Limehouse Basin

Group SCS helps Limehouse Basin residents keep their cool

Project title: Limehouse Basin

Location: London Docklands

Client: Ardmore Construction

Service: BMS & Smoke Control

Project Background

Completed in March 2016, Limehouse Basin is one of Bellway’s three building schemes to regenerate the Limehouse area.

The overall project includes five new blocks with a total of 166 mixed-tenure residential apartments. This first development, which comprises 102 private apartments with commercial units on the ground floor, is bordered by the A13, the Regents Canal and the DLR.

It also has a two-level car park with 82 spaces for British Waterways, which manages the marina directly adjacent to the buildings.

The Project

The Client

Group SCS was commissioned by Ardmore Construction to design, supply and install the smoke, environmental and BMS system in March 2015.

Our Involvement

We provided four residential blocks with natural vent smoke control and daily ventilation, with a BMS system serving the blocks for hot and cold boosted water.

Our Solution

To control the building’s temperature we provided thermal CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) models for the building’s thermal operation on warmer months and then selected and installed an AOV (Automatic Opening Vents) system that can maintain ventilation in the corridors.

The whole development is served by a communal heating system that uses heat distribution pipework running through risers and the corridor ceiling void. To avoid excessive temperatures, ventilation is provided in the risers and to the corridor via the stairwell. Hot air transfers from the corridor to the stairs and risers from which it is extracted. Replacement air then enters the corridor via the transfer duct from outside and the stairs or windows.

The AOV system is also designed for natural smoke ventilation as it is connected to smoke detectors in the corridors and lobbies. In the case of a fire being detected, the system will be triggered and create ventilation in order to clear the smoke so people can exit the building safely.

The BMS was designed to run the building’s heating primarily off a CHP (Combined Heat and Power) unit with four boilers that are sequenced and rotated behind the CHP according to demands.

Dave Jenkinson, Contracts Manager at Group SCS:

“This was a great project to be a part of. It was really interesting to use a thermal model to create an overheating report for the building’s temperature in warmer months. I particularly enjoyed delivering a BMS with a focus on renewable energy. We used a CHP to provide electricity back to the grid as heating is produced for the blocks."