MCBAINS COOPER
PROPERTY & CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANCY
PRESS RELEASE
September 15, 2010.
A COOL GREEN HOT SOLUTION AND A QUIET SUCCESS FOR ADDENBROOKE’S HOSPITAL.
They may look like regular flats and apartments, but the four buildings at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge
The Oxford-based team at international property and construction consultancy McBains Cooper was commissioned to manage the £20 million, 292 apartment, Sanctuary Housing Association project – but the team had a particularly challenging brief: a very tight window to complete the work, and unique issues relating to demands on hot water systems and sound insulation.
“First, this was a two year project that had to be delivered in 18 months come-what-may because the hospital needed to bring in healthcare professionals fast – and keep them there; second, we had to design in a number of unusual elements to cater for the work cycle of the residents – who are all doctors or nurses,” said Jo Churchill of McBains Cooper.
“The medical staff work in shifts, and those shifts change at times when normal residential properties would be quiet – so there are huge peaks of demand on the building’s systems at unusual times, for example, the need for large volumes of hot water in the middle of the afternoon or early hours of the morning when dozens or more people run baths or showers at the same time.
“The solution was to ditch the normal central heating boiler-based system, and to heat water through solar panels and feed it into large tanks where it was kept hot – this also helped achieve the 10% renewables requirement.
“The next issue was noise: the last thing an exhausted medical professional needs after a double shift is to suffer broken sleep, so we had to pay particular attention to the acoustic qualities of the building.
“This we achieved by modular manufacturing most of the building off site – which also helped address the time constraints – and by bringing in special twin wall panels from Germany, which were then filled with extremely high density concrete.
“At each stage of the development of these wall panels we consulted acoustic specialists who assessed the likely effectiveness of this sound-deadening to ensure that it was as efficient as possible, and which makes these flats amongst the quietest of their type in the world.
“Finally, in a city like Cambridge
“And as such, this type of development clearly has massively positive implications for other towns and cities that need centrally-located accommodation for key workers, and need it fast.”
Michael Thirkettle, Chief Executive of McBains Cooper, said: “What the team has achieved – director Zaki Ghiacy, Kevin Conlon, Peter O’Rourke and Jo Churchaill – should not be underestimated: every possible challenge was thrown at them: design, planning, technical and timescale, and they delivered magnificently.”
Ends
Further information:
Iain Macauley / Chris Fowler
07788 978800 / 07719 172225
Notes.
McBains Cooper
McBains Cooper is an inter-discipline consultancy, specialising in property, infrastructure and construction, offering a wide range of consulting and design services including architectural, aesthetic or technical design, problem solving, budget management, facilities management, health and safety, sustainability consultancy and on-the-ground civil engineering. Driving and supporting projects ranging from minor works to major contracts worth more than £100 million, McBains Cooper operates across a variety of sectors throughout the UK , Europe and Latin America . McBains Cooper is committed to environmental, social and economic sustainable development and their integrated approach means they deliver effective, award-winning solutions to their clients. The Group employs 150 people. McBains Cooper has regional headquarters in London (head office), Birmingham , Glasgow , Leeds, Manchester , Oxford , Windsor , Lima (Peru ) and Mexico City , with associate offices in Belfast and Dublin
No comments:
Post a Comment