33 Charterhouse Street - SES Engineeing Services
Project Details
Project - 33 Charterhouse Street
Sector - Commercial
Technology - MEP & POD Technology
Company - SES Engineering Services
Project Overview
33 Charterhouse Street has been designed to be one of the smartest commercial office buildings in London. By combining the physical assets with a digital twin, it will deliver exceptional building operational efficiency as well as an enhanced tenant wellbeing experience. The 200,000sqft 10-storey block in the heart of Farringdon, part-funded by Ashby Capital, was created to be Helical’s first commercial offering, targeting BREEAM ‘Outstanding’, as part of the developers’ ambition to have all new developments net zero carbon and in operation by 2025.
A forward-thinking approach on this scheme resulted in offsite being key to a complex and innovative MEP installation, with components built and tested at SES Engineering Services’ offsite manufacturing centre, Prism, including the largest and most complex riser modules ever designed by the facility. MMC has been crucial to reducing carbon, lowering risk, ensuring budgets and programme were adhered to, and was integrated seamlessly as part of the collaboration between SES, contractor Mace, engineering
consultants WSP, and Helical from day-one.
The partnership between Mace and SES has been built over several Helical developments, with building services playing an integral role in making this building smart. SES’ prior expertise and success in delivering complex engineering solutions was heavily relied upon to create an ‘ultra smart’ design at RIBA Stage 1. Extensive 4D planning between SES, WSP and Mace was the start of the prefab process, which involved detailing the complex logistics and exacting sequencing for building the offsite elements and delivering them to site before modelling them digitally. The result of this planning was the smooth installation of prefab elements, including the multi-floor riser module, saving approx. 20,000 onsite operative hours.
Extensive use of BIM was key to making 33 Charterhouse one of the most technically advanced in London. By digitally mapping the building, the team created an integrated digital platform integral to controlling energy and monitoring user behaviour to achieve high energy efficiency. Variables like heating, lighting and security are accessible on one network and give end users sight and control over the entire building via a singular platform. Asset data requirements and LOD were determined at the outset to ensure all essential assets were identified for the maintenance programme. This allowed the end FM company, Ashdown Philipps, to ensure services could be integrated correctly and were designed for frictionless operation. It also enabled an integrated app to be designed, creating an improved tenant experience.
