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You have filed an application for approval with the supervisory authority and would like to explain to the officials there that your large sun-lit atrium will not pose a safety risk for the people in it?  And you would like to prove that the structure can be realized without the separating fire walls that, while stipulated by the code, are certainly not an aesthetically pleasing alternative?

This is where a computer supported simulation will be able to assist you.  It will show the potential fire in realistic detail, as well as how the smoke generated by such a fire will spread, thus providing you with a “prognosis”.  Methods like this allow us to present evidence that the people in the building are sufficiently safe, and that the architectural design can be realized as originally planned, or only with minor modifications.

A simulation, you say, is only virtual?  You would like to see with your own eyes what will happen in case of a fire in your (planned) building?

The exceptional materials you are intending to use are not eligible for a permit, the law says?  Or are there simply not enough experiential values available, because these materials are entirely new to the market and have never been installed in a building?

Then let’s put them to the test.  Using fire and smoke tests, a potential fire scenario is simulated.  In this way, your questions can be analyzed using a realistic or a downscaled model, and you will have an answer.

The components you are planning to use have not been classified yet?  In other words, you do not know exactly whether the columns or trusses you are planning to use have a fire resistance classification of F 30, F 60 or F 90?  And whether they will comply with the requirements of the construction supervisory authority?

In that case, we will simulate the risks by computer.  We can determine quickly for how long your component will be able to withstand extreme temperatures, whether it would buckle under these conditions or whether it would fail, and if so, how and when it would do so.  This specific information will serve as a basis for your planning, and for your permit application.

Are the authorities telling you that the egress routes you had planned are too narrow?  Or are you concerned that, in the event of a fire, it will not be possible to sufficiently quickly evacuate the large number of people present in the building when it is filled to capacity?  Because not everyone will be able to reach the egress routes quickly and smoothly?

We will bring light into these matters in addressing your questions. 

Using computer supported people flow analyses and evacuation scenarios, we can exactly determine evacuation times, planning individual egress route designs or providing substantiation to the authorities concerning such routes.

In fact, there are even more options available.  Taking account of the various age groups in a building – for example, an events venue – and their different individual walking speeds is one.  We will be happy to assist you.

You would like to know whether your building is subject to a fire risk? 
Or would like to exactly define the potential hazard?

By determining the fire loads, we will be able to realistically assess the hazards given. 

For this purpose, all combustible materials are taken into account that will be located in the building once it is taken into operation.  Each property has a specific mass and what is termed a calorific value.  Using a special calculation method, it is possible to calculate the maximum energy that will be released in the event of a fire.