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Building Envelope Ventilation by Smoke and Heat Exhaust Ventilation Systems
NIKHIL PARASURAMAN
Director - India and SAARC Region,
SE Controls
‘Auto Smoke Vent systems’ (ASVs) form part of the passive fire protection of a project’s ‘Fire Strategy’.
Product Certification and System Design principles can be categorised by codes under ‘Smoke and Heat Exhaust Ventilation systems’ (SHEVs) – EuroNorms-12101 code of practice and system Planning, Design, Installation, Testing, Commissioning and Maintenance - BS7346-8. Installation to Handover and AMCs must be carried out by a ‘Manufacturer Authorized Installer’ Partner. The Strategy using tested, Auto Smoke Vents (AOVs) is to aid naturally in the release of hot black smoke generated during the incipient stages of a fire’s lifecycle and designed based on the ‘Fire Strategy’ drafted for each project.
The Design - Ideal Dimension and Location of the vents, 1.0m – 1.5m ‘wide’ to 0.6m – 1.0m ‘tall’. We Suggest, Bottom Hung Open Out (BHOO) Smoke Vents strategically designed closer to the false ceiling, reducing smoke stagnation leading to a smoke reservoir in spaces like Glass Envelope Office buildings.
Care must be taken when calculating vent quantities, which should be based on the local code of practice, % floor/ façade area to dimensions of the vent with the shutter installed and Actuator Stroke determined. Request the project ASVs provider for calculations related to the system and designed for your project.
Buildings with double to triple high smokestacks, it is advised to have LowLevel, Make-Up Air Vents - Top Hung Open Out (THOO) along with HighLevel, Smoke Vents, Bottom Hung Open Out (BHOO) or Auto Roof Vents.
Key Benefits - Fire officers and occupants will have better vision and breathing during the evacuation at the time of the fire emergency, thereby improving overall ‘situational awareness’. For the property, as these vents open in the incipient stages, it reduces the heat trapped due to the smoke, thereby reducing chances of a flashover/roof collapse.
One Lodha Place, Mumbai
Cover Story
VIKRAM KHANNA
COO – Consumer Glass, COO – Architectural Institutional Business,
CMO, CIO, Asahi India Glass Ltd. (AIS)
What are the common causes of building fires? Electricity is by far the most common cause of fire outbreaks as it happens quickly, unexpectedly & is often related to ignorance.
The second most common cause of fire outbreaks could be human errors. Burning candles that are forgotten, the forgotten pot on the stove, smoking indoors - human error is responsible for many fires in the commercial and residential spaces. Overheating and Arson are some other causes of fire.
IMAGE CREDIT - AGC GLASS EUROPE Palace of Justice, Antwerp, Belgium: fire-resistant glazing installed
Please throw some light on the reaction of various façade/fenestration materials to fire? The reaction of façade/fenestration to fire is its contribution to a fire to which it is exposed through its decomposition. It is concerned with the combustibility and ignitability of building materials, and it can be used to calculate how much energy they contribute to the spread of a fire.
EN 13501-1: 2018 provides reaction to fire classifications procedure for all construction products including products incorporated within building elements. Fire reaction tests like – Non-Combustibility Test, Heat of Combustion Test, Burning Item Tests, Radiant Panel Test (for flooring), and Single Flame Source Tests, are performed alone or in combination to comply with standards.
What are the parameters which define the performance of a fire retardant façade/fenestrations? Various factors like fire resistance performance, light transmission, impact resistance, u value, sound reduction & solar factor help to define fire resistance requirement of façade/fenestration.
What are the aspects to consider while designing and installing fireproof or fire-resistant facades and fenestrations? The selection of the right kind of material is an important aspect to be considered while designing the building. The material surface that is categorized as Class 1 has very low flame spread and is ideal for fireresistant façade and fenestration.
Tell us about fire-resistant materials which can be used on facades/ fenestrations? Fire resistance glass installed in steel façade/ fenestration system, glass façade installed along with sprinkler system that provides full coverage to the glass meets the fire
IMAGE CREDIT - AIS
AIS Pyrobel fire-resistant glass used in CSIR, Mumbai
AZ Groeninge hospital in the Belgian city Kortrijk: Fire-resistant glazing plays a key role in the design of healthcare facilities such as hospitals and clinics
The Peace Palace (Vredespaleis), a neo-Renaissance building in The Hague (Netherlands)
resistance criteria specified in NBC2016, Part 4, Life & Safety Chapter.
How can glass be a fire-resistant material? How does an interlayered toughened fire glass work? Float-processed glass has softening point at 600-6400C. In the case of interlayer toughened fire-resistant glass, glass on the fire-exposed side starts transforming into the plastic stage as soon as the temperature increases beyond 6000C, which happens in 4-5 Min & the interlayer gets exposed to fire. This interlayer forms a solid structure & withholds outside glass for the specified time limit. In this event, transparent FRG becomes opaque, and the change in the appearance of the glass is an indication of fire on another side. This psychologically helps to reduce panic happening during the evacuation process.
AIS Pyrobel-T fire-resistant glass which is made of gel-filled tempered glass technology helps to provide protection for up to 2 Hours for integrity & 30 minutes of insulation. Apart from this, it also helps to restrict heat radiation up to 15 KW/Sq m for 2 hours which provides sufficient time for occupants to get evacuated.
Explain active and passive systems for fireproof facades/fenestrations? How can we prevent fire spreads? Active fire protection includes all defensive measures and represents the overall system for detecting and extinguishing fires (fire alarms, sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers).
In contrast to active fire protection, passive fire protection plays a preventive role by breaking buildings into ‘compartments’ and preventing the spread of fire through the use of fire-resistance-rated walls & floors made up of calcium silicate board or glass. Fire-resistant glasses could help in providing passive fire protection while they also contribute to improving the aesthetics of the building.
Selection of the right combination of passive & active fire protection is governed by regulations relating to the nature and use of a building.
IMAGE CREDIT - AGC GLASS EUROPE What is the need for fire rating requirements for the façade/doors/ windows and the exterior wall systems? Fire resistance partition with windows & doors helps to provide passive fire protection to the occupants in the building thereby providing sufficient time for evacuation during the fire incident.
Fire resistance system in the lift lobby area helps to restrict the internal transfer of flame & smoke to other floors happening through a lift duct. Fire resistant exterior wall system helps to restrict the transfer of flames and smoke to either enter or exit the building or from one floor to the other from the outside.
What are the standards used for grading fire-resistant materials including glass, ACP, uPVC etc.? Is there any fire testing done on the products? uPVC & Aluminium frames are not suitable for fire-resistant façade & fenestration applications as they have low melting points. In some parts of the world, for fire resistance insulated aluminium frames are used, but they are limited to providing fire resistance for up to 60 minutes. Moreover, these traditional materials are not capable of providing 2 hours of fire resistance requirements as specified in NBC 2016. In India, steel frames are the most popular for fenestration applications.
Srinagar Medical Campus
AR. RAVIDEEP SINGH
Associate Director,
Creative Designer Architects
Ar. Ravideep Singh is the Associate Director at Creative Designer Architects (CDA), a New Delhi-based architecture firm that has helmed notable projects of diverse typologies across Asia. An alumnus of the University of Illinois U.C, School of Architecture, Ravideep has earned a specialisation in ‘Healthcare Planning’ from Cornell University, NY.
With a penchant for designing spaces that foster health and wellness, Singh has over five years of experience in healthcare design in India and the United States, working with internationally renowned practices like HDR, HKS, and RSP Architects. At CDA, he has conceptualised several award-winning projects including AIIMS Guwahati, Pragma Medical Institute at Bathinda amongst others. Ar. Ravideep strongly believes in the communicative power of design — the ability of empathetically-designed spaces to create uplifting sensory experiences for its inhabitants. Ar. Ravideep has been a speaker at several eminent panels such as the discussion on ‘Emerging Trends in Window and Door Designs: Innovative Designs and Materials’ by WFM Media in May 2021.
In an interaction with WFM, Ar. Ravideep Singh elaborates on his journey as an architect, his major projects, his views on the latest façade and fenestration designs, materials & technologies, and on the future of the façade as a sustainable envelope of buildings.
Hoshiarpur Medical College
Please tell us about your practice and its growth as an architectural firm over the years? CDA began its journey as a small architectural studio led by Maninder Kaur and Mohanbir Singh in the early 2000s. Since its inception, the firm’s work ethos has pivoted around designing and delivering projects that integrate innovation, adaptability and sustainability. Over the years, we have slowly and steadily built an influential clientele across the country, with an end goal to create spaces that foster wellness, experience, efficiency, economics and functionality. This ethos has enabled us to expand our presence, reach and capacity to deliver innovative designs to the most complex projects that come on board. Today, CDA has a portfolio of over sixty ongoing projects across India, forty-five of which are healthcare projects of varying scales and specialities.
What inspired you to become an architect? Having been brought up by architect parents, I gained extensive exposure to architecture from a very early age. Since then, I have always been intrigued by the ethical capacity of architecture and its power to impact the built environment and life. With an innate fondness for spatial planning, I feel a sense of gratification when conceptualising spaces and forms and analysing their impact on the end-user experience, economics and the built environment at large.
Could you please talk about a few of your completed and ongoing projects? Of the several projects that CDA has
AIIMS Guwahati
Nanavati Hospital, Mumbai
undertaken within the past few years, the most crucial ones are within the healthcare space. AIIMS Guwahati is one of India’s largest and most comprehensive health campuses. It lays heavy emphasis on patient experience, health, wellness and sustainability. Additionally, the Hoshiarpur and Kapurthala Integrated Medical Campuses were recognised during the pandemic for their responsiveness to Covid-19 and CDA’s underlying sustainability and wellness strategies. Another significant project in the pipeline is the expansion of Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai. Set to be one of the largest private hospitals in the city, it attempts to blur boundaries between healthcare and hospitality and be a beacon of international health tourism in India. There are many materials for building exteriors available in the market. How do you choose the apt one for your project? What are the criteria? As the awareness around environmental sustainability, human health and operational economics intensify, building envelopes are looked upon with a completely different spectacle. At CDA, we attribute exterior materials as per site orientation, ease of application, longevity, maintainability, life cycle impact and their impact on human health.
Aakash Healthcare, New Delhi
Façade and fenestration industry in India has gone through a sea change in the past decade. Tell us about the latest in use of façade & cladding material and technologies? Façade design trends in India have witnessed a massive push in terms of design ethos, materiality, and the functionality façades embody. Better thermal performance of newer materials and technologies has been the focus, including higher system insulation, lighter component and assembly weight, improved aesthetics, and life cycle performance.
Prevalent trends include electricity-generating solar glass, lightweight composite terracotta, ceramic claddings and intelligent façade systems integrated with the central BMS. Such systems auto-regulate the light penetration and ventilation based on outdoor air quality and a robust network of IoT (Internet of Things) and analytics.
Diyos Men’s Health Centre, New Delhi
What are the key factors to consider while designing and installing façades & fenestration? There are several factors to be mindful of while designing and installing façades and fenestrations. The first such factor is building orientation for optimal daylighting design. The desired windowto-wall ratios and shading design must be considered while deciding on building orientation.
Sagar Hospital, Bhopal
The second factor is operational efficiency. The architects and designers must conduct building energy simulations for optimal thermal insulation to regulate the heating and cooling loads and the respective size of HVAC equipment. Lastly, ease of operation and maintenance is an essential factor that should be considered while designing façades to curate elements with better life cycle performance and ease of maintenance. Please brief on the design and technical details of a safe façade, considering fire safety, and wind, rain and earthquake resistance? Specialised expertise in façade design, engineering and execution are indispensable in today’s data-driven world. To ensure optimal stability in the structure, the façade system should be designed for all components of lateral loads, including wind and earthquake loads, along with all dead and live loads. Further, in glazing and cladding systems, careful detailing towards climate-proofing should incorporate water drainage through built-in gutter sections, weather seals and designed slopes. Similarly, for fire compliance and safety, fire sealants on floor junctions at each level should be incorporated along with an appropriate
Krishna Chemicals, Raipur
design for requisite openings in the façade for smoke extraction.
How would the façade design and other elements of the façade help the building to be energy efficient, at the same time provide a better interior environment? While it might sound paradoxical to ensure optimal comfort for all building users, this aspect has been gradually mastered during the past decade. It has been achieved by instilling a certain degree of flexibility in the building envelope, allowing occupants to control their environments through responsive shading devices, acoustic finishes, etc., to regulate optimal daylighting, glare and acoustics.
Apart from the building users, the building operators and managers are another set of crucial occupants who function as a relay between the users and the working of other building systems. Therefore, the synchronisation of this ecosystem with the BMS is possibly the most plausible answer to curating a high-performance enclosure system today.
Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi
What about sustainability and environmental considerations when choosing materials for a project? The façade is the first interface of the building with the environment and its adversities. Based on the latitude and longitude of the site, the building envelope should be capable of dynamically modulating the climatic extremes such as temperature fluctuations, wind pressures, seismic forces, etc., in an integrated manner. The material constituents that make up the façade assembly should be selected on a macro level based on their embodied energy and its life cycle impacts. Further, it is also crucial to analyse how the façade interacts with other components of the ecosystem, avoiding adversities such as bird strikes, blinding glare, etc., using appropriate fenestration sizing, design and treatments.
Max Super Speciality Hospital, Vaishali What are your views on future façades & fenestration technologies, and materials? Like other building components, a future façade must be integrated and intelligent. In the future, façades are expected to embody a certain degree of flexibility towards the percentage of openings, location and configuration of sharing devices besides being an intelligent link between the building indoors, its mechanical systems and the outdoor environment. Therefore, a robust IoT ecosystem integrated with the components of the façade that self-learns based on analytics, user and environment behaviour and improves performance seems likely in the future.
Paras Hospital, Kanpur
According to you, what is an intelligent building? How can intelligent and sustainable façades bring in the greenhouse effect and also restrict the intensive use of air conditioners? In simple terms, intelligent buildings are assemblies that have the innate ability to acquire data and strategically apply it for enhanced outcomes. An intelligent façade is expected to operate with a high degree of flexibility in carefully regulating the interaction between the building indoors and the external environment. For example, a holistically designed smart building would utilise air conditioning only when needed by intensifying natural ventilation whenever the weather allows. This feature will curate a realm where mechanical systems are employed when required without compromising occupant thermal comfort and indoor air quality.
What is your advice to young, aspiring architects? The only advice would be to think ahead, always. We are amidst a fast-moving technological tide that is dynamically impacting how industries have operated conventionally. Such a milieu necessitates an inquisitive, data-driven and responsive outlook toward different aspects of design. This mindset would engineer resilience in designers, the project and the environment at large.
Ramakrishna Care Hospital, Raipur
Sarvodaya Hospital, Noida
