The India Building
Based in the centre of Liverpool, The India Building is a 269,000 sq ft commercial building that currently hosts office space as well as an internal shopping centre. A Grade II listed building, The India Building is amid refurbishment. The required work extends across the basement and ground floor to the right upper floors as well as historic arcade and retail spaces.
The India Building
Image Credit: Stephen Craven / India Building, Water Street, Liverpool / CC BY-SA 2.0
Bringing The India Building up to code involved a large number of third-party contractors, electricians and plumbers. When these operatives install wires, pipes and ducts, they often do so through walls, floors and ceiling voids that have been specifically designed as part of a compartmentation strategy. This means that they help to inhibit the spread of flames and smoke throughout a building.
Third-party installations are crucial for services such as plumbing, electricity and broadband. However, if they penetrate compartment walls and floors it can undermine their ability to block flames and smoke. In other words, the smallest gap caused by a ‘service penetration’ can cause fire to spread throughout a building.
CLM Fireproofing was tasked with implementing a fully compliant firestopping strategy throughout The India Building. This included identifying and sealing any service penetrations, as well as firestopping openings and joints between walls and floors.
This particular project posed a unique challenge, in that our team had to manage Category A and Category B installations simultaneously to meet project demands. ‘Category A’ involves the basic finishing of core features such as walls and ceilings.
Usually, the Category B installations would take place afterwards such as lighting, basic facilities and decor. This meant that while we were carrying out essential firestopping, we also had to continually identify and fill new service penetrations from the Category B fittings.
Fortunately, with our years of experience in the fire protection industry, we are well-equipped to overcome challenges of this nature. We are pleased to announce that in the summer of 2021, we will be completing our work on The India Building to the best possible standards of quality and compliance with industry standards.