Climaveneta Efficient Units Serving the New Coca-Cola Headquarters in London

Two FOCS2/CA class A chillers for sustainable comfort at just refurbished New Bakers Court

Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd's UK & European headquarters has moved over 550 staff to New Bakers Court, a retrofitted 1960s building in Uxbridge, west London, that totals 109,000sq ft.

The old bright red-brick edifice has now turned into a modern white façade office building whereby Coca Cola has signed an agreement to take a 15-year lease.

Transport links to central London and Europe are one of the reasons for the fizzy drinks giant location choice, due to the proximity to Heathrow Airport and bus and train terminals - and the fact that Coca-Cola's headquarters were in the vicinity before.

New Bakers Court achieved BREEAM 'Excellent' and is currently undergoing a BREEAM fit-out assessment.

Sustainability measures implemented include sourcing of renewable materials, waste and recycling facilities and above all best practice in energy management and energy monitoring.

In particular internal and external lighting have been designed in accordance with CIBSE Lighting Guides, HVAC system is based on high efficiency chillers in Class A as per Eurovent, flood detection and Sustainable Urban Drainage is overlaid on the Environment Agency flood map. Also ecological and biodiversity measures have been taken into account: wildflower meadow areas have been introduced, and exotic species in beds have been replaced by native shrub planting.

Energy management and payback periods were important to the client in the briefing for the building. In effect, tenants were previously more focused on indoor comfort, whereas they now expect to combine it with energy efficiency.

MHBC design team says "We have used the latest technology including an extremely advanced Climaveneta cooling system to create a comfortable working environment with sustainability measures considered in line with BREEAM from the outset. Cutting-edge technologies have been employed."

Due to restrictions imposed by being a refurbishment project within the height restriction of RAF Northolt, a large number of technologies, including wind and GSHP, were deemed not viable. PV and solar thermal hot water were deemed unsuitable due to financial and technical viability respectively, with the savings made by installation of the technologies not justifying the cost and complexity of their installation.

After verifying install a chiller was the best solution for air conditioning the building, it was crucial to understand which chiller to select, considering that spending a little more for a high efficiency unit could really pay off as annual energy costs.

So Climaveneta chillers have been chosen because they represent the best compromise to ensure ideal energy reduction for cooling in such a complex environment.

The units selected for the project are two FOCS2/CA high efficiency air source chillers for outdoor installation, in Class A as per Eurovent, granting 1800kW total cooling capacity. FOCS2/CA is a flexible and reliable unit and it easily adapts itself to different thermal load conditions thanks to the precise thermoregulation, granting a low energy consumption during the operating hours.

"We looked at the latest technology out there," says the MHBC Design Team, "and this HVAC solution was a good option for such a major refurbishment. The units will be fit for purpose for the foreseeable future."

Thanks to his great experience in heating and cooling new and refurbished buildings all over the world Climaveneta has won the confidence of the most demanding designers and challenging corporations like Coca Cola.

Sian Jones, Associate Director, Projects, at Coca-Cola-Enterprises, comments: "We have been headquartered in Uxbridge for many years and are delighted to be staying in the area, helping to reuse and update an established building in the process. We have now a state-of-the-art workplace that has the flexibility to accommodate the changing needs of our business whilst creating an engaging culture for our employees. We are delighted that this is represented throughout the new facilities, with a focus on creating a low-emission and zero-waste building."