The new £311m HOCLAS Project (Home Office Central London Accommodation Strategy) has been fitted with FP600, the new fire resistant power cable from Pirelli.
Electrical project manager, Peter Edwards of Shepherd Engineering Services (SES), explains why Pirelli’s brand new cable was used: “We chose FP600 for ease of installation, robustness, resistance to potential damage from exposure to site conditions and the installation benefits it provides over conventional MICC. It also met the approval requirements of the District Surveyor at the City of Westminster.
“Installing FP600 is significantly easier and quicker compared to MICC methods. Benefits on cost, time, and the speed and quality of installation have been achieved by utilising various products from across the Pirelli portfolio such as FP200 Gold, FP400 and FP600 to suit differing fire resistant cable applications.”
The HOCLAS development, consisting of three buildings linked at Lower Ground level and by bridge walkways at upper levels, will provide the Home Office with workspace complete with security, recreational and storage facilities inclusive of car parking at the Lower Ground Level. Each building also has a central atrium.
Pirelli has supplied its new FP600 cable, which is being installed from the life safety switchboard on the roof level of building C, via electrical risers and within the floor void serving equipment within Buildings A, B & C, for life safety supplies such as fire fighting lifts.
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“In addition, continues Edwards, we are using Pirelli FP200Gold and FP Plus for the fire detection systems, fire and disabled refuge phones and all voice alarm systems. FP400 cables 70mm² and over have been installed for sub-mains cables serving smoke ventilation, sprinkler pumps and essential services.”
Gordon McKinnon, marketing manager for Pirelli Cables said: “FP600 was developed to satisfy the more onerous requirements for essential service cables now required by UK regulators. Greater demands are consistently put on materials as fire safety engineering concepts are used in ever more complex building projects.”
PFI Contractor Bouygues UK and Building Services Consultants Flack + Kurtz (UK) Ltd encouraged the use of innovative products where they could be shown to provide life cycle benefits and were instrumental with the selection of Pirelli cables. The offices were completed in November 2004.