Since mandating BIM back in 2011, the UK government has played a crucial role in the effort to turn a Platform approach to construction into a reality.
In labs with extracting equipment, especially fume cupboards, the make-up air required may be a very high volume and allow for centralised air cooling.We always review the possibility of variable-volume fume cupboards to reduce the energy demand, whilst being aware that the stack discharge on fume cupboards must remain constant, which means the fans will require a bleed damper to allow make-up air to enter the fan to maintain constant efflux velocity.
With any fume extracting system, we will ensure the material of construction throughout the entire system is suitable for the extracted fumes.Solvents and acids are particularly good at corroding metal, such as the metal fixing a fire damper to a wall..The electrical engineer should review with the client the earthing requirements, including static discharge within the floor construction or electromagnetic interference for sensitive equipment, and inform the lab design architect.
Some client laboratory equipment can be damaged or become dangerous if there’s a loss of power, so understanding any Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) requirements early on is essential.. As usual, the coordination between the MEP services becomes the difficult part of the latter stages.It’s not unusual to have an extremely busy ceiling void, so it is important to start with the drainage and then the ventilation.
We have to bear in mind the coordination below the ceiling too, with dropping services, wall-mounted isolation and panels, shut-off valves and emergency stop buttons, all competing for space on the walls.
Internal windows will be needed in labs with dangerous atmospheres to ensure line of sight for occupant safety, which will further impact the below ceiling coordination.We want the people who invest to continue to invest.
Sharp points out that we use a lot of energy to make water, and a lot of water to make energy.We need to understand which is the most economically efficient, and which is the best for the environment.
Having clear, data-based answers, will help to make regulatory and policy decisions.The more information we have, the better outcomes we’ll be able to achieve.. Impacting the future with digitisation and MMC.