Everlearn Childcare Centre, NSW

Sector

Education

Location

Lane Cove, NSW

The Everlearn Childcare Centre is a proposed new childcare facility located at 49 Little Street, Lane Cove. The development includes the construction of a childcare centre alongside associated parking areas on a sloping site.

The project aims to provide a safe and modern early learning environment while ensuring compliance with fire safety regulations. Given the site conditions, the carparking area will not be entirely underground from the eastern side, influencing the overall fire safety considerations.

Key challenges:

Protection of Openings in External Walls: Openings along the northern boundary are within 3 metres of a fire source feature, requiring additional fire protection measures.
Number of Exits in the Carparking Area: The carpark is divided by an operable gate, limiting exit options outside of operational hours, creating a non-compliance issue.
Travel Distances to an Exit: During non-operational hours, when only a single exit is available, the travel distance exceeds the allowable limit of 20 metres, reaching 30.05 metres.

Key solutions:

Heat Attenuation Screens: To mitigate the fire risk posed by openings near the fire source feature, heat attenuation screens will be installed to ensure compliance with the Building Code of Australia (BCA).
Performance-Based Justification for Exit Strategy: A performance solution will be developed to justify the single exit provision in the carpark during non-operational hours while ensuring adequate safety measures.
Optimised Fire Engineering Approach for Travel Distances: A fire engineering solution will be implemented to address the excessive travel distance to exits, ensuring safety compliance without requiring major reconfigurations.

Key outcomes:

Achieved Compliance Through Performance Solutions: The fire safety design has been tailored to meet the BCA requirements despite deviations from Deemed-to-Satisfy provisions.
Maintained Functional and Operational Efficiency: Fire safety measures were integrated without significant alterations to the overall site layout.
Ensured Safety Without Impacting Usability: Solutions such as heat attenuation screens and optimised exit strategies balance safety requirements with user accessibility.

The Everlearn Childcare Centre sets a high standard in fire safety design for early education facilities. Through the implementation of performance-based fire engineering solutions, the project successfully addresses regulatory challenges while ensuring a safe and functional environment for children and staff. This development stands as a model for balancing compliance, design, and usability within the education sector.

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