High-rise towers are becoming more common globally. Traditional fire safety codes do not necessarily address specific fire safety concerns for tall and super tall buildings. For projects within the United Kingdom, it is likely to be appropriate to carry out a Qualitative Design Review (QDR) for tall buildings prior to developing the fire safety strategy (typically buildings >50m).
The QDR sets out the scope and objectives of the fire safety design and establishes the performance criteria for proposed solutions. The outcome of the QDR may recommend the application of performance-based design in areas where it is established that the recommendations of standard guidance are not deemed suitable.
This presentation will outline basic guidance applicable for high-rise towers within the United Kingdom, and discuss the situations where designers should consider carrying out and documenting a detailed QDR. During the presentation key steps of such a QDR will be outlined and discussed which may be helpful to any designer applying performance-based design.
The presentation includes possible future trends in the design of fire safety strategies for high-rise towers in the U.K.