January 2013 at our Architectural Practice
The application for an Interior Fit-out is a document describing all the planned refurbishments due to undertaken as part of an architectural project in a building that is open to the public (ERP – établissement recevant du public) or in a tall building (IGH – immeuble de grande hauteur). Examples of public access buildings include shops, shopping centres or business and shopping precincts, restaurants, bars, theatres and auditoriums, doctors’ surgeries… The classification of tall buildings, that is buildings over 28m tall or 50m if it is a residential building, includes many building types: for example, residential, hotels, schools and educational establishments, storage warehouses, health centres and office buildings…The application for the interior fit-out concerns all of these building types and, of course, those that are classified as both – a tall building that allows access to the public too. The key objective of this document is to show that the designed refurbishment respects all the necessary regulations.
Interior Fit-out Application Content:
Previously the content of this document was left to the judgment of the architect, who was required to provide all relevant information relating to the fit-out. This meant that the form and layout of the document was quite vague. Since 1st January 2012, it is now compulsory to use a specific CERFA form, called the ‘Application Form demanding the Authorisation to build, to refurbish or to modify a Public Access Building or a Tall Building. (CERFA is the Centre for the Registration and the Revision of Administration forms). This updated format is clearly laid out and so the required information presented in the Interior Fit-out Application is more detailed, leading to a more precise and rigorous approach.
Safety and Disabled Access:
The application form for an Interiors Fit-out approval must include all information related to the safety and the disabled access of the building. Reference must be made to particular building regulations, especially the safety requirements to protect against fire and panic in case of a fire. The application form must show that, for example, the different means of extraction (the number, width and distribution) conform fully to the safety regulations. It must also show that the fire exits, the fire extinguishers and the alarm or alert systems are both accessible and adapted correctly to the building. Finally the document must outline precisely the disabled access and the procedures to evacuate disabled occupants of the building.
Information required for the Fit-out Application:
The Interiors Fit-out Application form is made up of: – a precise and descriptive account of the materials to be used for the building works and interior refurbishment.
