CLINICAL BUILDINGS


some recommendations to give the Trust assurance that the design would meet its requirements.” Andy Munro has been with Mott MacDonald for 15 years, and has worked on the pathology building scheme from its inception. He said: “One of the most important aspects of the project was the building’s resilience. Being on a healthcare estate, and given the services it will provide, we needed to ensure there was no downtime.” To do this, Mott MacDonald’s M&E Basis of Design document included the proposal to bring across two independent high voltage supplies to the new building. These are diversely routed, and both rated at 100% with allowance for spare capacity, and are connected into the Gledhow Wing’s main switch panel. Andy Munro explained: “The main hospital electrical infrastructure here is an HV ring, with high voltage standby generation. The HV supplies connect into high voltage transformers in two substations on the lower ground floor of the new lab building, which then convert to LV. They supply main switchboards ‘A’ and ‘B’, and operate in N+1 configuration. Both the ground and first floor are provided with two sub-section panels to supply final circuit distribution boards at floor level. Supplying each floor with two switch panels to split the load across the floor plate reduces the risk of a full floor being affected should a problem occur, or maintenance be required.”


Dual supplies, diversely routed, are


provided to each sub-section panel, complete with automatic transfer switches, so that in the event of one cable being damaged, the changeover will ensure continuous operation from the second. Within the main switch panels are busbar couplers that allow the incoming ‘A’ stream to switch over and provide power to the internal dual supplies up the main switch panels on each floor. These panels then distribute to local final circuit distribution boards around each floor – serving the specialist labs and departments. There are also dedicated supplies to the mechanical services.


Fibre optic supplies “Information technology-wise,” Andy Munro continued, “the building incorporates dual incoming fibre optic connections, diversely routed, and taken from alternative existing core rooms to ensure resilience to the ICT infrastructure. High count copper cable for voice communications come into IT cabinets on the lower ground floor, distributed to local hubs on each floor, and then out to final connection points. Category 6 cabling provides future-proofing for high data flows, which will give the Trust the flexibility to introduce new equipment as and when needed. For lighting, we used the CIBSE LG2 Healthcare Lighting Guide,


The laboratory areas feature lighting that provides the correct colour temperature and rendering for scientists and other laboratory staff viewing samples and tissue.


with LED lighting installed throughout, and extensive uplighting – so that we don’t have dark ceilings. A large lightwell runs through the first floor to the roof to provide natural daylight into the central open plan area. We have also fitted high bay-mounted LED lighting there – with the lights on mechanical winches, so that they can be lowered for maintenance.” He added: “The laboratory areas


feature lighting that provides the correct colour temperature and rendering for scientists and other laboratory staff viewing samples and tissue. Resilience- wise, there is a connection to the lower ground floor LV switch panel to allow a standby generator to be brought in to provide power independently of the main hospital infrastructure. This would, however, only be needed in the event of a major incident.” Daylight linking, manual, presence, and absence detection control, are used for lighting, with scene setting control employed in the large open plan laboratory area. All luminaires are LED type, with a minimum 50,000 hour lifetime, 4000 K colour temperature, and Simmtronic DALI dimmable drivers. Andy Munro explained that throughout the building varying air change rates apply – from 10 litres/ second/person in offices, to 10 air changes / hour in CL2 laboratories, and 6 air changes / hour in WCs. Emma Storey explained that benching, specialist furniture, and many of the other fixtures and fittings, are being supplied by Labflex. Of the safety cabinets in laboratory areas, she added: “These will be fitted in certain locations depending on the work likely to be undertaken there. The dedicated flues and other extract


infrastructure for them are already in situ, but the cabinets will be installed by a specialist contractor.” We had already touched on the speed with which samples will arrive from other parts of the St James’s site – via a dedicated pneumatic tube system which connects a number of other buildings to the new facility. Andy Munro elaborated: “For the new Aerocom pneumatic tube system we had to engineer in eight lines of sufficient diameter to transport the sample pods via an underground service duct provided as part of enabling package engineered by DSSR. The lines runs through the duct from one side of the Gledhow Wing, and then under the car park opposite the new pathology building and the access road just outside into this building.” Emma Storey said: “The main challenge with bringing in such pipes is getting them around corners. Aerocom has recently upgraded the whole of our pneumatic tube system; the original system was another supplier’s. Wherever you are, samples will arrive in minutes to start being processed. Fast turnaround times are essential in pathology. Urgent results might – for example – be required within an hour.”


Sustainability elements Turning to the ‘green aspects’ of the new building, Emma Storey said: “There is a significant Trust drive towards Net Zero, so it was important that the building have a low carbon footprint.” Alison Ryan said: We have three Mitsubishi air source heat pumps within the rooftop plant enclosure. With the drive towards carbon Net Zero and low carbon electric, air source heat pumps are seen as a key technology.”


February 2024 Health Estate Journal 57


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