The Pompidou Centre
in Paris, France is a
classic example of
plant and equipment
being the main feature
of a building rather
than masking it.
in applying an efficient engineering solution that is suitable for the
building type.
So, what’s important here?
Although it is important to have plant area that is sufficient to cater
for the main equipment that will heat, cool and ventilate a building,
its location is rarely the significant factor in a poorly engineered
building.
The Engineer can cater for plant rooms that are on the roof, in
a basement, mid-floor or even remote to the envelope of the
building so that the Architect can achieve a pleasing balance of form
and function. The main plant areas can be screened from view in
most locations and noise reduction measures can be taken to limit
machine audibility. Some clever designs can even utilise plant as a
feature of the building. The Pompidou Centre in Paris, France is a
classic example of plant and equipment being the main feature of a
building rather than masking it.
Rogers and Piano, the architects, must have had a visionary moment
when designing the building although this may look out of place in
Gaborone!
The dominant factor in whether the building remains a success over
its lifetime is whether the building was designed to have connectivity.
It would be inconceivable for an architect to plan a building with
little or no regard for the circulation of people or goods and the
same is true for its building services.
The connectivity of main plant such as chillers, boilers, heat pumps
and air handling units to the terminal units or points of use is
vital. A plant room that does not connect to the principal service
distribution/reticulation routes, usually via risers, causes problems. If
there is poor connectivity to secondary routes and terminal devices,
usually in floor or ceiling voids then this also causes problems.
This strategic early planning of the space is the battle ground for the
Architect and the Engineer.
• The Architect ideally wants small risers in limited quantity so
that he can maximise the accommodation space to meet the
client’s brief.
• The Engineer needs this vital connectivity to each floor of a
building so that he can ensure that whatever system is used
to mechanically service the building the space for vertical
reticulation is in place and agreed.
• The Architect may wish to limit the floor to slab height with
minimal ceiling voids so that the overall building height is within
a set criteria and the floor to ceiling heights are generous and
give plenty of natural daylight.
• The Engineer may require more than is provided, which may be
further complicated by the imposition of structural downstand
beams. As well as housing terminal devices, the ceiling void
is a conduit for many different services, all needing to be
coordinated.
• The Architect may wish to use plasterboard ceilings so he can
effect a pleasant aesthetic finish.
• The Engineer may have a design in place that may lend itself to
a more accessible lay in grid type ceiling.
The obvious and essential criteria, is to incorporate the servicing
and distribution strategy into the overall building concept where
the key factors of size, location and relationship are addressed at
an early stage. It is also vital that each discipline is granted sufficient
time by the client to work through each phase of the design and
fine tune this iterative process. A well informed and knowledgeable
client understands the process whereas a design process that is
rushed always reveals itself at some stage during the build or in the
finished product.
The Architect should also be aware (and the Engineer should
also advise) of the likely complexity and density of the services
dependent on building type. A laboratory for exam H