Instead of demolishing the existing building, architecture firm Make decided to leave most of the building in place and only refurbish the interior, saving energy and materials. 50% of the existing building fabric remains. The foyer’s 12 columns were replaced with a sculptural tree-like structure made by Watts in Bolton. It’s on castors, allowing it to be moved through the building.
Their use allowed the client and tenant to take advantage of energy savings of approximately 1w/m2, reducing running costs and carbon emissions. The beams also incorporate lighting, fire alarms and environmental controls.
The chilled beams also supply heating for the building, which comes from gas-fired condensing boilers distributing low temperature hot water to them.
Radiators have been installed in limited areas of retained façade to offset the effects of cold radiation and down drafts from the existing glazing. Cooling is provided by 6.2mw of air-cooled chillers. These incorporate free cooling coils to maximise the energy efficiency of the machines during periods of low ambience.
Getting the mix of lighting and cooling correct was challenging. “The problem was the spacing of the beams and the spacing of the lights to keep the uniformity of the units, says services engineer,” Mike Pile of Blyth and Blyth.
But the team achieved compliance with principle of CIBSE LG 7, uniformity 0.8 and the design lux levels. To maximise energy efficiency a fully addressable lighting control system was fitted with PIR switching and daylight linking.
The offices are 15m deep with a 2m corridor dictated by the steel members of the 1950s building.
http://www.building.co.uk/sustain_story.asp?storycode=3107095&origin=bldgsustainnewsletter
http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/03/20/londons-locally-sourced-refurb/
