Featured Project
Project: Eastside Communications Center, Bellevue, Washington City Hall
Architect: SRG Partnership
Products: Pilkington Pyrostop® & FireFrames® Heat Barrier Series
Eastside 911 Communications Center
Bellevue, Washington City Hall
Of all the services provided by local governments, one of the most critical is emergency dispatch through the 911 call system. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, lives and property depend on a safe, secure and reliable dispatch system. Ensuring that 911 operators and specialized call center equipment are protected in the face of community emergencies is paramount – and presents a special challenge for architects who design their workspaces. Add windows to dispatch centers and the challenge increases dramatically.
When the City of Bellevue, Washington opened its new city hall, it wanted to create a civic space that would become a key part of the life of the community. The new, centralized Eastside 911 Communications Center located in the building was no exception. Rather than placing the communications center in a bunker, plans called for a seventh-floor location, including interior windows to provide visibility to a public viewing area.
The open configuration of the call center provided the architects – Seattle-based SRG Partnership – with some unique challenges. Code requirements specify that emergency communication facilities that share a building used for other purposes must have a two-hour fire rating and that any window accessible to the public must also have a level III bullet resistance rating (capable of stopping a .44 magnum bullet). Finding glazing that meets both fire and security needs can be a challenge.
To meet the dual code requirements, SRG Partnership chose Pilkington Pyrostop™ glass and FireFrames® Heat Barrier frames, available from Technical Glass Products (TGP). The installed Pyrostop provides a two-hour fire resistance rating, creating a barrier to flames and smoke. In addition, it is able to block heat transfer, so if a fire is raging on one side of the glass, it would still be cool enough to touch on the other. This property provides critical protection to call center staff and heat-sensitive equipment. Pyrostop also meets the requirement for level III bullet-resistance. Unlike many other ballistic-rated glass products that use plastic, Pyrostop glass is non-flammable and does not create additional flames and smoke. For applications requiring extra security, Pyrostop can be combined with other glazing materials to achieve up to a Level VIII bullet-resistance rating (7.62mm rifle).
Duncan Thieme, architect with SRG Partnership, says that the TGP products “were the best of several options we evaluated” for meeting the unique requirements of the mission-critical communications center. Adds Jerry Razwick, president of TGP, “Pyrostop and FireFrames are popular in many civic and public buildings, including schools, offices, shopping malls and any other place where both fire and impact resistance are needed.”
The Eastside 911 Communications Center serves several suburban communities in the Seattle area, with a combined population of 700,000 people. Each year it handles about 350,000 calls. In addition to lending the communications center a more open look and feel, Pyrostop glass and FireFrames Heat Barrier frames help keep the center safe.
For more information on Pilkington Pyrostop and Heat Barrier Series FireFrames, along with TGP's other specialty glass and framing, visit Technical Glass Products online at www.fireglass.com.