Venues and building are an integral part of a city landscape, and include office blocks, shopping malls, spectator and sporting venues, hotels, airport & marine terminals and private residences.
The design and construction of new safe and secure public and private sector venues and buildings, plus the retrofitting of existing ones, continues to be the primary goal for owners, architects, engineers, and project managers.
Inadequate security design and construction not only increases risk, but can also significantly increase ongoing fixed and variable operational security costs.
Today, in recognising critical risk areas such as natural disasters, acts of terrorism, indoor air quality, materials hazards and fires, a design team must take a much more holistic approach towards building safety and security design.
With this new movement toward comprehensive security, both government and private sector interests need to adopt new methodologies to help incorporate best practices in the latest design and construction security solutions. 'Designing buildings for security and safety requires a proactive approach that involves a balance of physical, technical, and human security footprints.
When the key risks are addressed at the beginning of a project, safety measures can usually be integrated into the total design much more efficiently and cost-effectively than retrofitting existing buildings and venues. Today's challenge for design and construction teams is to incorporate effective safety and security without compromising design and hindering daily operations.