The Movement Toward Intrinsically Fire-Safe, Rationally Optimized Structures

Structural systems that have been optimized for ambient design loads are later blanketed with fireproofing. In these cases, project stakeholders may be left wondering if the intended structural fire safety is provided, and if resources were rationally employed. In response to new building constructi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:CTBUH journal 2022-01 (3), p.46-49
Main Authors: LaMalva, Kevin, Askarinejad, Reyman, Lay, Simon, Mendis, Priyan, Nguyen, Kate, Gernay, Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Building construction
Carbon footprint
Construction
Construction costs
Cost control
Critical path
Design
Design optimization
Designers
Fire protection
Fire safety
Fire safety requirements
Fireproofing
Loads (forces)
Quality control
Structural engineering
Thermal analysis
Trends
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Summary:Structural systems that have been optimized for ambient design loads are later blanketed with fireproofing. In these cases, project stakeholders may be left wondering if the intended structural fire safety is provided, and if resources were rationally employed. In response to new building construction trends, designers have increasingly sought an alternative to this traditional approach. Encouragingly, structural fire engineering involves the explicit design of structural systems to adequately endure thermal load effects from uncontrolled fires, is gaining influence. It can be employed to accelerate construction, as well as improve aesthetics, carbon footprint, quality control, site conditions, and life-cycle maintenance of buildings, by shifting a building's reliance on fireproofing toward the intrinsic structural system strength. Accordingly, the emergence of structural fire engineering will likely change the way that project stakeholders view the optimization of a structure.
ISSN:1946-1194