Contract News

CREATING THE SMARTEST UNIVERSITY CAMPUS IN THE WORLD

The University of Birmingham, in partnership with Siemens, is combining digital sensor and analytics technologies, artificial intelligence, decentralised energy generation and storage, renewable energy and concepts that help change users’ behaviour to transform the university’s Edgbaston and Dubai campuses into the world’s smartest global campus, creating a ‘Living Lab’ where research, teaching and learning all benefit from access to new data and connectivity.

The ‘Living Lab’ will capture data from the university’s building technologies, estates infrastructure and energy plants and use it for innovation, R&D activities, as well as teaching. Scrutinising energy demand and production with live data from across the sites provides a unique opportunity for applied learning for students and creates a platform for cutting-edge research.

Siemens will sponsor a team of PhD studentships at the university based in the UK and Dubai. Their research projects will be co-designed by Siemens and the university to address important challenges in data, technology, urban systems and the net zero goal.

This year, the University of Birmingham will become the first university in the world to roll out Internet of Things (IoT) technology at scale. Starting in autumn 2021, the first phase of this major energy efficiency project will include the roll out of 23,000 Enlighted IoT sensors across the university estate.

In addition, Siemens will deliver a 10-year bureau for Energy and IoT services to ensure that the university reaps the full potential of both the technology and industry expertise. Siemens, siemens.com

NEW COUNCIL CHAMBER IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A giant feature light that will illuminate one of Sunderland’s City Hall’s most prominent rooms has been hung, as the city’s community hub draws closer to completion.

The new digitally enabled chamber, pitted at the heart of City Hall, features a 9.3m circular diameter light fitting, creating a super-modern space that has been designed to enhance open democracy, as well as providing a focal point in a room that will be used by the community for weddings, as well as conferences and events.

City Hall’s chamber – which integrates digital technology to enable open democracy through the streaming of council meetings – is a key focal point of the 190,000ft2 building and will make it easier than ever to join meetings remotely, in-line with the city’s ambitions to become carbon neutral by 2040.

Cllr Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, says: “Throughout the pandemic, millions of people and organisations across the globe have had their eyes opened to not only the environmental and economic benefits of hybrid and remote working, but also the many work-life benefits it brings, and the ability to live stream and broadcast from the new chamber will help improve the work-life balance of everyone utilising the chamber, be it for council meetings, training or conferences.”

The building is being constructed by Sunderland firm, Bowmer + Kirkland, ploughing millions of pounds into the local economy. Riverside Sunderland, riversidesunderland.com

J S WRIGHT SECURES £6M-PLUS CONTRACT FOR SOHO WHARF

Building services provider J S Wright has secured a contract worth more than £6 million to help turn a derelict canal-side site in Birmingham into a quality residential-led development.

The mechanical and electrical specialist will install the mechanical infrastructure services and fit out all 650 apartments at the 117-acre Soho Wharf scheme at Soho Loop on the city’s Main Line Canal, opposite Birmingham City Hospital.

J S Wright will install a boosted cold-water plantroom with distribution pipework to all six blocks on the development, which will range from six to 14 storeys including retail and parking space.

In addition, the shell and core works involve installing soil and wastewater services, internal rainwater services, and dry risers for firefighting.

The company will also fit out all the one and two-bedroom apartments on the scheme with hot and cold-water services as well as soil and waste services.

The contract package for the apartments also includes installing domestic sprinklers and both heat recovery and extract ventilation systems.

Work has already commenced on the project, with completion scheduled for summer 2023.

J S Wright, jswright.co.uk

JOURNEY TO GREENER SERVICES CONTINUES

Councillors have given the go-ahead for a cleaner, greener, future for Lancashire County Council services, with an investment of almost £3m in new electric vehicles and charging points.

The first service to go electric will be the county council’s parking enforcement team, who will be kitted out with 12 new vehicles to minimise the emissions produced during the many miles they cover each day.

This follows trials led by the council’s fleet services team to work out which service areas are best placed to adopt electric vehicles. They recently took delivery of three electric vans which are being ‘loaned out’ to other teams across the authority as part of an ongoing pilot.

Work will also get underway to install charging infrastructure at the offices and depots where the vehicles are based, and where they regularly visit.

Cabinet’s decision will see a budget of £1.98m established to invest in electric vehicles, and a further £1m to install charging infrastructure.

New electronic signs are also being deployed on Lancashire’s highest-casualty roads to make drivers think twice before doing anything to put themselves or others at risk.

The ‘Variable Messaging Signs’ can be programmed remotely to deliver information to passing traffic, making them a useful tool in the campaign to make the county’s roads safer. Lancashire County Council, lancashire.gov.uk

IEC LOCK CONNECTS AT PRESTIGIOUS LONDON EXPERIENCE CENTRE

Technological Innovations Group (TIG) is a specialist global IT product and services provider. The company recently opened two Experience Spaces, one in Frankfurt and one in London. These innovative spaces are designed to welcome integrators, consultants, facilities managers, specifiers and end-users and showcase TIG’s impressive ecosystem of AV, UC, IT and control solutions from brands at the forefront of leading-edge technology development.

Technical solutions distributor and AV rack build specialist, Visualization, was called upon in the early stages of the prestigious TIG London Experience Centre project. Scolmore’s IEC Lock+ rewireable connector – the world’s first locking C13 IEC connector – was selected by Visualization for use in the rack build element of this project.

Visualization’s involvement included preparing the cable infrastructure at the Experience Centre, as well as the rack build and installation. The IEC Lock rewireable connectors were also used with ICT equipment specified by TIG for mains distribution.

Nick Pidgeon, Managing Director of Visualization, comments: “When we first tried out the IEC Lock, we were impressed with the qualities and features it offered, and it was a no brainer for us to move over to them.”

Scolmore says that its IEC Lock+ Rewireable was the world’s first locking rewireable C13 IEC connector. It is designed to guard against accidental disconnection of computers, PDU’s servers and most network devices, and it adds additional flexibility and ease of use, as well as LSZH (low smoke zero halogen) compatibility, to its list of features. Scolmore, scolmore.com

NETWORK RAIL TIMETABLES COST AND TIME SAVINGS WITH NVC LUMINAIRES

Network Rail owns, operates, and develops Britain’s rail infrastructure which comprises 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts, thousands of signals, and level crossings. The company also manages 20 of the UK’s largest stations.

One of these is Birmingham New Street, which is used by more than 140,000 passengers every day, making it the busiest station outside London. Network Rail recently moved the administrative teams to new facilities within the station.

This required appropriate lighting for the offices, reception, meeting areas and toilets that would provide adequate illumination, energy efficiency and also help Network Rail to meet regulatory requirements.

Network Rail approached the local branch of electrical distributor Rexel (Birmingham Maple) who proposed a solution based on NVC’s products including Sterling side-lit panels with micro-prismatic controllers and Westport IP40 low-glare recessed LED circular luminaires.

To adhere to fire safety regulations for emergency lighting, Preston IP54 rated LED halo effect circular bulkheads and Seneca IP40 rated, recessed LED emergency luminaires were adapted for self-testing. This not only saves time and cost when undertaking the required testing of emergency lighting, it also delivers the added benefit of providing automatic reporting of results, removing the inevitable mistakes that can happen when they are done manually. NVC also supplied LED emergency wall-mounted exit boxes and PIR systems.

All the products were installed by Network Rail’s in-house maintenance team.

HAMILTON SUPPLIES MODERN ELECTRICAL SOLUTIONS FOR LUXURY DEVELOPMENT

Hamilton’s Hartland G2 collection was chosen to provide electrical wiring solutions to Kings House in Hove, a Grade II listed Victorian building.

Portsmouth-based electrical contractor, MR Electrical, selected British brand, Hamilton, for the electrical wiring accessories throughout the building’s 69 luxurious apartments and penthouses.

Hamilton’s contemporary Hartland G2 screwless design was chosen for its quality, while the highly engineered ‘push-to-fit’ design makes it easy to install and competitively priced.

Available in a wide range of configurations – including Grid and EuroFix – Hartland G2 2-Gang Double Pole Switched Sockets were used throughout in antique brass with black inserts, complementing the property’s brass fixtures and fittings. In the higher specification apartments, dual switched sockets were upgraded to incorporate 2.4A USB Ultra charging outlets, while lighting is controlled throughout with a mixture of 1-, 2-, 3- and 4-Gang Rocker Switch Plates.

In the kitchens, installed within antique-styled mirrored splashbacks are two double switched sockets and a 2-Gang 2-Way Grid Plate that controls the integrated strip LED lighting. The apartments with larger kitchens feature 3- and 4-Gang Grid Plates to control fans, pelmet lights, downlights and island pendants.

In the Residents’ Lounge, private lounges and bedrooms, EuroFix media plates include a TV+FM/ DAB+SAT1+SAT2 Quadplexer and a RJ45 CAT6 outlet for internet access.

Hamilton, hamilton-litestat.com