Healthcare designers have become accustomed to viewing facility planning and fit-out as a moving target, as healthcare technology and its space and connectivity requirements evolve constantly. There is no more vital moving target to contend with, however, than maintenance of life safety during construction and operations. Spurred by well-publicized disasters, the need for carefully planned fire management, infection control, and other “defend in place” protocols has come under the spotlight. The evolution of codes and safety systems has been constant, requiring architects, engineers, and facility owners and maintenance personnel to stay abreast of requirements and involved in best practice implementation. Recently, Healthcare Building Ideas Contributing Editors Richard L. Peck and Shannon Powers-Jones questioned some of those key players on how they're meeting this crucial challenge in healthcare project delivery.
Architect
Todd Gritch, FAIA, FACHA
Principal, HKS, Dallas
As a designer, what is the overall challenge posed to you in meeting life safety requirements?
Healthcare is unique in that we must meet the needs of three distinct populations: families/visitors, patients, and staff. The most critical population is the patient population, who are unable to leave their beds, much less the building. For that reason, the building must employ augmented construction geared toward defense in place. We approach this in two ways: by designing into the building passive and active life safety systems. The passive approach involves improving fire resistance in various ways, such as using non-combustible materials for the structural frame, containing hazards within fire-resistive construction, and compartmentalizing the facility to allow fire-resistive time periods for occupied areas to be protected. You stop a fire by denying it fuel, oxygen, or heat.
