Structural Fire Engineering for Modern Building Design-Case Study

Structural fire engineering (SFE) is a growing field of performance-based design where the required level of fire resistance, amount and location of fire protection material ("fire proofing") and structural detailing can be specifically tailored based on the response of the actual structure under realistic fire scenarios. While current practice in the United States is primarily prescriptive in nature, structural fire engineering is finding increased application as modern building design is becoming more complex and our understanding and ability to assess the response of structures in fire has increased significantly over the past 20 years. This paper presents a case study in the U.S. where several performance based structural fire engineering analyses were conducted. The case study demonstrates how structural fire engineering, using either simple or advanced forms of analysis, can bring value in a design framework. Specifically, the SFE analyses allowed for cost effective yet intrinsically more robust designs to be achieved in the commercial domain while, at the same time, allowed for the unique architectural features to be realized. The added values may not have been identified or possible in a traditional, prescriptive approach.