2026 International Research Seed Funding Winner

1st Place

Dr. Jingxian Zhao, Professor Liming Jiang, and Shixing Zhao

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)

Dr. Jingxian Zhao (Principal Investigator), Postdoctoral Fellow, and Prof. Liming Jiang, Associate Professor and Associate Head, both of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, together with Shixing Zhao, Chief Engineer, Sichuan Provincial Architectural Design and Research Institute, have been awarded the 2026 International Research Seed Funding grant of $20,000, kindly sponsored by Sun Hung Kai Properties, for their project “When Façade Fire Enters a High-Rise Building: Prediction and Risk Assessment of Compartment Fire Outcomes.” Zhao’s proposal addresses an underexplored question in high-rise fire safety: what happens inside a building once an exterior façade fire breaks through the envelope. Façade fire spread, glazing failure, and fire re-entry have been widely studied, but far less is known about how severe the resulting interior fire will be. Drawing on evidence from recent high-rise façade fires, including the team’s investigation of the 2025 Wang Fuk Court fire in Hong Kong, the project will develop a physics-informed framework to predict whether an affected room stays largely unaffected, develops a localized fire, or becomes fully involved and a new source of fire. The research methodology combines real-fire evidence, parametric fire modeling, and predictive analysis. Using Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) simulations, Zhao’s team will quantify how façade fire exposure, changing window openings, fuel placement near windows, and fuel connectivity drive fire escalation inside a compartment. The results will be translated into a rapid prediction model and a Compartment Escalation Map, a proof-of-concept tool that lays the groundwork for building these consequences into performance-based fire safety assessment of tall buildings. The research is expected to be completed in late 2027.