THE £38 MILLION CONVERSION OF THE FORMER TERRY’S CHOCOLATE FACTORY IN YORK INTO ‘THE RESIDENCE’, A DEVELOPMENT OF 173 LUXURY APARTMENTS, IS USING A SHEVTEC® SMOKE CONTROL SYSTEM FROM LEADING SMOKE AND ENVIRONMENTAL VENTILATION SPECIALIST, SE CONTROLS, TO HELP KEEP RESIDENTS SAFE IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE.
The original 27-acre (109,000 sq.mtr) site opened in 1926, but following its closure in 2005 it was subsequently acquired by Henry Boot Developments in 2013. This included the Grade II listed Art Deco style main chocolate factory that has now been transformed in partnership with specialist heritage developers and contractors, PJ Livesey.
As the 1 - 3 bedroom apartments, together with penthouses, are located over five storeys, it was essential that a smoke ventilation system was installed to comply with building regulations and other key legislation, including BS7346, BS9991.
The system uses staircase ventilation and four smoke shafts to ensure smoke can be vented effectively from escape routes, including corridors, the main lobby and communal spaces, allowing residents to evacuate safely.
At the head of each smoke shaft, a SHEVTEC automatic opening vent (AOV) louvre allows smoke to escape when triggered by the smoke and fire system sensors. A similar approach is used in each stairwell where the end staircases use AOV windows, and central staircases are vented using roof access doors fitted with automatic actuators.
Designed to operate on a floor-by-floor basis, the detection of smoke within any of the protected corridors or lobbies directly triggers the system, which automatically opens smoke doors and AOVs to allow smoke to be removed from the affected area and keep escape routes clear. The system is controlled by a series of SE Controls OSLoop smoke vent zone controllers together with OSLoop Co-ordinators and alarm monitoring modules, dedicated to each smoke shaft.
Tamper proof manual control points (MCPs) on every floor allow the system to remain active with the head of shaft and head of stair vents staying open until fire service personnel reset the activated floor via the MCP. A full back up battery system is also incorporated to ensure that it can operate, even in the event of a power failure.
Further information on SE Controls’ products, solutions and projects can be obtained online from www.secontrols.com, by emailing sales@secontrols.com or calling +44 (0) 1543 443060.
