1.0 Introduction

Publika is an upscale neighbourhood shopping mall located in Solaris

Dutamas, Sri Hartamas; it is a sprawling up-and-coming residential

development. Aimed at a young expatriate clientele, the creative and artsy

complex has a number of high-end clothing boutiques, novelty stores and

F&B venues.

It has a very modern look with steel and glass art pieces hanging from the

ceiling, a skylight that lets in plenty of natural light, geometric, wire benches

and small stores with high-quality merchandise. The mall also plays host to a

variety of entertainment offerings such as art galleries (like Galeri Chandan

and Segaris Art Centre on the fourth floor), a park, several spas (such as

Hammam Spa on the fourth floor) and more.

Figure 1: The Publika, source from http://honeydewpoint.blogspot.com/2013/01/swine-cafe-publika-boulevard.html

Figure 2: The map shows the location of Publika, souce from

https://movementinspired.wordpress.com/tag/publika/

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2.0 Ventilation

Ventilation is the process where the air in the space undergoes circulation,

replacement, or purification to make the condition of the space more

favorable. It will provide the adequate fresh air by extracting and/or supplying

of air into the space and distributes it evenly. Ventilation helps to remove

unpleasant smells and excessive moisture and heat in order to fulfill the

comfort of building occupants. There are normally two different types of

ventilation systems running in a building such as natural ventilation and

mechanical ventilation.

2.1 Natural Ventilation

Natural ventilation is the ventilation that requires no help from the mechanical

system. As so, it is the most energy efficient ventilation system, and it uses

only the natural forces like wind and thermal buoyancy. Therefore, natural

ventilation will need the special and specific design features for the building in

order to ensure that it runs effectively by driving the air in and out from the

particular building.

Figure 3: The natural ventilation in a building. Source from (Craig, 2012)

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2.2 Mechanical Ventilation

Mechanical ventilation involves the use of mechanical system such as fans

and air-conditioning. These systems are installed in the building to supply air

into, or exhaust air from the building itself (Atkinson, Chartier & Pessoa-Silva,

2009).

2.2.1 Fans

Fan is one of the mechanical ventilation systems. It provides the motive for air

movement by imparting static energy and kinetic energy. There are few

factors that will affect its capacity for the air movement, for instance, the type

of fan, the size and shape, the number of blade and the speed of the fan.

There are four main types of fan, such as:

1. Cross-flow or tangential fan

2. Propeller fan

3. Axial flow fan

4. Centrifugal fan

2.2.2 Air-conditioning

Air-conditioner is the second type of mechanical ventilation systems, which it

is used to alter temperature of the air within the building to provide a more

comfortable condition for the occupants. It removes the thermal energy from a

low-temperature region and transfers heat to a high-temperature region via a

medium or refrigerant like gas or liquid. There are 3 common types of air-

conditioning systems used nowadays such as the unitary system, package

system and centralized system.

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2.2.2.1 Unitary system

The unitary air-conditioning (UAC) consists of the window unit and also the

split unit and it is predominantly used for households or small spaces due to

its small to medium cooling load. The window unit is called single package

system, which all the components are integrated into a comprehensive unit.

This makes the window unit the cheapest type of air conditioners and thus it is

commonly used. Whereas, the split unit is designed as two separate parts,

which are located indoor and outdoor respectively. The compressor,

condenser and expansion valve are placed at the outdoor while the

evaporator, cooling coil and cooling fan are the indoor parts. Besides, the

unitary system is one of the most energy efficiency systems as it saves

energy due to its small cooling load and thus saves money on the electricity

bills.

2.2.2.2 Package System

Package system carries a greater cooling load compared to the unitary

system. Therefore, this system is fitted to cool more than two rooms or a

larger space in a building (Khemani, 2013) like restaurants and small halls. In

this system, the evaporator, condenser and compressor are all placed and

packaged in an enclosed cabinet and it is normally located on top the roof.

Figure 5: The Split Unit System, Source

from ( LG LA090HYV Ductless Air

Conditioning, 2015)

Figure 4: The Single Package System,

Source from (Protoniner, 2008)

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Furthermore, the package system is designed into three different types of unit

in order to fit into the spaces with different conditions, and there are the self-

contained unit, air-cooled unit and water-cooled unit. The self-contained unit is

similar to the window unit but with a greater cooling load.

While, the air-cooled unit comprises of two parts, which are the indoor unit

and outdoor unit. The indoor unit consists of the fan and evaporator coil and

the outdoor unit will include the compressor, condenser and expansion valve.

Both these units are connected by the insulated refrigerant pipes and the

outdoor unit will normally be placed at the open space like roof in order to

allow the refrigeration system cooled by the atmospheric air.

The water-

cooled unit

requires the water

Figure 6: The components in the outdoor unit,

source from (Khemani, 2013)

Figure 7: How air-cooled unit runs in a house,

source from (Khemani, 2013)

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to be supplied continuously in order to run the system (Khemani, 2013). In this

system, the condenser is cooled by the water and thus a cooling tower is

needed outside the building to cool the hot water down. Moreover, the

compressor and condenser are located at the bottom of this unit and followed

by evaporator and cooling coil. While, the air-handling unit is placed above the

cooling coil and it consists of the centrifugal blower and air filter. And, the

centrifugal blower is used to cool the rooms as it has the capacity to handle

large amount of air needed (Khemani, 2013).

2.2.2.3 Centralized System

The centralized system is usually integrated with the design of new building

and it is not suitable to be installed in the existing building. This system is fit to

be used in the large building such as hotels, theaters, airports, hospitals and

shopping malls, which have multiple floors and a lot of rooms. This system

can cool the whole building at once and it is more economically viable

compared to a building, which is fixed with window units and split units in each

Figure 8: The components in the water-cooled

unit, source from (Khemani, 2013)

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and every room (Osman, 2013). Beside that, a large plant room is needed to

place the large compressor, condenser, thermostatic expansion valve and

evaporator. In this system, the water is first chilled by the refrigerant in the

chilled water plant and then is delivered to all the rooms via the ducting

systems (Khemani, 2009). “Furthermore, the volume of chilled air that is

required by each room is depends on the designs of openings and ducting

systems and there are no individual cooling coils and/or other parts of the

refrigeration system in the rooms” (Khemani, 2009).

Figure 9: The water

chiller, source from

(Khemani, 2009)

Figure 10: The

centralized system in

a building, source from

(Khemani, 2009)

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2.3 Diffusers

The diffuser is also one of the most important parts in the air-conditioning

system as it delivers the conditioning air to the particular rooms. It comes with

different patterns and shapes and it is designed to control the characteristics

of the distribution of chilled air. Different types of diffusers are used at different

places in order to suit the volume of air distributing needed and the direction

of airflow. Besides, the diffusers are used to ensure the chilled air is evenly

distributed to all the corners in the room. There are 8 types of diffusers that

are commonly used in the industry, such as: -

- Perforated-face diffuser

- Cone diffuser

- Multi-direction diffuser

- Swirl diffuser

- Linear diffuser

- Nozzles diffuser

- Floor outlet diffuser

- Side-wall inlet diffuser

2.4 Zoning & Control

Zoning is part of the air-conditioning system and it plays a vital role in the

system. It is a process where a house or building is divided into separate

zones with different cooling needs. Zoning will provide the occupants with

more control over the cooling and heating system by permitting the individual

control of temperature in each of the zones in order to fit the individual comfort

needs of each zones. In this case, there are four types of controls involve in

the zoning such as: -

- Single zone constant volume

- Multi zone constant volume

- Single zone variable air volume (SZ-VAV)

- Multi zone variable air volume (MZ-VAV)

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2.5 The application of air-conditioning system in Publika

2.5.1 Centralized System

As we know there are different types of Air-conditioning systems such as the

Unitary System, Package System etc. In Publika the type of air conditioning

system used is the Centralized System, which was directly in corporated in

the buildings design.

A centralized air con system are those in which the cooling water is generated

in a chiller at one base location and distributed to Air Handling units located

through out the entire building spaces.

A centralized system basically has few sub systems within it. These are

namely:

Chilled water plant

Condenser water system

Air-delivery system

The chilled water system supplies chilled water for the cooling needs of all

the building’s AHUs. Condenser water system absorbs the heat from indoor

space and rejects it to water in the cooling tower. Air-delivery system is a

system that has air intake, filters it to remove particles and supplies it through

supply ducts.

Figure 11: A centralized system consisting of a cooling tower on the roof, a

water chiller system and piping for warm and cool air, source from

http://tabengineers.com/experimental/verification-of-air-changes-zone-

pressurization/

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2.5.2 Water Chiller System

A reservoir holds a water and glycol mixture that is circulated

throughout the building through pipes. Inside each room, there are

air handlers, which work in the same way as traditional air

conditioning. The cold water is run over cooling coils inside the air

handler and a fan blows the air from the room over the coils.

Water returns from air handler to the reservoirs and if the water

temperature reaches a certain level, the chiller turns on and runs the

water and cools it to the appropriate temperature. In PUBLIKA one

of the maintenance employees informed us that in a day, the water

chilled uses about 600,000 Liters of water.

2.5.3 Multi Zone Variable Air Volume System

In large buildings the Air condition systems must meet different needs of

different spaces. Different zones of a building have different heating and

cooling needs. Looking at PUBLIKA and knowing it has more than 10 AHUs,

the building must definitely be separated in different zones.

A Multi Zone Variable Air Volume (VAV) is most suitable for this large

building. A multi zone system was designed to meet varying needs of different

zones. It has a different air supply duct to each zone in abuilding. There is a

heating and cooling coil in the central Air handling Unit and both coils are in

operation at the same time. As seen in the figure 12 below heating and

cooling occur at the same time. The supply air to each zone is mixed to a

temperature somewhere in between hot and the cold supply air.

VAV systems were developed to be more energy efficient and meet different

cooling and heating needs of different building zones. They are easy to install

and to operate. Ducts provide cooling to the zones. The thermostats control

amount of air delivered to each zone through dampers. These dampers are

the ones that differentiate the volume of air to each zone according to the

cooling needs.

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In PUBLIKA, not all the rooms and spaces are of the same size. Depending

on the size of the shops and spaces, different areas will have different cooling

needs. This means that the amount of air supplied to one room cannot

necessarily be the same as the air supplied to another room. Some rooms will

require more air supply due to big area and some will require small air supply.

Figure 12: A Multi zone system with a heating and cooling coil and

mixing damper to mix the warm and cool air before supplying to the

zones, source from http://www.achrnews.com/articles/98592-variable-

air-volume-systems

Figure 13: A simple VAV system where there is a fan after the cooling

coil to provide variable air to a certain zone, source from

http://www.achrnews.com/articles/98592-variable-air-volume-systems

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2.5.4 Diffusers

Diffusers are used as a part of a room’s air distribution system. In PUBLIKA

there are few types of diffusers used in different areas throughout the entire

building.

Along the PUBLIKA walkways there are two types of air conditioning diffusers

used, these are namely Cone diffusers and Linear diffusers. The circular

cones used supply air evenly in a horizontal and vertical direction. On the

other hand the Linear diffusers the direction of discharged air can be adapted

to the space conditions. In PUBLIKA they are seen to be used near the

elevator area to avoid interference with ceiling pattern.

Inside the shops, main type of diffuser used is the Box-shaped cone diffuser,

which supply air in a vertical and horizontal direction. In the shops as seen in

the pictures, some shops have the diffusers covered up with a perforated

ceiling for a more attractive and decorative look, but other shops prefer to

leave them hanging without any cover. This allows you to see the ducting

from the AHU connecting to the diffuser directly.

Figure 14,15 & 16: The diffusers available in Publika. They are Cone diffusers

and Linear diffusers. Source from the photos taken on site.

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In other open areas inside PUBLIKA, such as along the walls facing the

escalators as seen in the figure 19, there are cone diffusers mounted on the

walls to ensure constant supply of air. This is to ensure that all spaces receive

a certain amount of cool air to keep the comfort level steady.

2.5.5 Ducting

Ducting is used in heating, ventilation and air conditioning. It can be made out

of Galvanized steel, Aluminium, fabric ducting etc.

Figure 17 & 18: The types of diffusers used in the shops. Source from the

photos taken on site.

Figure 19: The cone diffusers are mounted on wall.

Source from the photos taken on site.

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In PUBLIKA, the ducting system is not so clear and cannot be determined

through observing with just bare eyes. As seen in Figure 20, the ducting

material used cannot be identified as it is covered with Asbestos Paper duct

wrap. The asbestos is used as an insulator for the ducting work to prevent

heat loss.

3.0 Vertical Transportation

The various means of travelling between floors in a building are described by

vertical transportation. During designing buildings with more than one story

vertical transportation must be considered in order to ensure all occupants of

Figure 20: The ducting, Source from the photos taken

on site.

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the building can go from one floor to another and escape safety in the event of

fire. Base on a limit to how far people are willing to walk up stairs, using

elevator is desirable for buildings with more than four stories. Another option

is escalator, which is very suitable for transporting high volume of population

such as airports and shopping malls, however it is not recommended for high-

rise building due to taking a lot of space.

3.1 Elevator

An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves

people or goods between floors of a building. There are many factors about

elevator that are important in designing a building vertical transportation such

as number of elevator and their arrangement, round trip time, flow rate,

interval, lift travel, lift speed and lift performance. Basically there are two types

of elevators including electric and hydraulic.

Electric elevators are most widely used and use cable to lift the car and

movement is depending on the electrical power. Electric elevator is vertical

transporting equipment for serving two or more landing levels for both

passengers and goods. This type of elevator runs partially between rigid guide

Figure 21: Hydraulic elevator components, source from: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7qsom__S7K0/T5FLR8bt1TI/AAAAAAAABzg/8DYtorr9r6c/s1600/hydralic+elevator+components4. JPG

Figure 22: Electric elevator components, source from: http://www.mitsubishielectric.com/elevator/overview/elevators/str_eqp02.html

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rail vertically or vertical by less than 15°. This system includes control system,

electric motor, sheave, and counterweight and guide rails. Electric elevators

are either gear drive or gearless drive.

In hydraulic elevators there is a piston at the bottom of the elevator to push

the elevator up as electric motor forces oil or another hydraulic fluid into the

piston to support the elevator. The elevator descends as a valve releases the

fluid from the piston. Longer cylinders are required due to impractical for very

high lift hoist ways, but they are cheaper compare to electric elevators. This

type of elevator is suitable for low-rise building with stories between 2 to 8

with maximum speed of 200 feet per minute. There are three types of

hydraulic elevator, conventional, holeless and ropes.

3.2 Escalator

Escalators are mechanized moving stairways that allow movement of high

volume of people quickly and efficiently between floors of a building. It is

mostly used in public places such as department stores, exhibition halls, air

terminals and railway stations.

Figure 23 & 24: Escalators in Publika shopping mall for vertical

transportation, source from pictures captured on site

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Escalators are often installed in pairs, with an up escalator and a down

escalator adjacent to each other, while a single escalator mat be changed to

go up or down according to the direction of heavier traffic at different times of

the day. Arrangement of escalators is the most important factor in designing

vertical transportation system in buildings with high volume of population

movement. The arrangements of escalators are either one way traffic (single

bank with traffic in one direction or interrupted traffic in one direction) or two

ways traffic (parallel or criss cross).

Escalator main components:

1. Electric Control

2. Drive

3. Main Shaft

4. Handrail Drive

5. Balustrade

6. Main Truss

7. Steps

8. Step Chains

9. Handrail Compensation

10.Chain Tensioning Device

11.Comb Plates

12.Handrail Return

Figure 25: Escalator components, source from: http://www.robsonforensic.com/articles/escalator-

anatomy-expert-diagram-to-assist-in-forensic-discussions

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3.3 Application of vertical transportation in Publika

Publika shopping mall is a modern construction that every detail has been

considered perfectly in the building and vertical transportation system has

been designed base on the needs of occupants and users. However there are

some weaknesses and points that could be improved. This shopping mall has

five different levels and provides vertical transportation by electric elevators

and escalators with different types of arrangements.

3.3.1 Elevator

The type of elevator used in Publika for vertical transportation is electric, as

expected, which is most widely used. There are ten different elevator

locations each with three adjacent elevators, which one of them is fire

elevator, designed for users comfort. The arrangement of these ten locations

is very well organized so it can provide users least distance to the elevators.

All of the elevators are distributed in the plan of Publika shopping mall give

vertical transportation to users from every floor including parking. The

elevators in this shopping mall can stop in every floor level transportable by

elevator and there is no limitation for reducing number of stops during busy

hours. Each elevator car has the capacity of 15 people. The passenger

transfer time is 2 seconds and the door closing time is 3 seconds.

Figure 26: Electric elevators located in Publika shopping

mall for vertical transportation, source from pictures

captured on site

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3.3.2 Escalator

In shopping malls like Publika escalators and their arrangement is very

important. There are many different escalator locations different base on the

level in Publika that includes both one way and two way traffics escalator.

Basically escalators used in this shopping mall are divided into two types.

First, those escalators within the shopping mall for one floor to another without

connection to parking space. The arrangement for these escalators is either

single bank with traffic in one direction or single bank with interrupted traffic in

one direction. The second type of escalators base on our division are those

that connect shopping mall to parking space. The second arrangement used

for escalator is parallel two-way traffic, which is suitable for heavy traffic flow.

All the escalators in Publika are equipped with sensors which stops escalators

when no one is using them which helps in energy saving.

Figure 27: Plan view of Publika, red circles show location of elevators, source from pictures

captured on site

Figure 28, 29 & 30: Escalators arrangement in Publika, from left to right: single bank with interrupted traffic

in one direction, single bank with traffic in one direction and parallel two way traffic. Source from pictures

captured on site.

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3.4 Recommendation

Publika shopping mall has been designed perfectly in every details and it is

the same with designing vertical transportation system. However after

analyzing publika, there are some recommendations for this building to

improve the vertical transportation system.

3.4.1 Elevator

The first recommendation for vertical transportation system and specifically

elevator is using hydraulic elevator instead of electric elevator. And the

second recommendation is that like escalator system, elevators could be

dividing into 2 categories, the first, the car only stops at first three floors and

the second, the car that stops at last two floors.

Justification: For buildings with up to five floors, the cost effectiveness of

hydraulic elevators is virtually unbeatable. Furthermore, there are many

advantages such as simple and economical assembly, low-maintenance drive

technology, more safety, less noise and ease of design for Architects. The

second recommendation reduces number of stops and avoids busyness of

elevators in pick hours.

3.4.2 Escalator

The recommendation for the escalators in Publika shopping mall is that

number of escalators could be reduced, as there are too many escalators in

this building; however the plan is a bit messy about the location of the

escalators.

Justification: As location for escalators used in publika are a bit messy and

there are too many number of them, a well-organized plan could reduce the

number of escalators and integrate them into specific locations that bring

convenience for users and in addition save in energy. There is confusion for

users about the level they are due to using escalator, which justifies

weakness in designing escalators and vertical transportation.

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4.0 Fire Protection System

Fire protection is the study and practice of mitigating the unwanted effects of

potentially destructive fires in a building. There are 3 factors to start a fire,

which are fuel, oxygen and heat. Fire protection system consists of two

methods, which are passive and active. The passive fire protection method

means integral component of the structural fire protection in a building. The

function is to contain fire or slow the spread of the fire. Examples of the

component are fire-resistant walls and floors. The second method is called

active method. This method requires mechanical, electric or electronic

activation. The examples are fire alarms and detectors.

4.1 The components of Fire Protection System

4.1.1 Fire Extinguisher

There are few systems in a fire protection system. The first system is fire

extinguisher. Fire extinguisher is intended for initial outbreak of fire. Usually,

this item will be located close to the proximity of fire hazard. The location of

this item shall be not more than 20 meter from a potential fire hazard. It must

be easily spotted so that people can see it easily.

4.1.2 External Fire Hydrant

Next, is external fire hydrant. Every building shall be served at least 1 hydrant

located 91.5 meter from the nearest point of fire brigade access. The system

of pipework is connected directly to the water supply. The hydrant outlet must

not be lesser than 6m from the building. The next system is hose reel. The

function of hose reel is for occupants to use during early stage of fire. This

item must be in a position where it can be used without exposing user to

danger from fire. Usually the normal place for this item is at the staircase.

4.1.3 Dry Riser

The next item is dry riser. It is an internal fire hydrant for firemen. It is a

straight vertical pipe fixed to the highest point in a building. This system

consists of few components, which are landing valve and breaching inlet. The

breaching inlet is usually installed at the bottom of the riser in a metal box.

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4.1.4 Wet Riser

The next item is wet riser. This system is similar to dry riser but this riser is

constantly filled with water. The system works when air release valve

automatically opens to release air and closes when riser is full of water.

4.1.5 Sprinkler System

The following system is sprinkler system. The function of this system is to

detect, control, extinguishes fire and warn the occupants when there’s fire.

Sprinkle system means automatic fire system, which uses a range of

designed pipework. It is fixed inside a building and uses water as a fire-

fighting agent. The basic components of this system are pipework, sprinkler

head, control valve, pumps and water storage tank. The sprinkler pump’s

function is to draw water form the storage tank to feed the sprinkler network.

There are two sets of pump, which are duty and standby. There are few steps

for the sprinkler system to work. The typical sprinkler head consist of a plug

held by a glass bulb filled with glycerin-based liquid that expands when

heated. This liquid is designed to expand and break the tube at certain

temperature. The plug is then forced out by the pressurized water behind it.

The water will continue to flow until the main valve is shut off.

4.1.6 Automatic Co2 System

Last but not least, automatic co2 system. The purpose is to protect electrical

equipment.

4.2 The Fire Detection System

The fire protection system is designed to provide warning of fire and to allow

appropriate fire fighting. Each fire alarm system are designed to meet the

requirement of every building.

There are two types of protection, which are life protection and property

protection. Life protection provides for the protection of life, safety of

occupants and caters detection of fire. The purpose is to initiate the alarm and

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provide sufficient time for occupants to escape. Property protection is about

providing the protection of property. The purpose of this protection is to

indicate the location of fire within the premise.

4.2.1 Manual Call Point

There is one important device for occupants, which is manual call point.

Manual call point is a device, which enables personal to raise an alarm in an

event of fire by pressing a fangible element to activate it.

4.2.2 Smoke Detector

One of the elements for fire protection system is fire detection system. There

are few types of fire detection system. The first one is smoke detector.

Obviously the system/s function is to detect smoke. This system is used for

open are under flat horizontal ceiling. The number of detectors should not be

less than one in 100 meter square. There are 2 types of smoke detector which

are ionized smoke detector and light scattering detector. Ionized smoke

detector works by ionizing air by radiation. When the smoke enters the

chamber, it will automatically reduce the current and eventually affect the

alarm. Light scattering detector works when smoke enters the unit. The light is

scattered by reflection of the smoke to fall on a photoelectric cell which

energies the alarm.

4.2.3 Heat Detector

The second detector is heat detector. Usually, bi-metal coil detector is used.

This system uses electrical connection. When there’s heat the bi-metallic strip

will move upward thus opens the electric circuit. The last detection system is

laser beam detector. This system is an economic solution to provision fire

detection in large areas. Obscuration caused by heat & smoke deflects the

beam to deenergies the receiving cell which activates the alarm.

4.3 Voice communication System

The next element for fire protection system is voice communication system.

There shall be two separate communication system for large and high-rise

buildings.

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4.4 Escape Route Pressurization

Next, the escape route which uses pressurization. The function is to keep

protected escaped route of a building clear of smoke. This system introduces

sufficient fresh air to maintain a positive pressure. After a fire is detected the

power supply to floor will be shut down. Then, smoke extract system will be in

operation on the floor that is on fire. The voice communications will instruct

occupants to evacuate the building as soon as they can. This happens for the

first three minutes after fire is detected.

4.5 Compartments

The next element is compartments. For high-rise building, architect will design

it by sub dividing the building into compartments. For terrace or semi-d

building the architect will design it by division between adjoining building.

Fireman lift is very important in a fire protection system. It shall be served at

all floors and shall be located within a separately protected shaft.

4.6 Material for Fire Safety

There are few materials that is used for fire safety. The first one is concrete.

Reinforced concrete will be the main resistant if it covers the vulnerable steel.

Timber is capable of being damage in an occasion of fire. Charring will act as

an insulation shield.

Based on the facts given about fire protection system. All the construction

industry workers know that fire is really dangerous for occupants. Providing

the best fire protection system in a building is a must in a construction of a

building.

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4.7 The application of fire protection system in Publika

Publika is a three story shopping mall located somewhere in Dutamas. It is a

well-designed shopping mall with good fire protection system. There are few

aspects in a fire protection system that will be discussed.

The first one is fire extinguisher. The fire extinguisher that is in Publika is an

Eversafe Fire Extinguisher with ABC powder and weights about 9kg. It is

located neatly in a small room next to the exit.

The second one is external fire hydrant. In this building we found out that the

fire hydrant is yellow in color and is located 5 meters from entrance and 3

meter from excess road. It is spaced around 80m from another fire hydrant.

Figure 31: The small room for fire extinguisher, Source : Photo taken from site

Figure 32: The fire extinguisher, Source : photo taken from site

Figure 33: The distance from entrance to external fire hydrant, Source : Photo taken from site

Figure 34: The fire hydrant, Source : Photo taken from site

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Next, is hose reel. In Publika, the hose reel is also located in a small room

with a hose reel sticker on the door. It is the same room as the fire

extinguisher. This is for occupants to use it without exposing them to danger

from fire. There are 8 rooms in each floor which means 24 small rooms for

hose reel in total.

The next one is the sprinkler system. The sprinkler system looks pretty

decent. The tank is located in another building, which is really close to

Publika. The distance between the sprinkler head is around 2 to 3 meters.

There are even sprinkler heads under the escalator.

Figure 35: Hose reel, Source : Photo taken from site

Figure 36: Hose reel, Source ; Photo taken from site

Figure 37: Sprinkler head, Source : Photo taken from site

Figure 38: Sprinkler head under escalator, Source : Photo taken from site

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Next is manual call point. In Publika, this item is red in color and is really easy

to spot. It is located near the exit next to the small room or the hose reel room.

It is a high technology system.

The next system is the smoke detector system. In this building, the type of the

smoke detector is light scattering detector. It is located in open area under the

flat horizontal ceiling. When smoke enters the unit, the light is scattered by

reflection of the smoke. Next, the heat detector used is a brand of EST and

the point of each heat detector are 4 meters.

Next is voice communication system.

The phone is located at the staircase

area in every 2 floor. The

communication room is located

somewhere in the basement.

Figure 39: Manual call point, Source : Photo taken from site

Figure 40: Manual call point location, Source : Photo taken from site

Figure 41: Light scattering detector, Source : Photo taken from site

Figure 42: EST heat detector ,Source : Photo taken from site

Figure 43: Communication phone, Source : Photo taken from site

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The following system is the passive fire protection. All of the exits are decent.

Publika provides six escape route on each floor and the exit sign can clearly

be seen. The tread of the staircase is also more than 225m and the dimension

is consistent.

The fire compartmentation of Publika is only located at the basement. The

opening length is around 6 meters and the height is around 3 to 4 meters. The

fire compartmentation’s wall is red in color and the material of the wall is

concrete. The compartentation wall is located around the escalator. This will

help prevent the fire from spreading upwards and also near the area. There is

also an emergency door for the occupants to use.

Figure 44: Exit sign, Source : Photo taken from site

Figure 45: Exit sign from distance, Source : Photo taken from site

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Figure 46: Fire compartmentation wall, Source : Photo taken from site

Figure 47: Compartmentation wall near escalator , Source : Photo taken from site

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The last part is material for fire safety. In publika, the material used is

concrete, steel and also timber. There is a lot of steelwork for column and it is

painted nicely for appearance. There’s a bit of timber covering on the wall, this

will slow down the fire from destroying the concrete. Publika is a well

designed building with a good fire protection system. The architecture of the

exterior and interior of the building is amazing.

4.8 Recommendation

4.8.1 Fire hydrant

Figure 48: Publika Shopping Mall, Source : Photo taken from site

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The external fire hydrant is located 5 meters away from the entrance of

Pubilka and 3 meters away from the access road and the distance to the other

fire hydrant is around 80m. There are valet parking provided for the ‘VIP’

customer and because the parking spot is limited, they allowed the customer

to park at the single yellow line nearby to the fire hydrant, which is restricted

to gain more profit especially during the nighttime. As there are a lot of pubs

and bars around Publika, the place will crowded with a lot of people. The

problem is, the space of the road is not wide enough and because of ‘VIP’

customer sake to save their time finding parking without thinking the of the

‘safety first’ despite it is actually for only one car to pass by. As a result, if

some of the shop got fire, the fire engine is unable to access to the road and

the cars might blocking the way to use the fire hydrant although the people

will drive off their car immediately but still will drag the time for the rescue and

causing high damages and unexpected injuries. I strongly recommend that

they should not provide any illegal valet parking nearby the fire hydrant.

4.8.2 Compartments

The compartments in Pubilka is only located at certain area. Based on the

observation, the compartments is only located at the Lower Ground floor. As

there are a lot of shops in Publika, once the shops that located at above

ground floor caught fire, the fire might spread easily due to lack of

compartments on above ground level. Furthermore, there are a lot of

restaurants and kitchens on the Lower Ground floor that will increase the

percentage of catching fire easily. According to Uniform Building by Law

137(1), in any building not exceeding 30 meters in height, any floor, which is

more than 9 meters above ground level, which separates one storey from

another storey, other than a floor, which is either within a maisonette, or a

mezzanine floor shall be constructed as a compartment floor. I strongly

recommend that they should construct two or more compartments on every

floor to prevent the spreading of fire.

4.8.3 Wet Riser System

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Based on the observation, Publika is using wet riser system. From the data

collection from the main office in Publika, they mentioned that the water tank

is located at the other building. This is to say that it needs longer time to pump

the water to the sprinkler to splash out if the building is on fire. According to

Uniform Building by Law 231(2), the wet riser systems shall be designed and

installed in accordance with M.S. 1489 such that all parts of the floor are

within 45 meters from a landing valve. I strongly recommend that Publika

should have their own riser tank in their own building.

5.0 Electrical Supply

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The design of electrical systems can be as simple as a flashlight cell

connected through two wires to a light bulb or as involved as the space

shuttle. Electrical systems are groups of electrical components connected to

carry out some operation. For example, an electric power system is one kind

of network that supplies power to housing areas and industry, this power

system is known as the grid and the system works by divided into the

generators that supply the power, the transmission system that carries the

power from the generators to the load centres and the distribution system that

distributes the power to area like nearby housing areas and industries.

5.1 TNB Substation

There are many components under electrical supply of our site, Publika. The

power transmitted from power plant to the TNB sub-station. The substations

change voltage from high to low, or the opposite, or perform any of a few

other critical capacities. TNB provides the electric supply for our site, Publika.

Inside the substation may include transformer to change voltage levels

between high transmission voltages and lower distribution voltages, or at the

interconnection of two different transmission voltages. Due to some

permission issues, we can’t enter to get more detail information.

However, inside the substation, transformer is an electrical device that

transfers electrical energy between two or more circuits

through electromagnetic induction Commonly, transformers are used to

increase or decrease the voltages of alternating current in electric power

applications. For example, power stations in Malaysia produce high currents

electricity. High currents electricity transmission would encounter a large

resistance in the transmission wire and will cause a lot of its energy loss as

heat.

5.2 Main switchboards

Then, the power will then transmitted to the main switchboards of the building

as our site, Publika. This switchboard is the part that directly supplied by the

main source of electrical power and intended to distribute electrical energy to

the unit’s services. However Publika has some precautions for installation of

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main switchboards. For example, install main switchboards on a raised

platform. The place that the main switchboards installed must have good

ventilation, illumination and affected by minimum vibration. Besides that, no

water or oil pipes should pass above main switchboards.

5.3 TNB meters

In publika, those TNB meters are located in the electric rooms, which normally

not allow outsiders to enter. These meters can be used as standby meters

incase if theres any problem happens to the meter they using, so TNB still can

get accurate usage of electricity used by the Publika.

5,4 Distribution Panel

Then the power will be transmitted to the distribution panel which also known

as a fuse box, is a component of an electricity supply system which is a

smaller panel board that has the similar function with the main switch board

that divides an electrical power feed into subsidiary circuits, while providing a

protective fuse or circuit breaker for each circuit in a common enclosure.

Distribution panels also known as an assembly point of switches and circuit

protection devices which serves final distribution point to the building. Each

distribution panels in Publika consisting of the meter and an incoming supply

differential circuit breaker, which includes an overcurrent trip. This circuit

breaker is freely accessible to the consumer. The distribution panel

consisting of one enclosure which used as opening for the panel, service

connection which contain incoming supply circuit breaker, overcurrent

protection and isolation, protection against direct and indirect contact and

protection against fire, remote control: switches and energy management.

The distribution panels in Publika are installed and mounted on the wall of

electric rooms.

5.5 Branch circuit

After that, branch circuit is the part of an electric wiring system that extends

from any set of outlets as far back as the fuse box, supplying and protecting

them. It consists of the conductors between the final overcurrent protection

device and outlets like the receptacle outlets, lighting outlets, or other outlets.

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The branch circuit wire system used in Publika called multi-wire branch

circuits. Multi-wire branch circuits will be circuits that have more than one

ungrounded channel sharing a typical grounded transmitter. These circuits are

extremely helpful in that they utilize less material, bring about a lower circuit

voltage drop, and at last result in expense funds. There’s one precaution while

installing multi-wire branch circuit conductors that make sure they are

originate from the same panel board or distribution equipment to prevent

inductive heating and reduce conductor impedance for fault currents.

5.6 Application of electricity supply in Publika

According to the information provided by the management stuffs of Publika,

Publika is a big shopping mall which have a much higher electrical load than

the smaller buildings. Therefore, the electrical required is more and much

compare to those smaller buildings. So, Publika purchase electricity at high

rate of voltages because it comes at a cheaper rate. The electricity came from

the transformer outside the mall then transmitted to main switch boards. As

the explanation above, the role of the main switch boards is to distribute

electricity safely and efficiently to the services throughout the building. The

main switch boards have different types of safety features and one of the

important safety feature is circuit breaker which is an automatically operated

electrical switch designed to protect the circuit from damage caused by

overload or short circuit. The function of the circuit breaker is to detect a fault

condition and interrupt current flow. Then the electric power will then distribute

to the different closets in Publika through the circuit.

5.7 Under UBBL Section 253(1):

Emergency power system shall be provided to supply illumination and power

automatically in the event of failure of the normal supply or in the event of

accident to elements of the system supplying power and illumination essential

for safety to life and property.

In Publika, their emergency power supply system meets the entire

requirement that stated in UBBL section 253(1). They do prepare standby

power supply system to provide electricity power if a power failure happens.

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5.8 List of photographs

6.0

Conclusion

After went to the site visit at Publika and got explanations from the stuffs, we

can clearly know about the systems that have in the Publika and how are they

functioning. But there are still some problems found throughout the visit,

according to our knowledge and research, we recommend fire protection

system in our site, Publika to build their own riser tank rather than using the

Figure 49: Distribution Panel in car park ,Source : Photo taken from site

Figure 51: Electrical panels, Source : Photo taken from site

Figure 50: Main switch boards in electric room, Source : Photo taken from site

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water, which located at other building. In case there’s a fire happens in

Publika, they need a longer time to get the water source to extinguish the fire.

According to Uniform Building by Law 231(2), the wet riser systems shall be

designed and installed in accordance with M.S. 1489 such that all parts of the

floor are within 45 meters from a landing valve. However for the mechanical

and air-conditioning system, we recommend that the current system is good

enough for Publika because they meets the requirement required for a

building. It’s important for the workers to have a proper and constant

maintenance to make sure Publika can operate safely.

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