As part of a project to regenerate the Venetian suburb of Mestre, HTM Hybrid Tower has undergone redevelopment. The project was supported by Hochiki Italia, the Italian arm of the life safety systems manufacturer, Hochiki.
HTM Hybrid Tower is the tallest building in the Venice metropolitan area, at 84 metres tall. The redevelopment of the tower, previously used by an Italian transport firm, cost 18 million euros. The 19 floors of the HTM Hybrid Tower have commercial offices, a beauty centre and residential and retail, plus dining and garage spaces. Comin Impianti srl, a local civil and industrial systems installer, was selected to specify for the building.
The installers chose to specify Hochiki fire detection systems which would suit each of the areas within the tower. Working with Comin Impianti srl, Hochiki Italia identified a need to use solutions that could be networked with one another via multiple control panels, programmed in a way so that each device is inter-connected. A system had to be capable of identifying issues and reasons for alarm, to give building occupants as much warning as possible.
Hochiki Italia specified products from the Enhanced Systems Protocol (ESP) range. The collection of intelligent, addressable fire detection and alarm equipment offers HTM Tower performance and reliability, with an enhanced open protocol, giving building owners control of their systems, the product firm said.
Over 180 ALN-EN smoke detectors and ten ACC-EN multi-sensors were installed around the tower. The devices can all be controlled from eight panels networked so that, in instances where there is cause for alarm and/or evacuation, only affected zones will be notified. Hochiki’s devices offer both visual and audio alerts, which can be individually managed so only one operates in a given zone when needed, reducing the need for a full building evacuation for minor incidents.
Ezio Danese, Project Manager at Hochiki Italia noted: “Mixed use sites like the HTM Hybrid Tower require a range of complex devices. As well as solutions that offer unrivalled reliability, it is essential to use products that can be networked to suit specific environmental considerations. A restaurant kitchen will require very different levels of monitoring compared to a garage space, and these variables need to be monitored and controlled. The Hochiki ESP range allows building owners to do just that, giving them a control system that can be tailored to ensure optimum performance.”
Angelo Comin, owner of Comin Impianti srl said: “The HTM Hybrid Tower is a contemporary, hybrid project, where multiple functional levels co-exist. Protecting such a complex structure from the risk of fire was a challenge. However, the fact that Hochiki systems are able to communicate on the network was a key element in the specification process. It is also an added benefit that the solution’s audio and visual capabilities can be managed separately which helps avoid unnecessary panic in case of a false alarm.”
Hochiki systems are now installed and fully operational throughout the occupied floors. Visit: www.hochikieurope.com/esp.
