Electrical Contracting News (ECN) December 2016 | Page 22
PROJECT
FOCUS
The building is
designed to reflect
Tate Modern’s global
standing as a curator
of modern art.
THE ART OF
CABLE MANAGEMENT
The refurbished Bankside Power Station became an instant icon of both the art world and the
architectural profession when it opened its doors as the Tate Modern in 2000. The new extension to the
gallery that opened this summer may not have the industrial pedigree of the original but it is no less
striking or prestigious in its design. Russell Drury takes a detailed look at the installation of flexible cable
management within the concrete pour by REL, during construction of the Tate Modern’s new extension.
L
ocated to the south of the
existing gallery, Tate 2
was designed by globally
renowned architectural
practice Herzog & de
Meuron and its twisted
pyramid concrete
structure rises 10 storeys
high, matching the height of the former
power station’s towers.
The building is not only designed
to provide a backdrop for the artworks
within, but to reflect Tate Modern’s global
standing as a curator of modern art. While
the new structure is very different from
the Orwellian grandeur of the existing
building, there is a synergy in the bare
concrete finishes that characterise the
interior of both.
When it came to installing the cable
management for the single core that rises
through the centre of the Tate Modern
extension, this focus on bare concrete walls
presented significant challenges. Consequently,
the requirement for flush mounted electrical
accessories demanded an in-situ cable
containment solution with minimal exposed
service box lids within these areas.
The previous installation phases for
the building used the traditional in-situ
galvanised conduit method, but REL
immediately identified this method as being
costly and, more importantly, unworkable.
REL’s solution was to install Marshall
Tufflex’s ‘Supertube’ on a floor-by-floor
basis as the building was constructed, with
the installation on each floor carried out
prior to each stage of the concrete pour.
‘The requisite
flush cable
management
infrastructure
needed to
accommodate
a wide variety
of cabling.’
Hidden solution
The core rises up all 10 storeys of the
building and includes staircases, passenger
lifts and a goods lift. The requisite flush
cable management infrastructure needed
to accommodate a wide variety of cabling
including power, lighting, data, fire alarm,
security, access control and CCTV, creating
dedicated networks comprising around
4.2km of conduit in total and 2,000 back
boxes and fittings.
Supertube provides a robust cable
management solution as it is pliable and
durable in its construction and allows up to
30m runs between service junctions, greatly
reducing installation time. The conduit
construction is polyethylene internal and
external layers sandwiching and sealing a
welded aluminium tube within.
22 | December 2016
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11/11/2016 16:35