Fire engineering and emergency ventilation heritage upgrades

NSW Parliament House Emergency Ventilation Compliance

The original heritage listed building on Macquarie Street—NSW Parliament House—was built as a public hospital in 1816. Parliamentary chambers were added in 1842, and since then many modifications and improvements have been made. The most significant modification was the construction of the 12-storey office block facing the Domain. When the ventilation, fire, and emergency services needed to be modified to reach code compliance, we were brought in to upgrade the systems.

The building services had been developed to suit the heritage structure and surfaces. In addition to the non-standard building layout, the central plant is located below ground and also serves the state library and the Sydney Eye Hospital on each side of Parliament House. Our mechanical, electrical, and fire engineers upgraded the smoke compartments and smoke exhaust systems, all safety services, sprinklers, and the mechanical and electrical systems.

This integrated design was tailored to the demands of the heritage building and layout, requiring a number of non-standard approaches, including a detailed fire engineering strategy to satisfy Building Code of Australia (BCA) Performance Requirements. With this redesign in place, one of Sydney’s oldest buildings can continue to operate and serve.