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
| Apr 8, 2014
Science, engineering find common ground on the Northeastern University campus [slideshow]
The new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building is designed to maximize potential of serendipitous meetings between researchers.
| Apr 2, 2014
8 tips for avoiding thermal bridges in window applications
Aligning thermal breaks and applying air barriers are among the top design and installation tricks recommended by building enclosure experts.
| Mar 26, 2014
Callison launches sustainable design tool with 84 proven strategies
Hybrid ventilation, nighttime cooling, and fuel cell technology are among the dozens of sustainable design techniques profiled by Callison on its new website, Matrix.Callison.com.
| Mar 20, 2014
Common EIFS failures, and how to prevent them
Poor workmanship, impact damage, building movement, and incompatible or unsound substrate are among the major culprits of EIFS problems.
| Mar 19, 2014
Frames: the biggest value engineering tip
In every aspect of a metal building, you can tweak the cost by adjusting the finish, panel thickness, and panel profile. These changes might make a few percentage points difference in the cost. Change the framing and you have the opportunity to affect 10-20 percent savings to the metal building portion of the project.
| Mar 17, 2014
Rem Koolhaas explains China's plans for its 'ghost cities'
China's goal, according to Koolhaas, is to de-incentivize migration into already overcrowded cities.
| Mar 12, 2014
14 new ideas for doors and door hardware
From a high-tech classroom lockdown system to an impact-resistant wide-stile door line, BD+C editors present a collection of door and door hardware innovations.
| Mar 7, 2014
Thom Mayne's high-tech Emerson College LA campus opens in Hollywood [slideshow]
The $85 million, 10-story vertical campus takes the shape of a massive, shimmering aircraft hangar, housing a sculptural, glass-and-aluminum base building.
| Mar 7, 2014
Chicago's 7 most threatened buildings: Guyon Hotel, Jeffrey Theater make the list
The 2014 edition of Preservation Chicago's annual Chicago's 7 list includes an L station house, public school, theater, manufacturing district, power house, and hotel.
| Mar 4, 2014
If there’s no ‘STEM crisis,’ why build more STEM schools?
Before you get your shorts in a knot, I have nothing against science, technology, engineering, or even mathematics; to the contrary, I love all four “STEM” disciplines (I’m lying about the math). But I question whether we need to be building K-12 schools that overly emphasize or are totally devoted to STEM.
