Consulting-Specifying Engineer - January 2009 - (Page 26) The Palmer House renovation project Thor Equities LLC added quite a bit during The Palmer House renovation project: • New interior protected exit stairs • Removal of fire escapes and restoration of the State Street façade • Addition of 250-car underground valet parking • Lobby bar and world-class restaurant • Increased retail space from 50,000 to 150,000 sq ft • Enlarged fitness center • Improvements in meeting rooms • Improvements in entrance/exit doors and corridors on the street level • Improvements in the water supply risers that feed the automatic sprinkler systems • High-rise fire detection and alarm systems. The restoration included the removal of fire escapes near the main entrance, which faces Chicago’s State Street. The building was originally designed by Holabird & Roche. All photos: Thor Equities Renovation of the Red Lacquer Room, one of the hotel’s main meeting rooms, included the addition of fire-rated separations to provide horizontal exits. This enhances public safety for both able-bodied and disabled occupants by providing separation and areas of refuge. Each of the guest rooms now has notification speakers, which were installed in a 2004 renovation. All systems are in full compliance with the Chicago Building Code. system in full compliance with the Chicago Building Code. The fire alarm replacement project proceeded in parallel with Thor’s renovation project and covers all of the hotel and retail areas. The system it replaced originally had been designed and installed by Hilton as a voluntary life safety system in accordance with national standards because the City of Chicago had no retroactive code requirement for such a system at that time. The first phase of the system was completed in 1985, including automatic fire detection in corridors and common spaces, voice and tone notification through speakers in corridors and common areas, and a firefighter two-way telephone communication system in major stairways. That system was extended to monitor the automatic sprinkler systems that were completed in 1987. In time, Chicago enacted an ordinance that required fire detection and alarm systems in existing high-rise hotels. Hilton applied for and obtained the city’s approval of the existing system—with certain changes to more closely conform to Chicago practice—in 1997. Single-station smoke alarms had been installed in guest rooms in 1982 and remain the method used for early warning to guests of the presence of a fire in the individual guest rooms and suites. By 2003, the fire alarm system control equipment was becoming difficult to maintain due to decreasing availability of parts and electronic subassemblies. The decision to replace the alarm system was made in 2004 and included a major life safety improvement—the addition of notification speakers in every guest room. Hilton awarded the contract in 2005 and coordinated it to coincide with Thor’s renovation project. The timing of contract awards presented a challenge to the fire alarm system designers and contractors. The fire alarm replacement project had been planned and bid based on the property configuration before the Thor acquisition. The system design and installation had to be revised to respond to the new configuration of the Thor renovation project, yet the renovation design and installation commenced after the fire alarm system replacement was already in progress. The challenge was met by close coordination among the designers and 26 Consulting-Specifying Engineer • JANUARY 2009
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