AET Flexible Space

The Cathedral Hill campus in Guildford is a conglomerate of three buildings of approximately 1500 sq. m each. AET originally supplied underfloor air conditioning to the 286 sq. m atrium area of Building 1000 in 2001. In 2015, AET supplied like for like equipment to building 1000 as part of a full refurbishment of the space leased by Telecommunications giant, Avaya.

Underfloor air conditioning and Nesite raised access flooring was supplied to this building in the year 2000 as part of a full refurbishment for Japanese developer, Taisei. The building is situated in the heart of Mayfair in a prominent location on the corner of Hanover Street and Pollen Street and features floor to ceiling glazing, granting excellent natural light and a generous 2.7m floor to ceiling height.

1960’s post war building fully refurbished in 2006. The building was enlarged and remodelled with extensions to the basement, ground, first and fifth floors. Underfloor air conditioning and Nesite raised access flooring was installed throughout the 7-storey building offering 26,000 sq. ft. flexible office space for speculative tenancy.

The four storey red brick building dates back to 1905 and originally served as a Royal Mail sorting office. In 2000, the building was converted into office accommodation and occupied by Sainsbury’s as their headquarters. Underfloor air conditioning was specified to overcome restrictive height limitations common in older stock buildings.

Full refurbishment of the severely height restricted building located on a prominent corner position of Devonshire Square. Cundall specified underfloor air conditioning as a solution to enable the main office space to meet BCO floor to ceiling height standards. A system with high level return air was selected, primarily to enable greater future flexibility, but also to remove the need for zone barrier and air segregation baffle in the severely restricted underfloor plenum.

175 Oxford Street was fully refurbished in 2010 and the 2,688 sq. m building comprises retail space and 12,500 sq. ft. speculative Grade-A office accommodation across four floors. 3DReid were responsible for the re-designed space, creating a glass surround linear atrium, allowing the maximum amount of natural light into the office space and exposing the arcuated brick party wall. Underfloor air conditioning permitted full height floor to ceiling glazing to be installed on the upper floors, granting additional light.

Stunning refurbishment of former Edwardian residential mansion block in the heart of London’s West End, the building was transformed from cellular offices into five stories of high class, open plan accommodation. The flexible underfloor HVAC solution allowed a minimum floor plenum of 200mm maximising the floor to ceiling height and post refurbishment, the work space enabled a 35% increase in total occupancy.

Five floors of grade A office space in the centre of Manchester. The refurbishment required a fundamental rethink to transform the building in decline, into a modern sought after commercial space. A new services strategy, using raised access floors and underfloor air distribution allowed the ceilings to be exposed and specific architectural features to be retained, whilst maintaining recommended floor to ceiling heights over the five floors.

The building was extensively redeveloped, stripped back to its original 1960’s shell and core, and re-cladded with floor to ceiling glazing. By incorporating underfloor air conditioning, instead of more traditional ceiling based systems, a floor to ceiling height of 2500 mm within an overall slab to soffit zone of 2800 mm was achieved. The completed refurbishment created 40,000 sq ft of high specification office space which was fully let to a single occupier prior to practical completion.

Neo-classical building with a stunning Portland stone façade and colonnade. The underfloor system features on seven floors of the eight-storey building. The system is a CAM-C Direct Expansion system with supply and return air distributed via the floor plenum. The Fantiles are standard TU4 fan terminals with EC motors. Instead of a rooftop chiller providing chilled water, the building uses heat pump units to maximise use of space and energy efficiency. The project was delivered as a ‘Shell and Floor’ development to allow the incoming tenant to complete the fit out works to their own requirements.

Underfloor air conditioning and a bespoke Teak covered raised access floor by Nesite was specified for the height restricted redevelopment of this prestigious Mayfair accommodation. The works comprised a full internal strip out to the core, demolition of structural partition walls, removal of redundant mechanical and electrical services and plant, removal and re-cladding of the facade, installation of new M&E services, plant and lift.

The unusually shaped building features a Grade II Listed façade and is located in a prominent position looking over Regent Street and the Soho area of the West End. The recent refurbishment by Hermes Investment Management has created fabulous commercial work space in this prime London location. The system specified for floors 3, 4 and 5 at 33 Glasshouse Street is a CAM-C Direct Expansion system with supply and return air distributed via the floor plenum and a floor to ceiling height of 3.3m has been achieved by eliminating the ceiling void.

The 146,000 sq.ft. Grade II listed building, designed by architects Mewes and Davis was constructed in 1926 as a purpose built headquarters for National Westminster Bank and features a Portland Stone façade, interior columns, marble floors and walls. Fully redeveloped in 2004, the building offers a blend of contemporary office accommodation with historical period features. The adoption of underfloor air conditioning permits designers the freedom to retain ceiling features of special architectural interest and full height glazing is also unrestricted.

42 Berners Street is the result of a full demolition and redevelopment of two town houses at the prestigious Fitzrovia address. Architect, Buckley Gray Yeoman specified underfloor air conditioning as a means to maximise internal floor to ceiling height, and the final design achieved an extra floor but still within planning constraints. The design brief also stipulated a “flexible building” and to maximise the available lettable space.

Mixed use, eight storey building constructed in 2008, consisting of residential units, retail space and six floors of speculative office space. The 2,000 sq. m development features an award winning Terre Doree brick façade. The building is served by two large interlocking AHU’s via supply and extract ductwork in vertical risers and the office areas on floors 1 – 6 each have approximately 12 TU4 Fantiles which introduce supply air into the workspace.

The 16,311 sq ft building on Warwick Street has been stripped back to the core and has undergone a full redevelopment, including redesigned windows and a vibrant green brick façade to grant more architectural definition and visual interest from the street. Office accommodation featuring underfloor air conditioning has been created on floors 1-4. As a speculative office development, the high level return air option was preferred due to the ease of positioning Fantiles for future tenants as there is no underfloor segregation in the plenum.

London & Regional Properties proposed an engineering led solution to avoid demolishing the 1950’s landmark building, which had restricted floor layout unattractive to commercial clients. The existing concrete frame was retained and new frames and facade were inserted creating a visually stunning entrance as well as additional space. The redevelopment resulted in a 30% increase of the total floor area and offers a variety of quality office accommodation with a top specification fit out. Winner of the 2009 BCO Award for Best Refurbished / Recycled Workspace (London & the South East)

7 Soho Square was retained and refurbished by Land Securities as a flagship scheme and the former Art Deco building was vertically extended with a glass pavilion roof. The Art Deco ceilings were left exposed creating opportunity for air conditioning and services designed to suit the functionality of the space.

Originally constructed in 1957, and standing at 36.8 m, the tired high-rise office block adjacent to Waterloo station was transformed with a series of extensions, new façade cladding and new plant and services, including underfloor air conditioning. The extensive refurbishment completed in 2009 included extensions to the lower level floor plates and ten floors now have air-conditioned office accommodation.

Due to its period architecture style and prominent corner location there were a number of design challenges to be overcome in order to attain full air conditioned office status for speculative open plan offices, for example, the building featured unique structural elements around the columns in addition to the floorplate configuration. In particularly shallow areas where the floor void was less than 200mm, the latest TUS-EC slimline Fantile units were installed allowing a minimum floor to ceiling height of 2.6 m to be maintained on all five office floors.

This historic building in Clerkenwell was constructed in 1882 as the London premises of Lincolnshire engineering firm, Marshall Sons & Co, inspiring the recently building name, “The Bondworks”. In 2007, a full refurbishment was completed incorporating an underfloor air conditioning system. In 2018, a further refurbishment was completed and the building now offers six floors of warehouse style accommodation, featuring exposed brickwork walls and optimum natural light due to the prominent corner position. AET Flexible Space supplied upgraded controls and new Fantiles for the speculative Category-A accommodation.

Fabulous Edwardian building with a Grade II listed Portland Stone façade. A full refurbishment including structural reconfiguration to the central core and installation of new HVAC services, creating 3000 sq m of prime office space in the St James’ area of London. Both the client and Architect requested a clean finish with no services at high level to allow the decorative feature plasterwork in the ceiling to be exposed, underfloor air conditioning was subsequently specified by consultant Watkins Payne Partnership for four of the seven floors.

Completed in 2001, the total area is 37,000 sq m, with five floors comprising offices, a cafe and internal and external garden areas. Underfloor air conditioning was specified for the project for its energy efficient operation and contribution towards the Green Building design. Adopting an underfloor solution allowed the elimination of the ceiling void and the introduction of cotton sails to enhance the thermal mass from the concrete downstand beams.

The development is one of the most modern office centres in Riga, refurbished in 2009 to A-class standards. The building of 16,000 sq m comprises six floors of offices and a multi-level underground car park. Latvia is well known for its fluctuating weather conditions and the underfloor air conditioning system was specified to provide heating and cooling for the building due to its ability to cope with these fluctuating demands, whilst maintaining optimum low energy performance. Awarded most Energy Efficient and Most Sustainable Building in Latvia 2011

Bankside Studios was completed in October 2001. A full refurbishment unifying three separate buildings over a continuous stone base with the main design feature being the canting out of the two upper floors over the street in increasing degrees. The six floors offer a total of 3,900 sq. m office space with underfloor air conditioning installed throughout.

The 2008 development created 52,000 sq ft speculative office space, with additional studios and an onsite café. The exposed concrete soffit creates a thermal buffer with suspended up and down lighting granting a crisp clean space and underfloor air conditioning allows for total flexibility for future provision and subdivision.

123 TU4 Fantile units were supplied for the BMW office areas to enhance air conditioning performance. The Fantile system was chosen due its’ flexibility, ease of installation and efficient air distribution, as well as the ability to maximise headroom in the workspace. The Fantile system is connected to the BMS using an AET Flexgateway module.

The 13,766 sq m building offers large flexible floor plates and an impressive four storey atrium and double height entrance hall. Extensive perimeter glazing grants a high level of natural day lighting and panoramic views. Underfloor air conditioning was specified for the upper three floors of the IQ building occupied by energy giant Centrica. The project highlights the speed and ease of installation capability of underfloor systems; only three months passing from enquiry to order.

Underfloor air conditioning was supplied to create a high level of air conditioned comfort for this height restricted, densely occupied building. CAM-C units were adapted specifically for this project as the client required return air at high level, but was unable to adopt the CAM-V system due to noise levels exceeding the specification and no room to install a silencer unit. The CAM's were also enclosed in custom built stainless steel cabinets.

The Daman Tower is an impressive tower is located within the Dubai International Finance Centre and features fifteen floors of Grade-A office accommodation. Completed in 2013, the L-shaped block comprises two buildings of different height intersecting and overlapping each other. Offering one of the largest floor plates in the UAE, the unique design with virtually no columns offers highly efficient layouts and space utilisation.

The final project of a series of buildings commissioned by airports developer BAA Lynton and reviewed under the Egan initiative, Endeavour house is a replica of the First Point building at Gatwick airport and of the World Business Centre at Heathrow. BAA Lynton were able to save 15% costs and 25% on construction time compared with the construction of the initial building WBC, and, as planning was based on building volume, by adopting underfloor air conditioning at First Point and Endeavour house, the slab to slab height saving permitted the creation of an additional floor in the subsequent two buildings.

TAG Aviation Development at Farnborough Airfield. The underfloor air conditioning system was jointly specified by the Architect and Consultant due to its flexibility, ease of installation and design freedom that the system allows. The system was praised by the architect as it is able to be retrofitted to existing plant structure, and as a result they were able to absorb late fit out amendments into the programme without major plant reconfiguration. The site has won multiple Architecture and Aviation service awards.

Film House is an iconic building at 142 Wardour Street in the heart of Soho and once home to the Associated British Pathé film company. The building was refurbished in phases between 2006 and 2012 and underfloor air conditioning was installed throughout the four floors as part of these phased refurbishments, highlighting the modularity of installing such systems.

Originally completed in 1998, UfAC was specified for this new build development after the developer carried out a feasibility study, comparing underfloor against ceiling based air conditioning. Compared with a near identical building the developers were able to demonstrate a 2m total reduction in building height. They calculated that 25% more floor area is available using the underfloor system and savings in construction time were around five weeks. AET returned to First Point in 2015 to carry out system upgrades.

Fleet House, located at 57-61 Clerkenwell Road in London was fully refurbished in 2000. Headroom in the building was severely restricted and underfloor air conditioning was specified to overcome this and provide full air conditioning to the commercial offices, occupied at the time by Music Choice, one of the world’s leading audio broadcasters. 12 CAM-C units and 80 Fantiles serve the building’s three floors.

The Here East project announced in 2013 has transformed the former Olympic Press and Broadcast spaces at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into Europe’s biggest technology hub. The Plexal innovation centre is housed in the former press centre and contains flexible offices suitable for start-ups and technology companies. The CAM-V configuration is ideally suited to the “hangar-style” building and allows the greatest flexibility for future reconfiguration of the space.