The inaugural National Fire and Civil Emergency Preparedness Council (NFEC) Fire Safety Design Excellence Awards 2011 has recognised Arup’s outstanding work on Marina Bay Sands.
A key challenge was the safe evacuation of large populations in the event of a fire given the sheer size of this 15.5ha development and high volume of human traffic across multiple basement levels, high-rise towers and underwater tunnels.
Drawing on global best practice, Arup was able to integrate the various elements of human behaviour, design, operations and maintenance into a comprehensive site-wide fire strategy for this US$5.7bn integrated resort. The use of a comprehensive range of fire evacuation modelling and analyses meant that we could effectively calculate the safe evacuation time across a large range of fire scenarios and this greatly influenced the fire safety design and systems required for the entire development.
“"Marina Bay Sands is the most complex fire engineering project that we've worked on anywhere in the world. We are honoured to have received such a prestigious award, as it is a clear recognition of the quality of our work and the high level of public safety we have achieved for this unique development."
- André Lovatt, Arup's fire engineering and office leader for Singapore
Arup's fire engineering solutions have supported Marina Bay Sands' vision to house Asia's largest ballroom on the topmost floor of its convention centre and, among others, to host hundreds of people at its 200m-high SkyPark while allowing visitors and guests to evacuate safely in the event of a fire. One example is the innovative use of natural ventilation for smoke management within the five-storey retail arcade. Smoke vents were cleverly integrated into the roof terrace and this proved to be more efficient than mechanical systems in enabling smoke to escape.
The awards, jointly organised by NFEC and the Singapore Civil Defence Force as part of the three-day Fire Safety Asia Conference in Singapore (12-14 October 2011), were given out to recognise individuals and organisations for their contribution towards achieving a high standard in fire safety design in Singapore.
A total of 12 projects were shortlisted for this year’s awards. In addition to Marina Bay Sands, Arup was also recognised for its innovative fire engineering solutions for School of the Arts, Marina Bay Financial Centre and Orchard Central.