Medical Construction & Design

MAR-APR 2017

Medical Construction & Design (MCD) is the industry's leading source for news and information and reaches all disciplines involved in the healthcare construction and design process.

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60 Medical Construction & Design | M A RCH /A PR IL 2017 | MCDM AG.COM Products Construction of a fi ve-sto- ry addition to an existing 10-story occupied medical university building in the middle of down- town Boston, Massachusetts, was likened by the university president as "assembling a Swiss watch, in a ship, in a bottle." While undergoing a $68-million expansion project, space was a major concern. One of the issues the architects encountered was the puzzle of vertical smoke control compliance at the eleva- tors, both existing and new. The prevailing Massachusetts building and fi re codes re- quired one-hour rated elevator lobby con- struction at the elevators, but space was limited as the existing 10-story core was constructed in 1972 under the Building Offi cials Code Administrators codes. Specifi cally, the Massachusetts State Building Code Section 403.8 required the construction of lobbies on both the fi ve new fl oors, as well as the 10 lower fl oors (the main entrance level being excluded). For assistance with this issue, the design- ers turned to consulting fi re protection engineer Harold Cutler. The challenge issued to Cutler was to provide the required smoke protection within the limited space available. Cutler solved the issue by using a smoke contain- ment product new to Massachusetts at the time. This space-saving solution had previously been widely used on the west coast and had gained acceptance under Uniform Building Code. The smoke con- tainment solution was the Smoke Guard rolling magnetic gasketing system for elevator openings. A Smoke Guard system housing is in- stalled above each elevator opening (either at the head of the opening or higher) and requires minimal space. When smoke is actively detected by a local smoke detec- tor, the orange polyimide material rolls downward, sealing to the face of the eleva- tor opening via two-inch-wide magnets on either side of the curtain. Once deployed, the transparent curtain may be retracted by a membrane switch mounted in the center of both sides of the curtain or with less than 15 pounds of force. At the time of the project, the Massachusetts State Building Code did not contain alternatives to elevator lobbies as they do today. Instead, the Smoke Guard system was submitted as an alternative to the enclosed elevator lobby given the space constraints of the building. This method allows the AHJ to approve the best solution for that building. In this case, the building offi cial approved the rolling magnetic gasketing system in lieu of a one- hour rated enclosed elevator lobby. According to Cutler, "There was no option for installation of fi re doors or other mechanisms such as the Smoke Guard device in the MSBC6. There was, however, a concept called a 'compliance alternative' that allowed a designer to off er an alterna- tive arrangement of a project when strict compliance was not feasible. Of course, recognition of the use of doors or the Smoke Guard product came later within the building codes here in Massachusetts." As a result of Cutler's eff orts, Smoke Guard representative, The Pappas Company, consulted and installed 54 Smoke Guard system units on passenger and freight elevator openings throughout the new and renovated fl oors of the facility. Visit smokeguard.com. The Smoke Guard system is virtually invisible in the ready state with just a small housing door above the head of the elevator frame. This enables designers to redeploy space to the reception desk. On deployment, the Smoke Guard system magnetically seals itself to the elevator door frame. The transparent orange material allows occupants visibility, and a membrane switch on either side of the curtain allows system retraction. Space-saving smoke containment solution solves compliance puzzle at medical building Safety at the Core FIRE SAFETY

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