Global fire systems leader, Advanced, has been specified on another landmark tall building.
Set to stand at 62-storeys high, 22 Bishopsgate in the City of London will, on completion, become the second-tallest building in Western Europe.
The 278m office building will offer 1.275 million sq. ft of high specification office space, as well as eight community spaces, covering over 100,000 sq ft, including an innovation hub, curated gallery space, fresh food market, gym and wellbeing retreat. Once completed, Advanced will protect both of Western Europe’s tallest buildings, with 22 Bishopsgate being the latest in a long line of London’s most prestigious and iconic skyscrapers specifying Advanced, including the Shard, the Leadenhall Building, the Heron Tower and the HSBC Tower.
At the centre of the active fire protection for 22 Bishopsgate are over 80 networked MxPro 5 panels with graphic display and BMS integration, alongside three special build panels for the building’s Fire Command Centre, that will form part of the intelligent fire detection network. Advanced’s panels are used alongside Apollo’s Soteria detectors and its networking is widely regarded as the most resilient and scalable solution on the market. It can be expanded up to 200 node networks covering huge areas with complicated cause-and-effect.
In order to meet building requirements, the MxPro 5 panels also run Advanced’s AlarmCalm false alarm management software with investigation delays and detailed options for alarm verification. AlarmCalm uses Advanced’s fast hardware, updated config software and optional loop verification devices to deliver a system that allows the false alarm strategy for 22 Bishopsgate to be quickly and easily programmed and managed, increasing safety and reducing false alarms.
The three custom-made panels; a wet riser panel, sprinkler panel and fire and voice alarm panel, were all designed and manufactured by Advanced’s AdSpecials department who worked closely with the client to fulfil a brief for a bespoke solution, both to budget and to deadline.
As a UK-first, 22 Bishopsgate will utilise a specially developed lift-evacuation strategy in case of fire. The building is separated into four vertical areas by fire-hardened slabs with a two-hour fire rating separating a floor from the one above at levels 26, 42 and 58. Depending on which of the four vertical areas of the building a fire is detected, workers on that floor and the floors above egress via fire escape stairs to the area below and from there can evacuate via the lifts, safe in the knowledge that these are protected by the slabs above.
Responsible for every aspect of installation of the fire system from design to completion, PHF Fire, a division of PHF Electrical, used Advanced for its market-leading networking capabilities, best suited to managing a network of this size and complexity.
Paul Falkner, Director at PHF Fire, said:
“Great emphasis and consideration has been placed on the fire protection for 22 Bishopsgate – a building truly at the at the forefront of fire technology. From working with Advanced previously we knew its products could be relied upon to deliver powerful, flexible and dependable fire protection for the complex nature of a building of this size.”
Amanda Hope, UK Business Development Manager at Advanced, said:
“Advanced is a leader in the market in terms of performance, quality and ease-of-use and being specified in arguably the UK’s most high-profile commercial development, since the Shard, reinforces this. We are thrilled to now not only protect Western Europe’s tallest building, but soon also the second tallest. It was a pleasure to work with the team at PHF Fire where we were able to meet their needs with a system capable of delivering the complicated cause and effect programming and flexible networking required.”
With EN54 parts 2, 4 and 13 approval the MxPro is the fire industry’s leading multiprotocol fire solution, offering customers a choice of two panel ranges, four detector protocols and a completely open installer network that enjoys free training and support.
Advanced is a world leader in the development and manufacture of intelligent fire systems. The performance, quality and ease of use of its products sees Advanced specified in locations all over the world, from single panel installations to large, multi-site networks in some of the world’s most prestigious sites. Advanced’s products include complete fire detection systems, extinguishing control panels, fire paging and false alarm management systems. More details can be found on the website at www.advancedco.com