The fire safety strategy in hospitals is complex, and requires an integrated approach, because of the presence of vulnerable and reliant patients who need assistance during evacuation. The current regulations in the Netherlands seems to be outdated, and don’t fulfill the current use and the changing design trends. The design trends of hospitals are changing, shifting towards a healing environment with mostly single patient rooms. Research into the actual disconnecting times of different types of patients is performed, to determine the total evacuation time per patient. As displayed different phases of the evacuation route are gathered and analysed. With these differing evacuation times, the design can be adapted to the required egress time per specific ward. The evacuation times of patients on a Dialysis, Intensive Care, Neonatal ICU, Heart monitoring, Recovery and a standard nursing ward have been gathered. With an interactive design tool, the actual risk and Required Safe Egress Time calculations can be made. A relative probability calculation indicates the risk of casualties per ward, compared with a design fulfilling the maximum restrictions of the Dutch Building Decree. Together with the gathered data, specific RSET calculations can be made for different types of wards.

Vertical Greenery Systems (VGS) show numerous advantages in terms of sustainability and a healthy living environment. Unfortunately it is found that current knowledge on the fire safety of these systems is lacking and can pose as a barrier for implementing the systems or can cause situations in which they are implemented which are unsafe. The current research aims to put a step forward into filling this knowledge gap. By literature research, interviews with different parties and a risk analysis on case-studies relevant parameters influencing the fire safety of VGS have been identified. A tool was developed which can analyse a façade design with VGS on its fire safety risks. The tool was tested on case-studies and evaluated by interviewees. The tool is to guide designers and raise awareness and understanding of what parameters in a design influence the risk. By raising the understanding on the topic of fire safety of designers, better informed and safer decisions can be made. During the research numerous mitigating measures have been found which can be used in a design to minimize the risk of using VGS. It was found that the type and amount of materials used in the system are of great influence of its fire safety performance, more so than the vegetation used. Furthermore the location of where on the façade the system is applied is of great impact on the risk the VGS causes. Concerns about fire safety of VGS are valid but there are plenty solutions and design considerations identified which help minimize the risks. A risk analysis tool can be helpful for designers to determine the fire risks of a design, increasing the understanding and awareness on the topic which empowers designers to make safe designs with VGS, thus enabling the safely greening of the building envelope.