When Australian Exploration Company Oil Search considered the fitout of their prestigious Sydney head office, a modern open plan environment featured high on their brief.
Occupying several floors of the city’s Bligh Street Tower, the famous circular design is reflected throughout the building with the focal point centering on the spiral stairwells.
When Australian Exploration Company Oil Search considered the fitout of their prestigious Sydney head office, a modern open plan environment featured high on their brief. Occupying several floors of the city’s Bligh Street Tower, the famous circular design is reflected throughout the building with the focal point cantering on the spiral stairwells.
Oil Search wanted to connect all three floors, fully utilise the inter-tenancy stairwell whilst amplifying the floor to ceiling glass windows to give uninterrupted views of Sydney. Key to achieving this was the need to comply with stringent building and fire regulations with the major challenge being the need to prevent the central inter-tenancy spiral stairwells from channelling smoke and heat throughout the building in the event of a fire. The final challenge was to meet the projects four month deadline.
The appointend architect, KANNFINCH approached Coopers to develop a solution that would allow them to remove the glazing, replacing it with a fire curtain system that would ensure compliance with building regulations and protect people from the harmful effects of fire.
Coopers investment in advancing fire and smoke curtain barrier technology led to the launch of the ground breaking FireMaster® Concertina™ fire curtain. As the Concertina™ is not governed by side guide channels and columns; the system is flexible to configure to fit squares, faceted curves and multi-sided shapes.
However, meeting Oil Search’s brief required Coopers to engineer, install and commission the world’s first circular fire curtain within the stipulated deadline, a challenge that Coopers engineering and development team were equal to.
The modular construction of the Concertina™ helped Coopers to deliver, install and commission the unique fire curtain within the four month deadline but importantly, Coopers ensured that the building met the fire engineered solution whilst helping Oil Search to achieve a uniformed open plan design across all three of their floors.
The Concertina™ is approved as a 2 Hour fire curtain and is designed to remain hidden within a ceiling void, deploying to enclose the staircase and form a protective barrier against fire, providing occupants’ time to evacuate by means of the fire escape.
Furthermore, the Patented SLAT™ system ensures that the fire curtain’s bottom plate seamlessly blends with the ceiling, ensuring that the design aesthetics aren’t compromised.
As the Concertina™ emits the need for side channels, supporting post and steel works, Oil Search have achieved a stunning open plan office that offers uninterrupted views of Sydney Harbour.
