St Hilda’s High School
The Brief:
The design supply & installation of a property protection sprinkler system within a new base build four storey high school to comply with LPCB TB221 regulations within an unusually high end architectural school premises incorporating an extremely high central glass atrium roof with no means of installing sprinkler protection or the associated pipework beneath.
Furthermore the individual classrooms were designed by the Architect with vertical acoustic panel hanging down from each classroom ceilings which could impede the wash of water from the sprinkler heads.
As the classrooms incorporated the above baffles and did not incorporate any suspended ceilings the sprinkler mains pipework had to be installed within the extremely narrow corridor suspended ceiling voids along with a multitude of electrical and mechanical services creating an extremely difficult coordination issue.
Our Solution:
The new sprinkler system was provided with a single water storage tank and fire pump set (housed within a GRP pumphouse provided by Besseges) to comply with the requirements for a property protection system along with an electrical installation comprising of monitor panels and pumphouse wiring undertaken by Besseges.
Due to the nature of the unusually high level glass atrium roof and the requirement of the client to not have sprinkler pipework installed below the glass we proposed and installed a series of sidewall sprinklers on each side of the atrium walls with all pipework being routed within the wall cavities to provide a fantastic concealed finish and still provide the necessary sprinkler coverage require to comply with the regulations and requirements of TB221.
The classrooms that incorporated the unusual vertical hanging acoustic baffles posed an altogether trickier prospect of how to install exposed sprinkler pipework and the associated sprinkler heads between the baffles and still afford the necessary sprinkler protection coverage required.
As such we had to work closely with the clients architect and locate the sprinkler pipework at predetermined heights and horizontal levels to ensure that the LPCB beam rule was adhered to and effective sprinkler coverage was achieved but still complied with the architects request for an aesthetically pleasing design for the school.
The sprinkler installation within this premises was designed utilising AutoCAD and was sized utilising the LPCB regulations for pre calculated sprinkler pipework and water supplies in strict compliance with TB221.
The Results:
On completion of the sprinkler installation the premises have benefited form a full property protection sprinkler installation in full compliance with LPCB regulations and acts as a 24hour 365 days a year automatic fire protection system which is designed to protect the school premises form possible malicious or accidental fire occurrences and is recognised by the buildings insurers as the best form of fire protection which is providing protection to the premises when the building is occupied or unoccupied and electrically monitored and linked to the fire brigade services for automatic attendance in the event of an activation.
Furthermore the system has being integrated flawlessly with the architects vision for an ever increasingly requirement for a modern school premises.