Review of: "Teaching fire safety through design-based immersion of National Building Code-2016 provisions to students of undergraduate architecture: a student feedback on the pedagogy technique (original) (raw)
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Achieving optimum design solutions, with regards to fire and fire safety conditions, is an uncompromisable endeavour. As such, considering the destruction that has been occurring if treated lightly, every architectural design must consciously and constantly bear in mind, the goal of avoiding such disaster. Resting on this premise, this paper aimed at identifying major design approaches that need to be adopted to achieve optimum fire safety in buildings, right from the design stage. The paper adopted a narrative literature review approach to identify grounded design considerations related to fire and fire safety. One of the findings was that a design must be carried out with the conscious intention to provide a high level of safety affordances to occupants of buildings and their properties in case of fire outbreaks. Much of the affordances should be related to smoke, which tends to be more dangerous than the fire itself. The paper is highly significant for any architectural design si...
Due to fast urban and architectural growth worldwide, many codes have been created to organize the design and construction process at various levels. The fire and life safety code governs building regulations to prevent fires and save lives. Since the architect plays critical roles in communities and with stakeholders, the architectural design process, phases, and deliverables go through a number of stages that interact with and integrate with the fire and life safety code. One of the primary criteria that could delay the architectural design process is the late implementation of life safety architectural aspects. This research aims to explore and investigate the architects' knowledge related to the fire code and life safety aspects and how it impacts on the architectural design process, within its phases, and whether having or leakage of this knowledge may cause or effect on the design progress. Accordingly, the study used qualitative and quantitative methods, qualitative through the analysis of different sources of literature review and quantitative through structured interviews with architects, experts, and other relevant stakeholders, to determine the impact of architects' knowledge about code requirements on the project design process and how this could be solved to avoid gaps in the design process and project progress delays. The overall results of this research indicated that architects, especially in Egypt, have a lack of knowledge of architectural aspects of the fire and life safety code, and most architects aren't implementing aspects of fire in the design process, which delays the architectural design process. The results' analysis suggests that to speed up design, architects could receive fire safety training from the Civil Defence, Engineers Syndicates, the Housing and Building National Research Center (HBRC), and self-learning.
Development of a holistic approach to integrate fire safety performance with building design
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Building fire safety is significantly influenced by building and fire safety regulations (often codes and standards). These regulations specify what fire safety measures should be included in a given building as a minimum requirement. Since fire engineers develop fire safety designs based on the regulations, they are often viewed as the primary agents in ensuring the fire safety of buildings. However, their mission often starts with given building design features, such as interior spatial layout, exterior shape, site plan, and so forth, which are mostly determined by architects (or architects). Although architects design
Enhancing Building Fire Safety Performance by Reducing Miscommunication and Misconceptions
Fire Technology, 2013
Building fire safety is driven by regulations and technical building codes, at least as a minimum requirement. As fire protection engineers (FPEs) design fire safety measures based on requirements in the regulations, they are often viewed as the primary agents in ensuring the fire safety of buildings. However, their mission often starts with given building design features, such as interior spatial layout, exterior shape, site plan, and so forth, which are mostly determined by architects. The only exception is where the FPE is invited to assist in the project planning, feasibility and early concept design stages of a project. Regardless, architects also can influence building fire safety performance, whether or not they explicitly acknowledge or understand this. Although architects design buildings within the boundaries of the regulatory requirements, the architect's focus is often related to the visual and spatial aesthetics of buildings linked to building form and functionality, which are not subject to the regulations. These aesthetics can sometimes compete with fire safety objectives. As such, buildings can be unsafe in certain situations due to unintended effects of building design features on actual fire safety performance. This research describes the relationship between architecturally conceived building design features, design expectations for fire safety systems, and the actual or conceivable fire safety performance of the building. Steps are proposed that FPEs can take to identify and address potentially competing objectives and deliver increased fire safety performance.
PLEA 2024 WROCŁAW (Re)thinking Resilience, 2024
This paper presents a novel approach to architectural education, focusing on the integration of hands-on building commissioning exercises within the curriculum to enhance undergraduate students' understanding of high-performance building codes and sustainable design practices. The course was structured into four modules: Indoor Air Quality, Thermal Comfort, Daylighting and Visual Comfort, and Building Envelope Efficiency. Each module combined theoretical lectures with practical applications, allowing students to engage directly with real-world environments. Observations indicated a significant improvement in students' comprehension and test scores compared to traditional lecture-based methods. This shift towards experiential learning not only deepened students' theoretical knowledge but also developed their practical skills in sustainable architecture. The approach demonstrates the effectiveness of hands-on learning in architectural education, preparing students to meet the challenges of sustainable design in their professional futures.
A Pedagogical Proposal: Some Fundamentals and Concepts for Fire Protection System Design
International Journal of Emerging Trends in Engineering Research, 2022
This paper presents the basic concepts and fundamentals for designing fire protection systems in Colombia. In the courses of electrical installations and basic electricity, some risks related to the handling of electrical energy are mentioned. Still, there is no specific course at the level of professional electrical and electronic engineering training that identifies and prepares the future engineer in the design and approval of these systems. Some regulations that must be considered for the design and construction of these systems are mentioned. Many international laws apply to equipment and give recommendations but do not establish the professional or the procedures for explicit approval of an installation. It is crucial to make students aware of this problem and generate job opportunities in the medium and long future responsible for promoting technological and social integration for the benefit of users of buildings and other infrastructure.
Structures' fire safety should be taken into account
Global Journal of Research in Humanities & Cultural Studies, 2022
Institutions or schools are special kinds of structures that may house a lot of people in cramped quarters for educational purposes. Children and young people make up the bulk of the students in schools, and in times of emergencies or crises, they are more likely to panic and become challenging to control. When a school or other institution is on fire, the damages are severe. The losses include loss of life, damage to property, and disruption of educational operations. It is important to safeguard educational facilities since they serve as temporary gathering spaces for communities, teachers, and students. Schools and other organizations must prioritize fire safety for their structures in terms of management. Fires pose a threat to everyone inside the building, as is well recognized. The active and passive fire safety systems in school buildings need to be improved. For instance, the management should frequently inspect and maintain fire safety equipment and should provide the school with enough fire extinguishers. In case of a gas leak in the environment, a gas detection system must also be built. The best ways to raise awareness of fire safety are to organize related programs involving all staff, teachers, and students; to give educational talks on the risks associated with fire and important steps to take in an emergency; and, finally, to appoint specific staff to the management safety team in schools.
Fire Safety Engineering: The Accreditation and Regulatory Reform Report 7 of 8
2020
The Warren Centre extends our gratitude to those individuals, government agencies, professional organisations, and corporations who shared their views and insights for this report. This was an industry-led project initiated to define the standards for professional practice and to lift performance in the industry to meet the expectations and needs of society for excellent buildings with whole of life cycle amenity, value and safety. The Warren Centre thanks the project sponsors, the Executive Steering Committee members, the Technical Committees and Working Group members, the research authors, and so many reviewers and contributors to the reports, papers and conference proceedings. We give special thanks to Warren Centre directors Richard Kell and Ian Dart, to Peter Johnson of Arup, to Professor Jose Torero at University College London, to Dr David Lange and to the UQ team for their tireless support.