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New community
facilities in the shadow of London’s fire-ravaged Grenfell Tower have opened
with energy efficient air conditioning and hot water systems donated by
Daikin UK in partnership with installer All Seasons Group Services.
The systems serve
the newly built St Mark’s Road premises of the Dale Youth Boxing Club and the
North Kensington Community Centre – both featured in BBC One’s DIY SOS
Grenfell Special. The two-part TV programme was broadcast in September 2018.
Daikin and All
Seasons worked closely together to deliver the systems within the tight
timing of the project.
Daikin UK managing
director Martin Krutz says the project was a unique opportunity for a
manufacturer and an installer to make a practical contribution to much-needed
community re-development.
He says: “Originally
we were asked to design an air conditioning installation – but were not told
anything about the overall project. When we were told it was to help the
community so deeply affected by the Grenfell fire, we had no hesitation in
arranging to donate the systems and asking All Seasons to undertake the
installation, also as a donation.
“As a result, both
the club and the community centre will benefit from tapping into a free
source of renewable energy and cost-effectively converting it into usable
heat.
“We hope that our
contribution will help the process of healing in the North Kensington
community.”
For both companies,
the project brought challenges of delivery, installation and commissioning
while working around an army of other volunteer tradespeople – and the TV
production team – on a busy 750m2 site underneath the A40 Westway, a short
distance from Grenfell Tower.
Loughton-based All
Seasons Group Services is a Daikin D1+ Partner, and has been installing
Daikin systems since 2001.
All Seasons co-owner
Colin Owen says his installation team was involved with the project over an
eight-week period.
“It was a wonderful
experience for the team and something to be proud of,” he says. “Grenfell was
a major tragedy for the city, but London has given us a lot so we were
pleased to have this opportunity to give something back as part of our
charity programme.
“The project is also
significant as it has air source heat pumps – Daikin Altherma High
Temperature units – to provide hot water for the club’s showers and kitchen.
Heat pumps like these are increasingly being specified and they are very much
the future in our industry.”
The new gym has a
Daikin high-capacity mini-VRV heat pump, serving four Round Flow cassettes to
provide space heating or cooling, as required. It further serves club founder
Mick Delaney’s upstairs office, where a wall mounted unit has been installed.
The community centre
also has a Daikin high-capacity mini-VRV heat pump, which serves nine
floor-standing chassis units that are concealed by architectural detailing.
Founded some 60
years ago, the boxing club was based in Grenfell Tower from 1999 until
the tragic fire in June 2017. The gym had relocated to refurbished premises
on a different floor at the base of the building just weeks before the fire.
For more than a year after that it operated from a disused multi-storey car
park.
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