Lessons we have learned at Mercor Dunamenti’s Fire Protection Conference

Besides attending the lectures, we had the opportunity to discuss special issues and solutions. Key topics of interest, such as the aesthetic appearance of fireproof coatings or the detailed formulation of the item in the BoQ, were accompanied by detailed information on the various fire characteristics required for design.

After the informative presentations, Lajos Gábor Takács, PhD, Head of Department of Building Constructions at Budapest University of Technology and Economics (Faculty of Architecture) outlined the involvement of fire protection design and engineering in all phases of designing and the importance of architects participating in the evaluation of the offers.

The modelling of fire characteristics and the resulting sizing for fire resistance is an inevitable process for the fire protection of steel structures and for economical designing. Fire-retardant penetrations with certified special fire protection building board, as well as a new solution, the use of a deformation-avoiding fire protection sheet in a fire-retardant sandwich panel wall, provided new inspiration for the design. Construction failures and avoidable hazards during the design of fire protective structures were also discussed.

Last but not least, I would like to mention two aspects, which were both important for us, namely, that thanks to high-quality designs, the construction will be cost-effective; and as Dr. Lajos Takács emphasized “engineering work and a good design are the most inexpensive solution of all”.

Author: Diána Hacki, senior architect