The urban village of Doncaster Hill is one of the highest points in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Doncaster’s latest high-rise habitat is the thirteen-story Panorama Apartments, just across the road from Westfield Shopping Centre. Panorama has 221 apartments, three commercial tenancies and 257 car-parks.

Designed by Peddle Thorp architects, the building has a nine-storey atrium that floods the interior with sunlight and encourages cross-ventilation through the apartments. The atrium’s clean, uncluttered appearance is an important feature of the building.

Panorama’s fire system is based on a Pertronic F120A Fire Alarm Panel. The panel controls nine analogue addressable FAAST XS Dual Vision aspirating smoke detectors in the atrium. Eight of these detectors are connected to sampling pipes concealed within the balcony floors. The nineth FAAST XS unit draws air through a sampling pipe hidden against a purlin supporting the glass roof. The aspirating system eliminates the cost of accessing high-mounted point smoke detectors for routine maintenance.

The Pertronic F120A monitors the building’s sprinkler system, together with 168 photo-electric smoke detectors in common areas, and analogue addressable manual call points strategically located throughout the building.  The automatic fire detection system is supplemented by unmonitored smoke detectors in the apartments.

The F120A fire alarm panel also controls the building’s smoke management system, and a 12 zone emergency warning and information system.