs were tasked with carrying out all operational works whilst the airport remained open for business.
THE SOLUTION
The new installation was based on a complete redesign of the system to LPC regulations Ordinary Hazard Class 3 with BS EN12845 life safety enhancements. This covered 42 new retail units, food outlets and duty-free shops. The airport required two levels of protection due to congestion of services at high level, one at the ceiling soffit and one below the other building services.
THE CHALLENGE
Asda Stores, Telford
Asda opened its new £4 million store in Telford in February 2014. The shop had many areas which require sprinkler protection. Other than the sales and warehouse roof areas, there were additional areas such as canopies, racks, Home Shopping, ducts and the underground car park. The programming of an installation is always an important factor in a project’s success and this was carefully coordinated by Vipond.
THE SOLUTION
Vipond proposed a fixed automatic sprinkler system, designed in accordance with BS EN12845. The water supplies were provided by a 300m3 storage tank of galvanised cylindrical construction with butyl liner. Hazard classification determined water discharge densities throughout. The fire classifications varied across the premises ranging from ordinary hazard class 2 (OH2) in the car park, OH3 in the sales office and High Hazard in the warehouse areas. A total of 1,628 sprinkler heads were fitted throughout the premises with almost a half of these installed in the underground car park. All sprinklers in public areas were anti vandal. The sprinklers are fed from a network of steel pipe to BS 1387/3601. Vipond’s policy is to fabricate pipework at its LPCB certificated workshop.
THE CHALLENGE
No.1 Tanfield House, Edinburgh
No. 1 Tanfield House is an attractive, ultra-modern office facility and, amongst others, is home to two businesses operating in the e-commerce sector and active in a globally connected ethernet world that mandates business continuity and safeguards for vital electronic equipment. Craneware and Dell are located on the 2nd and 1st floor levels respectively and gaining access to these offices with fire suppression system equipment played a part in the decision making process.
THE SOLUTION
FM-200® was ultimately chosen by both companies . FM-200® would offer benefits such as speed of suppression, cylinder footprint and safety. Stored as a liquid rather than a gas, it requires less storage containers than inert gas systems and moving containers during periodic testing was a major consideration. Where business continuity is important in electronic environments, gaseous agents are usually the preferred choice.
THE CHALLENGE
Abbotsford House, Galashiels
Abbotsford House is a historic country house, formerly the residence of Sir Walter Scott who developed this magnificent property having originally purchased it as a farmhouse. The decor is both extravagant and exudes opulence. The complex fabric of the building and its historical importance provided a challenging backdrop to design and install an effective fire safety system.
THE SOLUTION
Due to the delicate nature of transcripts and finishes in the Scott Rooms, comprehensive discussions were held with Historic Scotland to ensure that the nature of the fire protection provided would be effective, and importantly, in keeping with the nature of the house. In these rooms, low pressure water mist was proposed enable a firefighting capability from a significantly reduced quantity of water. The potential damage to precious artefacts would be minimised as a direct result of this fire strategy. In all other areas within the building, a residential sprinkler system was installed in accordance with BS 9251:2005 using concealed heads.