Advanced brought in to safeguard iconic Lloyd’s Building in City of London

Also known as the Inside-Out Building, the Lloyds Building is located in the City of London’s main financial district and recognised as a leading example of radical Bowellism architecture in which services for the building such as ducts and lifts are located on the exterior to maximise space inside.

Designed by celebrated architectural practice Richard Rogers and Partners (now Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners) and built between 1978 and 1986, this physically striking commercial office development became the youngest structure ever to obtain Grade I listing in 2011.

The state-of-the-art Advanced fire panels include BMS integration for graphics and are linked to over 3,200 Hochiki devices, including wireless devices installed within the building’s main towers.

Need for reliability

Heavily involved in Phase One of the project (ie the design, installation and commissioning of the fire panels and graphics system at the Lloyds Building) was Kent-based Pacific Security Systems Ltd.

Kirk Short, director at Pacific Security Systems Ltd, told Fire Safety Matters: “Our client’s brief was to retain the existing Hochiki devices and wiring, while also upgrading the panels and graphics system on site. The system also needed to be both user friendly and reliable.”

Short affirmed: “Advanced’s MxPro 5 panels were able to tick all of the boxes. Network performance is particularly good with this solution no matter the size of the system or the complexity of the site. Advanced’s products have the capability to deliver complete protection.”

As part of the work for Phase Two of the upgrade, a custom-built annunciator for sprinkler, wet riser and plant status control will be designed and manufactured by Advanced’s AdSpecials Department.

Commenting on the prestigious project, Ken Bullock (regional sales manager at Advanced) observed: “It’s a pleasure to be able to support Pacific Security Systems Ltd with the equipment needed to protect such an iconic London landmark. As a high performance and user friendly solution, the MxPro 5 makes perfect sense for this project, where an intuitive interface that the end user can easily operate and superior networking capabilities able to deliver protection across a large area are absolutely crucial.”

Bullock went on to state: “Pacific Security Systems Ltd will also benefit from the MxPro 5’s built-in false alarm management software, namely AlarmCalm, which enables the configuration of the building’s investigation delays and double knock procedures with ease.”

Certified to EN 54

Importantly, MxPro 5 was recently certified by FM Approvals to EN 54. It offers four detector protocols and a completely open installer network, all underpinned by free training and support.

MxPro 5 panels can be used in single-loop, single-panel format or easily configured into high-speed networks of up to 200 panels covering huge areas. Ease of installation and configuration as well as its wide peripheral range render this solution customisable for almost any application.