Case study | Sidney Webb House A principled approach Spie applied engineering first principles at a 6.4m refurbishment of student accommodation in London inspiring similar retrofits that are cutting energy use and making substantial time and cost savings. Alex Smith finds out more T he use of data in the services strategy of a large student accommodation block in Borough Market is proving to be as smart as the aspiring graduates who reside there. Design and build contractor Spie was able to significantly reduce the size of the services and energy consumption in a 6.4m M&E refurbishment of Sidney Webb House when data analysis revealed that hot-water use by students could be much less than traditional design standards suggested. We were able to design the system to suit the demand, which led to cost savings for the equipment, and significantly smaller electricity bills for the client, says George Adams, director of energy and engineering at Spie. Adams explains that students used less water after 11.30pm and early in the morning than traditionally would have been allowed for. Existing building standards did not reflect actual use, which could have led to services oversizing, he adds. We wanted to create a design standard for the building that reflected how the students would use the building, says Adams. By using a cut and paste standard system you may well be covered legally, but it can be over-designed, says Adams. The 454-bedroom building was extensively refurbished. The M&E contract included the design and installation of the electrical works, pipework, 2,400 new LED light fittings, eight air source heat pumps and a data-gathering facility. Spie was responsible for design, procurement and site management, which gave it the chance to design the services with buildability in mind and speak to suppliers at the design stage. Creating a design standard for the building that reflected reality helped Spie to meet the requirements of a challenging programme the client wanted the upgrade on site completed in just 11 weeks to minimise disruption to students. According to Adams, this would have been impossible if it had just used traditional standards. Instead the company based its design on first principles. Its about having the engineering skills to create your own methodology and benchmarks, although engineered solutions must be rigorously tested and peer reviewed. As well as studying student behaviour, the firm examined the state of the existing services to see whether any systems or components could be reused. Adams says it is committed to increasing the life-cycle of buildings and components. We look at the existing plant and systems that 28 January 2019 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Jan19 pp28-29 Spie heat pumps.indd 28 21/12/2018 15:01