External Fire Escape Staircase for an Office Building · Biarritz
This project involved the complete design, engineering and construction of a new external fire escape staircase for an office building located near Biarritz Airport, together with the adaptation of emergency escape routes and the installation of additional fire safety elements.
Although an initial staircase had already been designed, it did not comply with French fire safety regulations. A completely new solution therefore had to be developed to ensure full regulatory compliance.
The main challenge was adapting an existing building to demanding French fire safety standards.
Our team worked closely with the architect, fire authorities, project managers and SOCOTEC throughout the entire process.
We also visited several public buildings to analyse approved evacuation systems before developing our own compliant design.
The final staircase provides a continuous 1.40 m evacuation width, exceeding minimum requirements on several levels to maximise safety and user comfort. The manufacturing drawings were fully developed by our engineering team.
- Fire regulation study.
- Engineering and redesign.
- Manufacturing drawings.
- Coordination with architect, fire authorities and SOCOTEC.
- Reinforced concrete foundations.
- Hot-dip galvanised steel structure.
- Three-storey external escape staircase.
- Large evacuation landings.
- Anti-slip galvanised steel treads.
- Handrails and guardrails.
- Escape route modifications.
- Fire-rated and automatic doors.
- Technical inspections and final approval.
The building now benefits from a fully compliant evacuation system meeting current French fire safety regulations.
This project demonstrates our ability to solve complex technical challenges by combining engineering, construction expertise and regulatory coordination.
