F P Hurley were awarded the £5.6 million contract to provide the mechanical services design and installation for the redevelopment of St Stephens Towers in Norwich city centre. The project involved the complete refurbishment of the existing building, as well as the construction of an additional floor on each tower along with two wing extensions on both east and west sides. A brand new ‘link’ building will also connect the two buildings together, providing spacious social areas and facilities. The development provides 705 accommodation units which include a wide variety of room types, from studios and apartments with private kitchens and en-suite facilities to ‘cluster’ rooms which make use of a shared kitchen and living space.
A wide range of facilities will be on offer to residents, including a fully equipped music studio (shown left) complete with a drum kit, grand piano, guitars and a recording microphone for any budding musicians. Residents will also have access to a gym, cinema room, games room and a private-hire dining room. The development also has a generous provision of open-plan communal spaces where students can socialise and relax.
The project has been challenging in terms of the city centre location, and deliveries have been carefully controlled within specified timeframes. The existing buildings have posed challenges in terms of form and orientation, and close collaboration with the architect and design consultants was required to achieve full coordination and a high-quality installation.
A key part of the installation and commissioning were the two Energimizer CHP systems supplied by Helec. These highly energy-efficient systems are expected to save an estimated £38,000 in energy costs and 204,000 kg of CO2 emissions per year.
The Energimizer CHP units supplied by Helec are very easy to work with, and plenty of information is provided to aid the correct installation. Helec’s engineers were extremely helpful in getting the units started for the purpose of the Building Management System’s control strategy. I would highly recommend these units to other engineers and consultant specifiers – they’re great items of plant.
