NG Bailey delivers innovative services for project at Manchester Metropolitan University
NG Bailey has completed the £10.5 million project to install innovative services for a project at Manchester Metropolitan University. It involved providing full mechanical, electric and plumbing services — plus structured cabling — for the new business school and student hub. The work took 15 months to complete and was carried out by four of the company’s five divisions — engineering, offsite manufacture, IT and facilities services — working alongside main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd.
The projects consists of three buildings, linked by two atria, which are enclosed within a glazed curtain wall to appear as a single structure. It includes lecture theatres, specialist areas, cafeteria, circulation areas and plant and maintenance zones. It will accommodate over 5000 students and 250 staff when it is fully operational.
One of the main innovations is a system to circulate water from a borehole to cool the building via pipework cast into the structural concrete soffit. This water is also used to flush urinals and toilets.
Rooms are illuminated with energy-efficient lighting that responds to daylight levels and the presence of people.
Mike Darlington, NG Bailey’s managing director for the north and Scotland engineering divisions, said, ‘This was a significant contract for us and one that tested the skills of all the divisions involved. One of the main challenges for the team was the early co-ordination of the services within the raised floor voids and the commissioning of a borehole system that had not been used before.’
