Fire safety is a fundamental requirement of any building, and is of concern to several professions which contribute to the construction process. Following on from the success of the previous three editions, Paul Stollard has returned to update and expand this classic introduction to the theoretical basis of fire-safety engineering and risk assessment. Avoiding complex calculations and specifications, Fire From First Principles is written with architects, building control officers and other construction professionals without fire engineering backgrounds in mind. By tackling an overview of the factors which contribute to fire risk, and how building design can limit these, the reader will gain a fuller understanding of the science behind fire regulations, safe design, and construction solutions. All regulations content is fully updated, and has been expanded to cover the USA and China as well as the UK. Ideal for students of architecture and construction subjects, as well as practitioners from all built environment fields learning about fire safety for the first time.

Fire safety is a fundamental requirement of any building, and is of concern to several professions which contribute to the construction process. Following on from the success of the previous three editions, Paul Stollard has returned to update and expand this classic introduction to the theoretical basis of fire-safety engineering and risk assessment. Avoiding complex calculations and specifications, Fire From First Principles is written with architects, building control officers and other construction professionals without fire engineering backgrounds in mind. By tackling an overview of the factors which contribute to fire risk, and how building design can limit these, the reader will gain a fuller understanding of the science behind fire regulations, safe design, and construction solutions. All regulations content is fully updated, and has been expanded to cover the USA and China as well as the UK. Ideal for students of architecture and construction subjects, as well as practitioners from all built environment fields learning about fire safety for the first time.

A consideration of the potential for reducing crime and improving community safety through housing design. It offers architects and planners an outline of the principles which should be used during the process of assessment, design and construction. The author contends that architects and planners should be designing to deter crime. Although it may not be possible to create a residential utopia, it should be possible to reduce the opportunities for crime and increase people's sense of security. However, designers must also be aware that attempted solutions to security problems do not have one single simple consequence. In fact some "solutions" may make matters worse. The use of "target-hardening" techniques such as security grilles and door reinforcements can create a "fortress" which may provoke more ingenious or violent attacks. At the same time it can lead to an increase in the social isolation felt by the residents and reduce the fragile community support networks which are also such an important defence against crime. Architects and planners, the authors upholds must aim for prevention rather than containment.