Case Studies

When Capita were instructed to provide the M&E design consultancy on the new build 595 bed student accommodation project of both traditional and modular construction, to be located on Kelvinhaugh Street, Glasgow, they started with a clean sheet of paper. When the proposed room layouts were produced by the Architects (KKA) it was clear that whilst the large floor to ceiling windows that provides a wealth of natural light and openings for fresh air were welcome, they presented a problem in so far as where the radiators would go.

When Rostock High School undertook a major regeneration, the local education Authority decided it should become an “Energie Plus” project; i.e. it generated more power and energy than it actually consumed. To achieve this, the school was renovated using solar PV panels to the roof and front elevation, and 2 wind turbines. The school also became connected to the Municipal District Heating system, using warm water from the cooling system of the nearby power station. Windows were upgraded and where there was new build to the rear, this was constructed to very high levels of insulation. However, with 2/3rd of the building at least 20 years old it was clear that a conventional heating emitter solution was not going to suffice.

If your family home is located in beautiful Cheshire Countryside and yet only a few hundred metres away from the family business, it’s difficult to find a better example of a Work / Life balance. Understandably then, the Bateson family of Bateson Trailers fame, decided that their Grandmothers’ home would be an ideal family home for Simon and his wife and two children. ‘Tired’ would have been an estate agents’ description of the house, as it had fallen into some disrepair and was reliant on oil heating.

Heating in apartments is often challenging in that space is a premium commodity and the needs and wants of the client can vary enormously. This can be especially true in retirement apartments – properties specifically aimed at the over 55’s.
Why? Well many will have downsized from larger family homes but still want to keep important items of furniture and so useable floor space becomes very often a deciding factor. This is why traditional radiators are losing their appeal to developers like Gladman as they try to offer more living room in the same constructed envelope.

When building homes that are designed to be transported on Britains’ Roads, it is widely understood that there is a practical maximum width of around 4.5m before expensive vehicle escorts are required or circuitous routes planned to avoid narrow roads and bridges. Modular Homes that are joined along the vertical axis to create a wider home have to be particularly mindful of weatherproofing and services such as plumbing and electrical need to be configured with joints to facilitate them joining side-by-side.

Making best use of the space when converting offices or commercial properties into residential living spaces, invariably presents a difficult challenge as window and pillars often interupt the useable floor space. This was exactly the situation Dephna properties found themselves in, when they decided to refurbish their own office block and convert it into residential apartments.

Converting unloved office developments was a key plank in the Governments strategy of brownfield regeneration in town centres, and planning laws were relaxed on their change of use. But converting run-down open plan offices into affordable desirable residences isn’t always straightforward as insulation levels are often poor, designed-for-desk height windows usually made them smaller & higher than current market trends, and the internal floor space to external wall area ratio can make apartments dark and dingy.

Adults and young persons with Complex care and autism present a particular challenge, and need to be accomodated in comfortable, quiet and secure residential environments if they are to be properly looked after. Specialised Supported Housing (SSH) are dedicated to providing such quality acoomodation at an affordable cost to the local authority and service providers such as Lifeways and Inclusion Housing.

One solution to combat the housing shortage, is ‘off-site’ or modular construction. This is where, rather than build houses often in a muddy field, houses are manuafctured in clean, dry and well lit factories, effecttively on a production line. This has the advantage that the laborforce is located in one place, quality can be carefully monitored and controlled and assembly can potentially take place around the clock, at all times of the year. They are then sent to site on the back of an HGV as ‘modules’ which are then craned and assembled together to form a 2, 3, 4 bed house, or even a block of apartments. As a result a practically finished house can be assembled in a matter of days rather than weeks, espcecially if brick-slip cladding or other finishes are used.

HB Villages is one of the UK’s most successful provider of assisted living apartments to local authorities and one of the most progressive in terms of adopting new techniques and technologies. HB Villages provide a custom built assisted living ‘centre’ allowing persons with both physical and learning disabilities to live in comfort and with dignity, with on-site 24 hour care and assistance if and as needed by the clients. This means that stretched council services can provide better care and management of people.

When Lynne & Stephen Hemsworth first saw the Orangery – part of a grand estate built in the 19th Century – they were immediately smitten. Stephen Hemsworth: “We originally planned to self-build our dream home, but when we came across the Orangery that was developed as part of a large derelict estate, we fell in love with it.” Retaining its striking architectural features, including the tall windows and high ceilings, the 4 bed property benefited from having magnificent open views within the beautiful Ribble Valley, and no radiators as the developer had installed underfloor heating.

Barratt Developments PLC are the UK’s largest house developer with around 18,000 completions per year. With ambitious Nett Zero targets for 2050, the UK cannot hope to meet its commitments without the housing market embracing new technology such as heat pumps, solar, and recycled materials wherever practicable. To that end, Barratt Developments launched their ‘Z’ house in October 2021 to showcase their commitment to a Zero carbon future. Built using advanced modern methods of construction and packed with cutting edge technology, the home is the first to be built by a major housebuilder that goes far beyond the Future Homes Standard. Barratt’s stated aim is that all their new homes will be zero carbon by 2030.

When energy infrastructure engineer James Martin opted to build his own forever home, as you might expect he did a lot of research into the most efficient heating solutions and drew up a detailed specification. One of his primary objectives was to optimise the use of an Air Source Heat Pump to provide heating and hot water cost effectively.

Heating large, open and poorly insulated spaces is a challenge and a huge drain on resources for any institution, and this is especially true of Churches. With smaller congregations, and fewer services, the intermittent nature of the heat load makes it especially difficult to create a warm and inviting environment to ensure those attending are kept cosy during their time in Church. With escalating fuel costs, it became apparent that the current heating system consisting of a large central gas boiler, coupled to an array of conventional radiators and air blowers was totally inefficient.

The Iris Murdoch DSDC (Dementia Services Development Centre) is a world renowned centre of excellence for the diagnosis and care of persons with dementia. It has spearheaded the UK wide development of a better understanding of the disease, and also pioneered many new designs and technologies to improve the standard of care. When the centre decided to revamp their Virtual Care Home display rooms, they enlisted the services of BPA Architecture in Edinburgh – a well respected practice that specialises in the design and development of better care homes.

Off-site or modular construction whilst offering several advantages over traditional construction such as repeatability and all-weather working, does sometimes throw up its’ own challenges and hurdles. None more so than Rotunda, that specialises in the construction of Round Houses and living/working spaces.

When Jane and Nigel Delves set about completely renovating their 3 bed stone cottage overlooking the Peak District National Park, they knew they had a real challenge on their hands. The stone cottage had been in their ownership for some time, but had suffered from years of neglect and had issues with damp, uneven floor levels and the roof.

When David Bedwell Ltd were instructed to provide the M&E design consultancy on the new build student accommodation St Regis at Clare College, Cambridge University, there wasn’t much speculation as to the most suitable heating solution. Having specified ThermaSkirt skirting heating on 4 previous projects, including refurbishment projects, Bedwells’ Mechanical Engineer Graham Hill was very happy to specify the product on this new build, 85 bed student accommodation block.

When Mr & Mrs Bowler moved into their brand new 5 bedroom Redrow property they already had ideas to extend out to the rear of the kitchen with a substantial orangery addition. Mark Bowler explains; “We had recently moved from our previous family home of 10 years and had really got used to having a garden room off the kitchen; it’s where we used to spend most of our time. The Highgrove is one of the largest properties that Redrow build, but we still felt it could be improved by a light and airy extension leading onto the garden”

One solution to combat the housing shortage, is ‘off-site’ or modular construction. This is where, rather than build houses often in a muddy field, houses are manufactured in clean, dry and well lit factories, effecttively on a production line. This has the advantage that the laborforce is located in one place, quality can be carefully monitored and controlled and assembly can potentially take place around the clock, at all the year.

Priors Court Foundation is a registered non profit making organsiation that provides education and accomodation to children and young adults with severe and complex autism. The Charity is a recognised world leader in the care and education of persons living with the condition and has pioneered many strategies and tecniques that have been adopted worldwide.

Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) are one of the worlds’ largest management accountants and consultants and can count a plethora of global companies amongst the list of clients they advise. Making informed and rational business decisions is their core competence and so when they took an option on Merchant Square – Belfasts’ biggest ever office space project – all aspects of the building design and operation were evaluated and assessed.