One only has to look at any recently built trading estate, group of offices or major shopping centre to see the way that commercial and industrial building has changed in the last 10 to 15 years.   Whilst such buildings are still very functional and efficient they have progressed from providing the basic minimum of facilities within an almost utilitarian shell to attractive structures that often use traditional materials with a beauty of line that makes them a pleasant place in which to either work or visit.

One thing that has not changed in this time is the danger that fire can and will destroy any building if the design does not accept the risk and minimise the potential dangers.   The building regulations require certain periods of stability and compartmentation measures to provide secure escape routes and limit the spread should there be a fire.  These minimum standards are there to protect life, not property and whether the proposals given in Approved Document B (ADB) are used, or the project uses a fire engineer to optimise the fire design these levels of protection must be provided.

ASFP has watched the development of building techniques and moved with them to provide materials that meet the requirements.   As the use of steel within buildings has expanded the industry has developed new materials that either enhance the appearance or reduce the cost, or both in some cases.   Methods of sealing penetrations are faster to apply so that costs are reduced and cladding panels that meet insulation and integrity standards as defined in BS 476 have an ever increasing range of finishes.