Since opening a year ago, 83,000 visitors have viewed the Crystal building’s intelligent building management, security and fire safety controls.
The Crystal is a sustainable cities initiative by Siemens that explores the question of how to improve the cities of the future. It is home to an exhibition focused on urban sustainability, as well as containing corporate offices and a large auditorium. The Crystal comes with Siemens technologies.
Within a few months of opening and having already achieved LEE accreditation, the Crystal was certified as ‘Outstanding’ by BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment), the environmental assessment method and rating system for buildings.
Tony O’Brien head of sales for Siemens Building Technologies Solutions and Security Portfolio says:“The Crystal is predicted to have 72% less co2 emissions than comparable office buildings in UK. Furthermore, Siemens own, intelligence-led and integrated control technologies contribute to the creation of an innovative, safe, secure and comfortable environment. ”
Security and fire detection form an integral part of the building. CCTV, access control and intruder detection provide unobtrusive security and all areas deploy automated fire safety systems. CCTV cameras cover the internal public ‘street’ area, public, staff, entrance doors and back office areas, while Siemens’ access control system, SiPort, monitors who goes where, and when. Smart card readers at all access points mean only authorised personnel can access to specific areas at particular times via a personalised smart card. Alarm detection throughout the building and perimeter alerts staff to any potential intrusion via fences, doors, walls and windows.
Management of the security systems is integrated via graphical user interface and there are plans for out-of-hours remote surveillance from the Siemens control room at the London Borough of Bexley for emergency response.
Tony O’Brien adds: “Our advanced, automated large-scale video surveillance solution offers continuous monitoring and detects, tracks and classifies activity in real time, filtering critical events and identifying threatening situations that may require an operator’s attention. This greatly enhances operator efficiency as incidents can be detected and tracked with precision. The perimeter and sensitive areas are protected by ‘alert’ zones that generate instant alarms from activities such as vehicles or individuals moving into restricted areas. Intelligent video also makes it easier to search and review recorded clips as they are coded by date and time.”
A Siemens Sinteso Fire Safety system and intelligent fire detectors are in use. Each smoke, flame, heat and carbon monoxide detector is configured with a set of parameters for each location, this eliminates the potential for false alarms as the system can differentiate between false fire phenomena such as steam, and a real indicator of fire.
For evacuation in the event of an emergency, the Siemens E100 Voice Alarm system notifies all in the area with sounders and clear voice instructions.
Tony O’Brien adds: “Siemens ability to protect against false alarms is vitally important as it is estimated that the UK economy loses around £1bn per year due to false calls and that a third of all incidents are false alarms from fire detection systems. Furthermore, false alarms affect business continuity, waste resources, damage reputation and may contribute to the downgrade of the fire service response. The advanced technology at the heart of our fire protection systems means we are able to eliminate this concern.”
The Energy Centre sits at the heart of the Crystal and provides a sustainable and highly efficient supply of electrical power, heating and cooling. Siemens’ own Building Energy Management System (BEMS) interacts with all of the building’s components and processes to help achieve cost and energy savings. All mechanical systems are linked to the BEMS including heating, cooling and ventilation through to lights, blinds, sensors that detect occupancy levels and safety features.
About The Crystal
The building also houses the world’s largest future cities exhibition, featuring two film theatres and over 50 interactive screens allowing visitors to explore the cities of the future. Entrance to the Crystal exhibition and Going Underground is free of charge. The exhibition is open from Tuesdays to Sundays from 10am to 5pm. The Crystal Café is open seven days a week from 10am to 5pm.
Fees for corporate hire are available at www.thecrystal.org
