Experience on implementing performance-based design in Hong Kong

Many new buildings, particularly those with 'green' or 'sustainable' architectural features have difficulties in complying with prescriptive fire codes due to many reasons. Examples in Hong Kong include residential buildings with internal voids, glass façades with spandrel design, good thermal insulation, natural ventilation provision and many others. Consequently, performance-based design known as 'fire engineering approach' (FEA) is allowed for active systems since 1987, and then later for passive constructions since 1998. This is similar to Performance-Based Design (PBD) in other places. Over 300 FEA/PBD projects for new buildings and renovations of the existing buildings had been submitted to the local government since then. There are many problems associated with such approach. In this paper, problems on projects with fire safety provisions determined by FEA/PBD in the past two decades will be pointed out.