A new 1000 seat multi purpose
entertainment and sports centre at Holy Rosary School in Johannesburg is using
precision automatic window actuators and control systems from SE Controls, to
provide effective smoke ventilation in the event of a fire.
Bishop Shanahan Hall is the latest
addition to the Catholic day school, which was founded in 1940 and provides private
primary and high school education for girls from Grade R to 12 in a range of
subjects including languages, mathematics and sciences.
Designed by Dual Design Architects
and built by JTSON Construction, the extensive new hall was conceived as a multi-use
building that could stage, formal events, indoor sports, competitions, student
dances and entertainment, as the school had outgrown its existing facilities,
which could no longer accommodate large audience functions.
While Bishop Shanahan Hall provides
the highest standard of staging and equipment for events, safety for students,
performers and the audience is also at the core of the building’s design,
particularly if a fire should occur. The smoke ventilation solution formed part
of the rationale behind the overall fire system design, which was prepared by
Building Code Consultants (BCC).
To ensure the various escape routes
are kept smoke free and assist evacuation, windows in the building are
automatically actuated by SE Controls’ compact SECO N 24 40 - 800mm stroke
chain actuators, which are fire safety tested to the internationally recognised
EN12101-2: Annex G standard.
In addition to the 12 SECO N 24 40 actuators, supplied by SE Controls’ South African operation, which has offices
in Durban and Johannesburg, specialist contractor Robertson Ventilation
Industries (RVI), installed and commissioned four manual control point (MCP)
fireman’s override switches together with 2 x OS2 Type 23 controls panels to
control the MCPs and actuators while also linking them to the school’s fire
safety system.
Russell Cramb of SE Controls Africa
explained: “In addition to providing an effective smoke control solution, our
actuators were also specified for this project as the architects wanted them to
be almost silent and virtually invisible. To comply with this, each SECO N 24
40 unit was powder coated to match the window frame colour, while the low
profile design of the actuator body enabled them to be sill mounted to keep
them out of sight.”
SE Controls specialises in the
design, project management and installation of advanced smoke ventilation and
natural ventilation solutions to meet the needs of architects, contractors,
building services engineers and facilities managers worldwide. Further information
on SE Controls’ products, solutions and projects can be obtained by visiting
www.secontrols.com or calling
+44 (0) 1543 443060.
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