- Author
- Bukowski, R. W. | Nuzzolese, V.
- Title
- Performance-Based Fire Protection of Historical Structures.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy
- Journal
- Fire Technology, Vol. 45, No. 1/1st Quarter, 23-42, March 2009
- Keywords
- historic buildings | fire protection | regulations | performance based design | fire safety | fire models | fire hazard analysis | fire resistance | building codes | fire load | escape means | fire detection | fire suppression | wooden structures | steel structures | smoke control | ventilation | occupants | egress
- Identifiers
- Performance-Based Regulatory Systems (PBRS); special needs of unique buildings; protect often-irreplaceable buildings and their contents; preserve the significant historical or cultural aspects of the building; restoration design of a historic theater in Bari, Italy; performance versus prescriptive; historical preservation; NFPA 914; fire precautions during construction, repair and renovation; "Teatro comunale Niccolò Piccinni" in Bari (in the south of Italy); theater was studied in detail in all its parts: structural, decorative and functional; reduce the total fire load by dividing the Theater into different compartments; computer control equipment
- Abstract
- Performance-based regulatory Systems (PBRS) are being implemented in many countries, replacing the traditional prescriptive systems. These PBRS are especially attractive for addressing in a rational way the special needs of unique buildings, and there are no more unique buildings than those of historical or cultural significance. Thus, performance approaches are well suited to finding the balance between the need to protect often-irreplaceable buildings and their contents and the desire to preserve the significant historical or cultural aspects of the building. In this article the authors will discuss some important considerations in using performance approaches in the development of a fire protection strategy for historical structures and will cite examples of how this was done in a recent restoration design of a historic theater in Bari, Italy.