Open circulation and clear sightlines can create coordination challenges at elevator and stairway openings. Different openings may require different levels of smoke and fire+smoke protection, and those requirements can affect framing, housings, side guides, power, fire alarm interfaces, and surrounding construction.
Deployable smoke and fire+smoke curtains can provide opening protection while remaining concealed during normal building operation. The design challenge is determining what each opening requires, code requirements, and coordinating the appropriate system early enough to avoid conflicts later.
The Agricultural Sciences Building at Bakersfield College shows how that can work in practice.
The three-story, 49,546-square-foot facility includes specialized laboratories, mechanized workshops, and food production spaces. Its design called for open circulation while addressing smoke and fire+smoke protection at elevator and stairway openings.
Two different and effective Smoke Guard® systems were used:
- Six M400 elevator smoke curtains
- Four M2100F vertical fire+smoke opening protective curtains
Different Openings, Different Protection
The elevator openings and stairway openings required different protection applications at Bakersfield College.
At the elevators, M400 smoke curtains were used to provide smoke containment while allowing the openings to remain unobstructed during normal use. The curtains remain concealed until deployment and descend onto the elevator door frames using magnetic seals.
The stairway openings required fire+smoke protection. Four M2100F vertical curtains were incorporated into those locations using compact and concealed housings and vertical side guides.
That difference is because of a specification and code requirement issue. An elevator opening usually requires smoke and draft control, while other openings may require fire endurance in addition to smoke protection. The applicable code requirements, opening configuration, surrounding construction, and required performance all affect system selection.
Coordinating Fire+Smoke Curtains With the Design
Smoke Guard® worked with TETER Architects & Engineers and Colombo Construction Company to integrate the curtain systems into steel-framed openings.
The systems had different installation requirements, which meant the project team needed to account for housing locations, attachment conditions, deployment paths, power, fire alarm interfaces, and surrounding construction as part of the overall design process.
Those details can affect ceiling layouts, framing, elevator entrances, finishes, and access for inspection and service, among other relevant factors.
Addressing them during the design phase gives the team more flexibility than reactively trying to fit a curtain system into an opening after adjacent construction has already been established.
Preserving the Open Design
The Bakersfield College project shows how two opening conditions within the same building can call for different protection strategies. The elevator smoke curtains and vertical fire+smoke curtains were coordinated with their respective openings while maintaining the architectural intent during normal building use.
For architects, identifying the required performance, code requirements, and installation conditions early can make it easier to coordinate housings, framing, power, fire alarm interfaces, and adjacent construction before those decisions are fixed.
Learn more about fire+smoke curtain systems: Smoke Guard
See how Smoke Guard® systems were used at the Bakersfield College Agricultural Sciences Building: Bakersfield College.