The already
iconic White Collar Factory in London’s Old Street is now open for business –
but key to the contemporary work spaces is the creation of a comfortable
working environment.
That is why
more than 150km of REHAU’s Thermally Activated Building Structure (TABS) system
was installed to provide low energy passive cooling – almost enough piping to
run entirely round the M25.
This makes
the installation one of the largest of REHAU’s TABS solution so far in Europe,
and it has been completed by specialist installers Anders Heating Company.
REHAU TABS
was specified by consultants ARUP as part of a programme to deliver a flexible,
practical building which can achieve 25% reductions in operational carbon
emissions over a typical office building and both a BREEAM Excellent and LEED
Platinum rating.
Developed by
Derwent London the former factory is designed around the principles of reducing
artificial heating, cooling and lighting, the White Collar Factory deliberately
echoes many of the adaptable, well built industrial buildings of the past which
have been converted so successfully into contemporary work spaces. Alongside
the thermal mass structure, it features tall ceilings, a passive façade and
flexible floor plates.
In TABS,
REHAU’s PE-Xa polymer pipework is embedded within the concrete floor slabs.
Chilled water is circulated through the pipework and this enables the slab to
act as a heat sink; drawing the heat away from the useable space and creating a
comfortable working environment for the occupants.
As well as
being more sustainable and energy efficient than conventional air conditioning,
it is also quieter, has no moving parts which could fail and generates less air
movement providing a better working environment.
Anders has
installed more than 150km of REHAU pipework in the building within every slab
across all 16 floors. The natural exposed GGBS (Ground Granulated Blast
furnace Slag) concrete has been incorporated into the design scheme, with 3.5m
floor heights and perimeter blade columns providing additional thermal mass.
Anders’ team
completed the installation, working closely with M&E contractors Michael
Lonsdale Group and main contractors Brookfield Multiplex.
A key reason
for the specification of the REHAU TABS system over alternative concrete
cooling options was the integral REHAU EVERLOC compression sleeve jointing and
fittings system. This is used on all of REHAU’s pipework solutions, from
underfloor to district heating, and provides a permanent, leak free joint with
no O-ring and no pre-preparation of the pipe required.
The brass
compression sleeve fittings are safe to use within the embedded floor slab,
allowing repairs to be made if the pipework is damaged on site during the
construction programme. More than 16,600 Everloc joints have been
installed at The White Collar Factory – all with a £100,000 comprehensive
warranty.
The low
carbon cooling system works in conjunction with an openable windows in the
building and with a mechanical energy input in the perimeter zones which will
be required only when outside temperature is below 14º or above 25ºC.
As well as
the REHAU TABS, the AHMM designed White Collar Factory incorporates a series of
renewable energy technologies including a 300m² array of photovoltaic panels
and a 100m² solar thermal array. As a result, the project has been used
as an exemplary case study by the Government's Technology Strategy Board.
