Fire safety design and documentation

Building fire safety design starts with how the building will be used

A residential building, an office and a production hall raise different fire safety design questions. We first establish what will happen in the building, who will use it and what changes the client is preparing. The relationships between rooms, storage arrangements, circulation routes and opportunities for future expansion together shape the task.

The fire safety designer connects these requirements to the architectural and specialist designs. We review the relationships between evacuation, limiting fire spread, structural arrangements and fixed systems. Early coordination allows alternatives to be compared, such as a different layout or circulation connection. Detailed design can then proceed from an agreed basis.

Fire safety concepts, permit and detailed design documentation

At concept stage, we clarify decisions affecting the building as a whole and establish the direction for further design. Fire safety documentation for the permit stage describes the arrangement selected at that point. Detailed design involves developing it further and coordinating the information needed for construction; it is more than a reissue of the same description.

The fire safety technical description explains the proposed solutions in writing. Drawings and calculations supplement the design package according to the task. We therefore define a commission by more than a document title: we identify the design stage, the affected part of the building, the deliverables and the coordination involved. This gives the client and the design team a shared understanding of what the completed package will provide.

Fire safety documentation for alterations to an existing building

For an extension or change of use, we review previous drawings alongside the current use and proposed work. An old document alone does not establish what was actually built. We identify the information that can form the design basis and any matters requiring site confirmation or further records.

Altering a tenant’s premises and refurbishing an entire building involve different scopes of work. The affected area may connect to shared circulation routes, escape routes or existing systems. Distinguishing the parts that will change from those that will remain helps define the boundaries of the task. If assessing an arrangement calls for a separate fire safety expert review, we also agree the question that review will address and its scope.

Working with the fire safety engineer and the wider design team

Fire safety design decisions appear in the documents of several disciplines. We clarify who develops each detail, what information they need and which drawing revision is being discussed. A layout change may affect evacuation; a mechanical design change may affect smoke and heat exhaust arrangements. We define the scope of any related system design or simulation as a separate task.

You can contact our Budapest office while your project is still being prepared. In the quote request, describe its purpose and current stage; technical details that are not yet known can be discussed later. If you need BIM coordination, several design stages or phased deliveries, it is helpful to identify these requirements at the outset.