Architectural Support & Engineering

Our architectural support helps ensuring building designs comply with all fire and life safety codes while preserving your creative vision. We help design teams integrate safety and compliance from the start:

• Code Compliance: Ensuring that the building design adheres to local, state, and national safety codes and regulations.
• Fire Safety Design: Incorporating features like fire-resistant materials, proper egress routes, and smoke control systems into the architectural plans.
• Accessibility: Designing buildings to be accessible to all individuals, including those with disabilities, in compliance with ADA guidelines.
• Plan Review: Assessing architectural plans to identify potential life safety issues and recommending improvements.
• Stakeholders Coordination: Working with fire marshals, authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs), and other stakeholders to ensure that designs meet all safety requirements.

Our fire and life safety engineers develop sophisticated systems that protect occupants while supporting architectural objectives. We focus on creating integrated solutions where all building systems work cohesively to maximize safety and performance.

Key engineering capabilities include:

• Fire Protection Engineering: Designing and implementing fire detection, alarm, and suppression systems to effectively manage fire risks.
• Structural Integrity: Ensuring that the building’s structure can withstand fire and other emergencies, preventing collapse and ensuring safe evacuation.
• Mechanical and Electrical Systems: Integrating systems like HVAC, electrical, and plumbing to support life safety measures, such as smoke control and emergency lighting.
• Risk Assessment: Conducting thorough evaluations of potential hazards and vulnerabilities within the building and its systems.
• System Integration: Ensuring all Life Safety systems (fire alarms, sprinklers, emergency exits, etc.) are properly integrated and function cohesively

When standard building code solutions don't align with your project's unique requirements, our performance-based design approach delivers innovative, engineered solutions that meet safety intent while enabling creative freedom.

We utilize advanced modeling techniques including:

• Engineered Life Safety System (ELSS) development Read our blog
• Smoke control rational analysis and system design
• Fire and smoke modeling for complex scenarios
• Egress modeling optimizing occupant evacuation
• Performance-based structural fire engineering
• Alternative methods and equivalency development