Mechanical and electrical engineering contractor, Proline, has been awarded the £3.6 million building services installation by Bardsley Construction, the main contractors on Mulbury’s £30 million private rented sector (PRS) development on Blossom Street in the Ancoats area of Manchester.
Designed by Tim Groom Architects the project comprises two adjacent blocks of seven and eight storeys with a total of 143 residential units, including 49 one-bedroom apartments, 90 two-bedroom apartments, one three-bedroom apartments and three townhouses. The development sits on the transition between the city centre and the Ancoats conservation area and has been designed to reference the local heritage of brick mills and warehouses while providing contemporary urban living with extensive natural light and efficient services.
The concrete frame for the project is already under construction and Proline will be on site in June, with practical completion for the scheme scheduled for the end of March 2019.
Proline, which has in-house mechanical and electrical design capability, is currently in design development for the project to ensure the specification meets both client requirements and budgets. The mechanical scope of works will include incoming services, heating, cooling and ventilation, domestic hot and cold water and sanitation, smoke ventilation and sprinkler systems and building management system installation and integration. The specification will include two CHP (combined heat and power) units, which will be linked to a district heating system supplying hot water to the apartments via HIU (heat interface units). The CHPs will also generate electricity, which will be fed into the grid as part of the overall energy strategy for the building.
Proline will also deliver the electrical design development and installation, including electrical distribution and containment, lighting, fire alarm, TV aerial and satellite, data and telephone systems, door entry, access control and CCTV. The company is also developing a modular service cupboard, which will be prefabricated off site for each apartment at the Blossom Street project. Proline’s in-house design team is developing the concept in Revit and the modules will be constructed in-house at the company’s workshop facilities.
Andrew Mitton, managing director at Proline Engineering Services said: “The Blossom Street project demonstrates the potential to apply building services best practice in a private rental sector scheme with the specification of CHP energy and modular service cupboards. The use off-site modular units will streamline the programme by providing on-site labour efficiencies, while creating a smart and uniform appearance within a small, but highly-engineered, space.
“We are delighted to add Blossom Street to the list of high profile residential projects currently on site with Proline and look forward to bringing our solutions-driven approach to addressing the specific requirements of the client, the build programme and the end user to similar schemes in the near future.”
