DE-05-07-2 - Designing Around History at the Portland Art Museum–A Smoke Management Case Study

In April 2003, the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission approved the concepts for the preservation, restoration, and adaptive re-use of the former Masonic Temple. The Portland Art Museum North Wing expansion will incorporate the new Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, historic ballrooms, offices, and library and program spaces and is intended to renew this landmark as a cultural and civic resource for the City of Portland. In order to overcome a number of smoke management system design challenges, a performance-based analysis was developed using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) in conjunction with STEPS computer egress modeling. Working with two architectural groups, a large consulting engineering firm developed a design that achieves the overall level of safety demanded by the applicable regulations while maintaining the historic character of the existing building.