Client: Mark Drury Architects

Location: Hobart, Tasmania

Category: Multi-Residential

Batch House Apartments was a privately funded development on an existing site that was an old storage warehouse in the centre of Hobart and converted into a mixture of 12 two bedroom apartments, each apartment over 3 levels with additional roof level access and a basement multi-vehicle car park.

The project required flexibility with respect to fire protection and detection services due to limited fire escape pathways being available. Majority of residents are to evacuate their apartments via a roof access hatch and await safe removal from Tas Fire Service as part of an approved alternative solution.

Key engineering features of the project included:

• Occupancy sensing for various exhaust and electrical systems control.

• Lighting throughout utilised the latest in LED technology coupled with control systems.

• Public access, carpark and signage lighting installations.

• Multi-installation NBN service.

• General power, data and USB charger outlets design often concealing outlets in decorative recessed, flush mounted floor boxes.

• Individual MATV systems.

• Under tile floor heating and associated controls.

• Heated mirrors in each ensuite.

• Fully integrated access control and video intercom systems allowing remote unlocking/locking of Apartment and Common Area entry doors and gates.

• Natural gas reticulation to each apartment to service hot water cylinders, decorative log fires and cooking appliances. This also included the design of complex decorative gas fire flue ducting to atmosphere having to rise multiple levels through the roof.

• Smoke exhaust/pressurisation systems to AS 1668.1 to allow safe evacuation by residents inclusive of smoke dampers and fire fan control panel.

• Car park exhaust with variable speed drive control to automatically adjust fan speed settings via remote CO and air monitoring sensors.

• Laundry dryer exhausts.

• Kitchen rangehood exhausts.

• Fully sprinklered building to AS 2118.1 and 2118.4.

• Fire detection and occupant warning system to AS 1670.1 utilising multi-sensors to limit spurious alarms within each apartment form cooking mishaps and the like. Coupled with multi sensing fire detectors, each apartment had an alarm acknowledgement facility designed into the systems to allow residents reset an alarm caused by a non-fire event.