Imperial College London has appointed Hoare Lea to provide mechanical and electrical design services for the L block redevelopment, a 13,000m2, six storey scientific research building at Imperial College's Hammersmith campus. Hoare Lea is also supplying specialist building services design advice including fire engineering, acoustics, thermal modelling, vertical transportation, fa ade access and BREEAM assessment.
The former L Block dated back to the 1930s and was no longer fully fit for purpose. The new 82 million facility, partly funded by the Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust, represents one of the largest construction contracts ever placed by Imperial.
Designed by architects Sheppard Robson, the development will encompass one of the largest cardiovascular research facilities in Europe, a new Wellcome Trust clinical research facility, the Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre, together with Containment Level 2 laboratories and an imaging suite with MRI and CT/PET scanners. It will also provide the headquarters for the British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence at Imperial. The L Block has been designed with challenging sustainability objectives, including a BREEAM Excellent rating and a carbon emissions performance 32% lower than required by Part L 2006.
Various features have been incorporated into the design to maximise energy efficiency. Passive exposed chilled beams in the office and write-up areas will use open loop boreholes to provide cooling without the use of chillers. Variable volume fume-cupboards will be used where appropriate to reduce the heating and cooling of the associated make-up air. A site-wide 2MWe CHP-supported heating scheme will provide a 10% reduction in carbon emissions. The project includes the provision of a new 5MVA power supply to future-proof the site for further developments.
The redevelopment, including the demolition of the existing building, will be undertaken in a live hospital environment with the requirement that access and all site-wide services be maintained at all times.
The L Block facility is scheduled for completion in 2011.
Project Design Team
Client: Imperial College London
Architect: Sheppard Robson
Project Management: E.C. Harris
Structural Engineers: Curtins Consulting
Mechanical & Electrical Consultant: Hoare Lea
Cost Consultant: Turner and Townsend
Main Contractor (demolition works): Expanded Demolition Ltd
Main Contractor (main works): Bovis Lend Lease
CDM Consultant: Heery International
