"fire protection for suspended ceilings"

Prairie Hills Junior High School's south-facing elevation features a glazed aluminum curtain wall that incorporates PPG Solarblue and PPG Solarban 60 glazing. Parts of the curtain wall had to meet a two-hour rating because it was adjacent to a two-hour block wall through the building's interior. SAFTI FIRST® supplied SuperLite® II-XL 120 IGU in GPX® Curtain Wall Framing in order to meet ASTM E-119/NFPA 251/UL263 requirements.

Central to the new UC Davis Medical Center Surgery and Emergency Services Pavilion's design was a large skylight that allows natural light to vertically flow into the atrium area and other light wells throughout the building. However, they also wanted to let light flow horizontally into the adjacent hallways, rooms, etc. Because the walls in the atrium and light wells have to meet a 2-hour rating, Stantec Architects approached SAFTI FIRST® for a solution. Large portions of the 2 hour atrium and light well walls were made “transparent” with the use of SuperLite® II-XL 120 in GPX® Framing.

The Joint School of Nanoscience & Nanoengineering within the Gateway University Research Park in Greensboro, North Carolina is a new 105,000 sf interdisciplinary research facility dedicated to academic and industrial research. To create an open, transparent lab design, SAFTI FIRST® provided SuperLite® II-XL 60 in GPX® Architectural Series Frames for the 60 minute walls.

Adaptive reuse, or the process of taking an old building or structure and repurposing it for something other than what it was originally designed for, has gained a lot traction with developers and architects alike – and for many good reasons. For one thing, it is more economical and sustainable to work with an existing structure than to demolish an old building, clean up the site, and rebuild with entirely new materials. It also helps preserve historical structures that add character to the community, as well as reduce urban sprawl. For the multifamily sector, we’ve seen adaptive reuse applied to old schools, government buildings, warehouses, etc. because these structures are usually centrally located in many downtown areas.

SuperLite® II-XLM 120 clear butt-glazed walls with 9 ft. GPX® Builders Series 90 minute Temperature Rise doors creates a light-filled, transparent 2-hour stairwell that is on-brand with Waste Management’s new Houston Headquarters.

Perhaps no other residential high-rise has created more buzz than the highly-anticipated Porsche Design Tower in Sunny Isles, Florida. A collaboration between Dezer Development and the Porsche Design Group, the 60-story, 132-residence luxury tower designed by Sieger Suarez Architects promises to deliver a new standard of cool.

This new 120,000 square foot, state-of-the-art convening center features a 1,000-seat auditorium that is large enough to host the entire MBA class. The glass atrium floods the multi-purpose lobby with natural light, as well as provides a visual connection between the interior of the building and the outdoor environment. To maximize transparency, SAFTI FIRST® met with the architects during the design phase to create a large, 2-hour, glass wall that separates the lobby from the auditorium while providing a visual connection between them. Since this 2-hour glass wall also serves as the entrance to the auditorium, deciding on a 90-minute door system was of upmost important. SAFTI FIRST®’s in-house engineering department provided design assistance, system details, engineering calculations and support from the planning phase all the way to the submittal process.

The Department of Defense (DoD) published the Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) 4-010-01 Antiterrorism Standards for Buildings as a mandatory guideline to mitigate the threats of terrorism against buildings and ensure the safety of the individuals that inhabit them. It applies to all newly constructed DoD Components, DoD inhabited buildings, billeting and high-occupancy housing, as well as already inhabited buildings where the renovation costs are 50% or more than the value of the building (for a complete list, please see UFC 4-010-01 section 1.8).

The Merced 2020 Project, an ambitious, $1.2B, extensive expansion of the UC Merced campus, is “the largest public-private partnership social infrastructure project completed in U.S. history,” according to the university’s website. This includes new facilities used for academic, administration, laboratories, housing and recreation. This was truly exciting, and it struck a chord with SAFTI FIRST® because Merced is home to our manufacturing facilities.

Who hasn’t uttered the words or at least heard of a “Target run”? What started out as a marketing campaign to get more foot traffic in their brick and mortar stores has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon. Aside from being a call-to-action, #TargetRun is a trending hashtag used by shoppers to share their in-store shopping experience on social media.

St. Augustine’s Church is a magnificent Gothic-style church constructed in 1863. It was built to satisfy the needs of a small but ever-expanding congregation in Dundas, Ontario, after a spectacular fire destroyed the church of 1827. To protect the structural integrity of the construction, MAPEI products were used to waterproof the front foyer and provide crack isolation.

Executive Summary The aim of this fact sheet is to advocate an alternative solution for the Steel Industry in regards to restrictive code provisions for explosion venting that are now mandated by the Ontario Fire Code (OFC). Due to a September 2000 amendment of code provisions dealing with explosion venting in the OFC, explosion vent designs were required to be in conformance with NFPA 68, the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Guide for Venting of Deflagrations. NFPA 68 gives a prescriptive solution that has upper bound limits on size and mass of an explosion vent panel, which the Steel Industry finds are too small to be practical. The Canadian Steel Construction Council (CSCC) investigated this problem and identified an alternate design guideline from the Factory Mutual Insurance Company’s (FM) Property Loss Prevention Data Sheets, numbered 1-44 and entitled “Damage Limiting Construction”. FM’s 1-44 Data Sheets can be used to develop an alternate solution for explosion venting that exceed the size and mass limits of the NFPA 68 prescriptive solution, and can be submitted for approval under the Compliance Equivalency provisions in the OFC. With the introduction of an objective based National Building Code Canada (NBCC) in 2005 followed by Provincial code adoptions in 2006 it would be worthwhile to establish a precedent through the Compliance Equivalency provision in the OFC. Once a precedent setting case occurs, the “acceptable solution” or “compliance alternative” would go on record and aid in resolving subsequent proposals for Compliance Equivalency, and also support a future technical change in the OFC. The CSCC by way of this fact sheet would advocate this alternative solution for the Steel Industry when designing explosion vent panels in steel framed buildings.

Steel is a major and essential construction material, offering unique value and unmatched performance in many end uses. Steel is strong, safe, durable, versatile, resilient and cost-effective. Steel is sustainable, with the exceptional environmental advantages of being highly recycled and infinitely recyclable. Steel is tough and does not rot, spall, split or absorb moisture and is resistant to pests, unlike other building materials. And from an aesthetic or architectural viewpoint, steel structures can easily deliver creative design options and offer excellent value. Steel is the fabric of life.

Steel has been used in North American construction projects for more than 150 years and still remains one of the strongest, most durable and economical building materials available today. Although steel has been traditionally associated with high-rise buildings, bridge structures and commercial and industrial projects, it is rapidly emerging as the logical material of choice for residential construction. Cold formed sheet steel panels are lightweight, economical, easy to handle and represent a high quality alternative to traditional roofing materials. Environmental and economic considerations have prompted many residential homeowners to investigate alternative building materials and methods, and steel roofing panels have proven technical benefits as well as excellent recycling capabilities which make them an increasingly popular choice. This follows the long-time use of steel roofing in commercial construction where steel has built undisputable quality and performance records. 

KidsAbility Centre for Childhood Development recently moved to a new location that features a wide, high open ceiling. This architectural design element, while visually appealing, required effective sound absorption to ensure a comfortable and functional environment. Architects from Walter Fedy proposed an innovative solution: creating floating beams with wave patterns to enhance both the acoustic performance and the visual appeal of the space.

Four Key Components Constitute Prefinished Sheet Steel Prefinished sheet steel for construction consists of four major components: the sheet steel itself, a metallic (zinc or aluminum-zinc alloy) coating, chemical pre-treatment and primer, and a top coat. Each performs an important role in providing designers with a high quality, aesthetic, cost competitive and corrosion-resistant material. The backbone of the system is sheet steel, an ideal material for covering large surface areas because of its economy and high strength-toweight ratio. Protection against the demanding Canadian environment is provided by the metallic coating, one of the most effective methods of protecting bare steel from corrosion. Both zinc and aluminum-zinc alloy provide a tough, non-porous coating

During construction of a luxury automotive dealership, MAPEI products were used for surface preparation, waterproofing, uncoupling protection, and tile and stone installation. High moisture content and a fast-approaching deadline were no match for these products, which produced award-winning results.

Sustainability, durability, fire resistance, structural performance and cost-effectiveness are some of the strongest reasons for using structural steel or cold-formed steel framing in mid-rise building construction. As a dependable, noncombustible material, steel-framed structures provide a wise investment for builders and the occupants who live and work in them. Steel structures provide long-term, consistent performance. • Steel framing will not rot, warp, split, crack or creep. • Steel framing is not vulnerable to termites. • Steel framing does not expand or contract with moisture content. • Steel framing is produced in strict accordance with national standards, with no regional variations. Steel is a noncombustible material and will not contribute to the spread of a fire. • Because steel is noncombustible, it reduces the fire risk to occupants, firefighters and property/business owners. Steel framing improves design efficiency, saves time, and reduces costs. • Steel framing provides a significantly greater strength-to-weight ratio than wood. • Steel framing allows for larger bays and wider frame spacing than wood construction. • Increased flexibility in bay spacing and framing layout maximizes usable floor space for owners and tenants. • Steel is typically fabricated off-site, reducing on-site labor, cycle time and construction waste. • Shorter construction time results in earlier occupancies and lower financing costs. Steel structures perform well during earthquakes and other extreme events. • Steel is a resilient material, with reserve strength and ductility that result in significant advantages in natural disasters such as hurricanes and earth- quakes, and in other extreme events like fire and blast. • Steel construction is engineered to provide a reliable, consistent load path. • Steel construction employs quality control and quality assurance procedures to ensure that the project requirements are met. Steel framing provides environmental benefits and complies with sustainable building standards. • Steel framing results in less scrap and job site waste than lumber. • Structural steel is continually recycled with a current recycling rate of 98 percent, meaning that these steels will still be in use hundreds of years from now, lessening impacts on future generations. • Steel, when recycled, loses none of its inherent properties and can be recycled into different products such as cars, bridges, cans, etc. • Steel can be used to comply with the requirements of sustainable design standards such as the International Green Construction Code (IgCC), ASHRAE Standard 189.1 (Standard for the Design of High-Performance Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings), and the National Green Building Standard (ICC-700). Steel can also provide credit points for green building rating systems like the USGBC’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and the Green Building Initiative’s ANSI/GBI-01 (Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings).  

Introduction Most cold formed steel building products, whether painted or unpainted, are manufactured from a sheet steel material that has some form of metallic coating applied. This metallic coating can be zinc (galvanized), zinc-iron alloy (galvanneal) or a 55% aluminum-zinc alloy (GalvalumeTM). The metallic coating is available in a range of thicknesses to provide the degree of corrosion protection and service life required. One of the concerns expressed by installers relates to the presence of wet storage staining on the products, how this staining impacts the long term performance, and what can be done to remove it. The purpose of this fact sheet is to address some of these issues, allay some fears, and give guidance on proper storage techniques.

About Galliard HomesHaving serviced London’s real estate market for over a quarter of a century, Galliard Homes is the English capital’s largest privately owned residential developer. Over their years in the business, Galliard has become synonymous with regeneration, rejuvenation and reinvention. About Our CustomerProviding a wide range of façade design and engineering services to real estate companies across Europe, Yuanda has been transforming the continent’s skylines for over a decade. By offering a combination of European system design and Chinese materials and fabrication, Yuanda continues to provide world-class and cost-effective façade solutions to the UK, France, Germany and Switzerland. The BriefThe Harbour Central project was conceptualised to transform the London Docklands into an up-and-coming residential area. The project, which comprises 5 residential towers, boasts a total façade area of 63,000 square metres. The façades were designed to superimpose a metal mesh on the shadow box area and showcase the aesthetics of the blocks. Moreover, the team of architects at Rolfe Judd had very precise specialty glazing requirements for the buildings. “We discussed product aesthetics, construction and design considerations. The architect had a specific idea in mind regarding the kind of colour finish they required and Future Glass was able to provide the perfect gold and silver tones that were needed.”- Mr Alain Anthony, Design Director, Yuanda EuropeThe Future Glass SolutionThe search for the perfect glass led us across countries and continents. After an exhaustive search, the silver mesh was procured from Germany while the gold mesh was procured from Italy. Since the glass panels required were of a very large size, an innovative solution was sought by which panels of a maximum size of 1,500 mm x 4,000 mm were created with the metal mesh suspended in the cavity of the IGU. To put concerns about mesh sagging and distortion to rest, a sample panel was provided to the client. For energy efficiency, Climaguard Premium 2T, a high performance Low-E coated glass was procured from Guardian Glass in Europe. The glass itself is made up of a combination of products. The outer-lite is a clear ecoLAM (HS) of 10.76 mm. The expanded metal mesh infill is within a 24 mm black spacer with argon gas. Finally,  the inner lite is a 6 mm clear ecoFACADE (HS). Despite the complicated product combination, the performance specifications were designed to meet the client’s requirements perfectly. A total of about 4,100 square metres of finished insulated glass units with expanded metal mesh were provided for the Harbour Central project.The Future Glass AdvantageAt Future Glass’ state-of-the-art facility in UAE, a dedicated workforce was tasked with ensuring the high-specialty glass was treated in a sterile environment where temperature and humidity could be controlled. Each glass panel is handmade and pieced together under the supervision of qualified engineers. The finished glass panels were placed in IPPC-certified wooden crates for transport. As per local requirements, each piece was individually banded and then shipped to Yuanda’s Shenyani factory. From there, the panels were carefully assembled into a framing system that was delivered to the site in London. Despite the fact that the materials were sourced from various countries, the logistics and operations team took every precaution necessary to ensure zero breakages during the delivery process. In case panels needed to be replaced, we did what was necessary without impacting the timelines, even though it was difficult to procure smaller quantities of mesh from the supplier.