Visit to a shopping mall project code#

Depending on the size of the freestanding store, very little fire protection and life safety features or systems, such as fire alarm detection and notification or automatic sprinklers, are required by current U.S.

Visit to a shopping mall project code#

Strip malls also require submetering there can be code and cost allocations involved.Р”В¬appuccio: The needs of the freestanding store and those stores located in a strip or indoor mall differ in several ways. Lane: Strip malls can be designed with some diversity considerations of the net loading for multiple stores. These include a safe environment for occupants and limiting property damage. Olsavsky: Retail spaces in a shopping center or enclosed mall have a greater potential to benefit from shared central monitoring and evaluation (M/E) systems, though apportionment of costs requires proper attention to detail in design.Р”В®vans: As structures increase in size, the fire-related concerns increase accordingly. Storage areas have also become a challenge with regard to identifying the appropriate sprinkler hazard and correct design.Р”В¬SE: How do the concerns of a freestanding retail store differ from those of stores in a strip mall or mall complex? Olsavsky: The basic needs of the retail environment havenРІР‚в„ўt changed dramatically, though the average square footage of retail stores has increased with the continued prevalence of big-box retailers.Р”В¬appuccio: The increased amount of interior displays of hanging clothing, and reduced aisle widths due to shelved items, have caused difficulties in properly devising egress paths. High-quality designs are required to achieve both. Lane: Owners of retail stores are expecting higher quality lighting and system flexibility, but do not expect to pay a premium for these systems. Olsavsky: Retail stores require engineered systems that accommodate highly variable conditions of occupancy well and are highly efficient yet are very cost-effective.Р”В¬SE: How have the needs and characteristics of retail stores changed in recent years? The new technologies available, especially in the area of LED lighting, have increased the choices for lighting designers and allowed for quality, more efficient lighting. Green Building Council LEED projects) can be a challenge. With the ever-tightening energy codes and reduction of exceptions, providing good lighting and meeting or exceeding energy codes (in the case of U.S. Keith Lane: Lighting, especially in high-end stores, plays a major role in the design. From a fire protection standpoint, malls are the most complicated retail structures they require zoned sprinklers, smoke-control systems, secondary power supplies, fire-resistive compartmentalization, and a fire alarm system sufficiently complicated to provide the required communication between active systems. Big-box stores frequently require specialized sprinklers to protect the rack storage areas. This typically includes oxidizing materials, such as chlorine, as well as flammable and combustible liquids. Some retail stores stock products that are regulated as hazardous materials. Firewalls, also known as maximum foreseeable loss walls, are common in strip malls to limit increased fire-resistive construction aspects of contiguous structures. In addition to sprinklers, this may include increasing fire-resistive construction, egress systems, and the complexity of the fire alarm system.

As structures increase in height and size, the complexity increases accordingly. Evans: The most common active fire protection system required for retail stores is automatic sprinklers. Current building and life safety codes attempt to address these concerns, and having experience with these code stipulations can assist with developing layouts that meet consensus standards.Р”Вouglas H.

Often the fronts of stores have configurations that funnel occupants through check-out counters, which also can inhibit egress. Often, back-of-house doors are provided with delayed locking mechanisms to prevent theft, which can slow exiting. Cappuccio: From a fire protection viewpoint, egress may be one of the more challenging aspects to retail occupancies.