The Bank of Mozambique’s new headquarters in Maputo is using facade and door actuators from SE Controls as part of the building’s extensive fire protection and smoke ventilation system at the US$300 million building.
Designed by Henrique Castro Amaro Architects, construction work on the 87,500 sq.mtr site was started in 2011 by main contractor Teixeira Duarte and the final structure incorporates three buildings, each with a specific function.
The main Torre de Escritorios (Office Tower) building has 29 floors and the second highest has 19 storeys, including 14 floors of car parking, whilst the 6 storey ‘Technical Hub’ houses a range of building services equipment including emergency power generation and transformers.
As the main aims of the project were to modernise the bank’s former headquarters and improve the working conditions for its staff, a key consideration was upgrading the bank’s fire safety system to enable the safe evacuation of personnel, should a fire occur.
To achieve this, the project’s fire engineers, Fireco developed a complete solution that incorporated smoke ventilation systems that protected the main escape routes and staircases from smoke and hot gases, keeping these areas free for evacuation in the event of a fire.
Smoke is vented from the building by the automated facade, which uses 119 SECO N 24 25 chain actuators from SE Controls Africa, which automatically open the vents once triggered by the fire protection system. SE Controls also supplied three further door openers, which automate the opening of three doors, allowing air to enter the building at low level to assist the venting of smoke.
Further information on SE Controls’ products, solutions and projects can be obtained by calling +27 31 466 1857