Fire safety is an essential element of quality architecture. Over the years, we have observed that choices made during the design process can have a profound impact on the safety and well-being of a building’s occupants. These decisions play a crucial role in protecting lives, preserving health, and safeguarding buildings in the event of a fire.

What can an architect do to protect a building and its users?

One of the primary means available to architects for ensuring fire safety is to carefully study the interior layout, arrangement, and construction materials used in a building. By strategically placing fire-resistant walls, floors, and doors, we can create designated compartments that help contain fires and limit their spread. These passive fire protection systems complement active measures, such as fire alarm systems, sprinklers, and smoke detectors, to alert occupants and extinguish fires before they cause significant damage.

A particularly important aspect is protection against smoke, which constitutes one of the main threats to life and health during a fire. The attention to detail in this area, including the design of construction joints, their sealing with special compounds, the use of fire-rated hardware, etc., is, without exaggeration, a vital matter.

Given that the joints between building elements are often hidden from the building user’s view, the architect has the opportunity to ensure proper protection against smoke and fire propagation at two levels: during the design stage, by creating well-thought-out joints and material compositions for this purpose, and during construction, by supervising the contractor and ensuring strict adherence to the project’s fire protection details, including those that are hidden.

Means of Evacuation

The methods for containing flame propagation described above have another important consequence: they provide more time for occupants to safely evacuate the building.

The design of emergency exits is another crucial aspect of the architect’s work. For a quick and safe evacuation in case of fire, specific geometric, structural, and functional parameters must be planned for circulation and evacuation routes, along with adequate signage, emergency lighting, and clear access paths to exits. An entire article could be dedicated to the subtleties of this issue, but we will limit ourselves here to merely mentioning this important point.

Technology in the Service of Safety

Today, we have comprehensive solutions to make buildings safer in case of fire. For example, fire detection and alarm systems can be integrated with building management systems to automatically alert emergency services and trigger appropriate responses, such as activating automatic fire extinguishers or unlocking emergency exits.

To achieve the best possible result, engineers from different disciplines work as a team with architects, and the design phase serves as an excellent platform to examine various hypothetical scenarios in order to manage risks.

To ensure coordination between different disciplines, LPS has the most recent computer modeling software and constantly ensures that accumulated human experience goes hand in hand with the most advanced technological capabilities.

Compliance with Fire Safety Standards and Creativity

To ensure that buildings meet fire safety requirements, architects must comply with a complex set of building codes and fire safety standards. These regulations govern every aspect of a building’s design and construction, from the materials used to the placement of fire protection systems. Adherence to these standards is mandatory, and non-compliance can have significant legal and financial consequences.

We firmly believe that true creativity begins where there are many restrictions. Moreover, restrictions stimulate and nourish creativity.

The Architect: Guardian of Balance and Protector of the Future

At LPS, we constantly strive to balance the competing demands of aesthetics, functionality, and safety in our work. By integrating fire safety considerations into the design and operation of buildings, we create structures that not only enhance the built environment but also contribute significantly to the health, well-being, and security of their occupants. Through meticulous planning, innovative design approaches, and an unwavering commitment to ongoing training and maintenance, we ensure our buildings are safe, sustainable, and enduring spaces for living, working, and thriving.