Built to accommodate over 80 million passengers a year, Dubai International Airport’s vast Terminal 3 building spans approximately 2 million sq. m and is currently the world’s second largest building.
what was the client looking for?
Built to accommodate over 80 million passengers a year, Dubai International Airport’s vast Terminal 3 building spans approximately 2 million sq. m and is currently the world’s second largest building. As one of the world’s most advanced travel hubs, Dubai International Airport’s key value is their commitment to guarantee that each of its potential 80 million visitors receive a first class travel experience.
To help meet this commitment, Dubai International Airport’s appointed architects, Perkins+Will who fully embraced the concept of modernity to deliver large, open plan concourses, baggage halls and departure lounges across multiple floors. But, ensuring the building’s open plan design and its clear line of sight would call for a modern, non-invasive alternative to bulkheads and upstands to control smoke in a fire situation.
HOW DID WE HELP?
Following a competitive tender, Coopers Fire was awarded the largest scheme of smoke protection works to be conducted in the airport’s Terminal 3 building. This all-encompassing contract included the manufacture, installation and commissioning of the terminal’s active smoke curtains designed to provide smoke compartmentation for the concourses, baggage halls and departure lounges across multiple floors.
The size of the terminal, the open plan architectural designs and the multi-storey layout all called for a fresh approach to guaranteeing smoke compartmentation. A further challenge was to ensure that the smoke curtains seamlessly matched the airport’s unique ceiling configuration and remained hidden from view until deployed by a fire alarm.
Working to meet the airport’s approved fire strategy, Coopers installed almost 1000 SmokeStop™ smoke curtains into the terminal’s ceilings to form a grid network, that when deployed, physically divides the terminal’s vast open spaces into compartments. This strategy effectively provides an approved means of compartmentalising the terminal’s large, open spaces to control smoke from spreading to other parts of the building and endangering life.
BENEFITS
Working to meet a challenging schedule, Coopers committed a dedicated team of engineers and project managers to ensure that every SmokeStop™ smoke curtain and static barrier was manufactured, installed and commissioned successfully before deadline.
Employing a Coopers multi-roller system to meet the terminal’s requirements, the largest SmokeStop™ smoke curtain measured a continuous width of nearly 1/4 kilometre and spanned the concourse to form a major barrier against smoke. Working tirelessly, the Coopers engineering team’s dedication ensured that every SmokeStop™ smoke curtain seamlessly matched the ceilings and remained hidden from views until deployed.