CLIENT – Titan Fire Protection / Onni Group Ltd.
LOCATION – Port Moody, BC
SERVICES – Fire Suppression Design & Engineering
MARKETS – Residential Highrise & Low Rise
Fire Suppression Systems Design Services
Background
The Grande at Suterbook Village consists of 512 residential units on top of a project site that totals approximately 116,000 square feet. One of the largest tower developments in Port Moody at the time of construction, the site includes two 26-storey towers and a six storey wood frame rental building overtop of three large parking levels.
The notable challenges we encountered on this project:
- This project was one of the largest residential developments our team has taken on, it had a condensed design schedule as we were brought on after the issuance of the building permit.
- There is a specific bylaw in Port Moody which this project fell under that required all balconies to be sprinklered regardless of the requirements of the code. This was out of the ordinary as it is not required for non-combustible building construction under NFPA 13 and the BCBC.
- The parking was also an issue as it surpassed the maximum area allowed to be served from a dry sprinkler system.
- As is common with high-rise projects, city water pressure is unable to reach the top of the building.
Our solution:
- A condensed timeline is always a challenge regardless of what project you take on, so we arranged extra manpower to help speed up the design process as well as coordinate with the contractor to avoid delays after design completion.
- The bylaw presented a unique challenge as the chosen windows did not have a space for the sprinklers to attach too, as they can’t mount to glass. We coordinated with the architect and builder to mark-up window drawings, allocating a spandrel panel for both towers on each unit where the sprinkler heads would be installed.
- The large parking size required two dry sprinkler systems to be used for each level. We also included accelerators on the dry valves to ensure the systems tripped within the time allotted by NFPA 13.
- The entire site was provided with a single fire pump capable of serving the standpipe hose valve in the hydraulically most demanding area, per the local codes.
Our Fire Suppression Design and Engineering expertise will get your project done right in Port Moody or across Canada and the United States. Get in touch to request a quote now.