Building codes in North America – including the International Building Code (IBC) and National Building Code of Canada (NBC) – require glazing in certain applications to be fire-rated in schools and other public and commercial buildings.
Such is the case with the Durham District School Board’s (DDSB) Brooklin High School, opened in autumn 2015. Serving the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) community of Brooklin, the new 173,200 square foot (16,090 m2) high school includes extensive glazing throughout to provide natural light and visibility for students and staff.
To fulfill code requirements for defending against the spread of deadly flames and smoke in case of a fire, Aerloc Industries (Dundas, Ontario) installed 3,500 square feet (325 m2) of high-performance fire-rated glass ceramic in doors, sidelites, transoms and interior windows throughout the school. One captivating use of the glazing is in a second floor lofted space overlooking a common area. With the clarity of ordinary window glass, the 45-minute rated glazing provides essential life safety while helping to create a welcoming school environment. In addition to fire protection, the multi-functional glass ceramic is also impact safety rated, to help prevent injuries from glass breakage if students run into it – important in a busy school serving 1,125 teenagers in grades 9 to 12.
Fire-rated glass doors provide visibility
For the fire-rated glazing, Aerloc Industries installed two products from Technical Glass Products (TGP): FireLite Plus® and FireLite® NT. Both products are clear and wireless glass ceramics with available fire-ratings ranging from 20 – 180 minutes, and passing both the code required fire test and hose stream test. The two glazing lines are impact safety rated in accordance with ANSI Z97.1 and CPSC 16CFR1201 (Cat. I and II), and are available in large sizes. Such fire-rated glazing provides essential passive protection against fire to supplement fire alarms and automatic sprinklers and automatic fire doors.
The full FireLite family of products is manufactured with TGP’s UltraHD® Technology, a process that improves the color, clarity, and surface quality of fire-rated ceramic glass, resulting in superior aesthetics.
Take a video tour of the new Brooklin High School building, and hear students’ and staffs’ thoughts on the facility: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knyV8Bs2rhM
For more information on the FireLite family of products, view a short video at fireglass.com.
Additional Information
Project: Brooklin High School
Location: Brooklin, Ontario (Greater Toronto Area)
Architect: Moffet & Duncan Architects, Inc.
Glazier: Aerloc Industries
Product: FireLite Plus® and FireLite® NT fire-rated glass ceramic
Technical Glass Products
800.426.0279
800.451.9857 – fax
sales@fireglass.com
www.fireglass.com
Related Stories
| May 22, 2014
Just two years after opening, $60 million high school stadium will close for repairs
The 18,000-seat Eagle Stadium in Allen, Texas, opened in 2012 to much fanfare. But cracks recently began to appear throughout the structure, causing to the school district to close the facility.
| May 20, 2014
Kinetic Architecture: New book explores innovations in active façades
The book, co-authored by Arup's Russell Fortmeyer, illustrates the various ways architects, consultants, and engineers approach energy and comfort by manipulating air, water, and light through the layers of passive and active building envelope systems.
| May 19, 2014
What can architects learn from nature’s 3.8 billion years of experience?
In a new report, HOK and Biomimicry 3.8 partnered to study how lessons from the temperate broadleaf forest biome, which houses many of the world’s largest population centers, can inform the design of the built environment.
| May 15, 2014
'Virtually indestructible': Utah architect applies thin-shell dome concept for safer schools
At $94 a square foot and "virtually indestructible," some school districts in Utah are opting to build concrete dome schools in lieu of traditional structures.
| May 13, 2014
Steven Holl's sculptural Institute for Contemporary Art set to break ground at VCU
The facility will have two entrances—one facing the city of Richmond, Va., the other toward VCU's campus—to serve as a connection between "town and gown."
| May 13, 2014
Universities embrace creative finance strategies
After Moody’s and other credit ratings agencies tightened their standards a few years ago, universities had to become much more disciplined about their financing mechanisms.
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
| May 11, 2014
Final call for entries: 2014 Giants 300 survey
BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 survey forms are due Wednesday, May 21. Survey results will be published in our July 2014 issue. The annual Giants 300 Report ranks the top AEC firms in commercial construction, by revenue.
| May 10, 2014
How your firm can gain an edge on university projects
Top administrators from five major universities describe how they are optimizing value on capital expenditures, financing, and design trends—and how their AEC partners can better serve them and other academic clients.
| May 9, 2014
5 trends transforming higher education
Performance-based funding models and the adoption of advanced technologies like augmented reality for teaching are just a few of the predictions offered by CannonDesign's higher education sector leader, Brad Lukanic.
