The £150 million HMP Oakwood in
Staffordshire is using advanced smoke and natural ventilation solutions from SE Controls to not only improve safety in the event of a fire, but also save
energy at the prison, which has achieved a BREEAM excellent rating.
Located on a 50 acre site adjacent
to the existing Featherstone Prison near Wolverhampton, HMP Oakwood was
designed by architects Pick Everard and comprises of 17 buildings including a
healthcare unit, first night unit and training centre alongside three ‘star’
shaped secure accommodation blocks, each providing 480 places.
Designed and developed by WSP Group
with additional specialised input from SE Controls, the combined smoke and
natural ventilation system was tailored to meet the specific criteria and
configurations of the individual buildings to ensure they not only complied
with the relevant natural ventilation standards, but also met strict smoke
ventilation performance specifications.
In addition, all of the components,
systems and solutions provided by SE Controls were fully CE certified and
complied with the relevant European standards including EN12101 and BS9999.
The complexity of the smoke and
natural ventilation system varied depending on the size and nature of the seven
individual buildings, ranging from a relatively straightforward installation
within the healthcare block, to the complex multi-zoned solution used in the
each of the main accommodation blocks, which would need to allow the safe
evacuation of more than 500 people in the event of a fire.
Each four-storey accommodation
block is designed with five ‘arms’ radiating from a centre access core, with
four of the five providing accommodation and the last one dedicated to housing services
to the building.
In natural ventilation mode, AOVs
and roof actuators open to allow stale hot air to escape, with fresh air being
drawn in through automatic glazed vents at the gable end of each prisoner wing,
which operate as two separate zones serving the lower two and upper two floors.
Air intake is also provided through additional glazed vents in the curtain wall
screens on the centre core between the wings.
When smoke ventilation is required,
the system provides both natural and mechanical smoke ventilation to ensure the
smoke can be vented quickly and effectively to keep corridors and communal
areas clear to aid evacuation. In the event of a fire, natural smoke
ventilation is provided by the core’s glazed vents with the addition of ducted
dampers, while mechanical smoke extraction is handled by high level louvres
together with duty and standby fan sets located at the end of each
accommodation wing.
To enable the natural and smoke
ventilation systems to monitor the air quality and operate effectively, SE
Controls supplied and installed a 32 zone BMS and fire alarm interface panel
for each accommodation block together with all necessary actuators, vents and
over-ride switches as well as smoke extract fan starter systems and pressure
monitoring.
SE Controls’ Commercial Director,
Martin Oates, explained: “We have undertaken a number of smoke and natural
ventilation projects within the prison sector and they each have their own
specific demands. The distinctive design of the accommodation blocks at HMP
Oakwood not only provide a secure custodial solution, but also enabled us to
create a highly effective natural ventilation systems that improves safety and
evacuation in the event of a fire.”
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.
