SPECIALIST VENTILATION
Design challenges for one of Europe’s tallest lab buildings
The newest addition to Imperial College London’s White City campus, The Sir Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Hub, is one of Europe’s tallest laboratory buildings. Since the base build was completed in December 2019, end-users have started moving in to carry out life-changing research into new medical technology and scientific developments. Incorporating a mixture of office space, research labs, and space for future ultraclean operating suites, the centre will help people affected by a diverse range of medical conditions. Here Richard Walder of Buro Happold, the project’s MEP, façade, and fire design consultants, talks through the design challenges – particularly in terms of specialist ventilation – associated with putting a biomedical research centre in the heart of Imperial College’s new White City North campus.
The original aim of the Michael Uren building was to provide a centre for innovative and ground-breaking research in biomedical sciences. This commitment to innovation will be associated with the hub throughout its lifetime, and the project team tasked with creating the building was given clear instructions that its design and operation should be as impressive as the work going on inside it. The resulting 14-storey design was brought forward to create one of the tallest laboratory buildings in Europe, while 1,296 concrete fins weighing one tonne each were used to help produce a modern, striking façade. The crucial design feature, however, is one which can’t be viewed by those walking past – the inner workings of the building’s ventilation system are crucial to its operation, determining the safety of those working inside and others living and working in the dense urban surrounding area.
Safe dilution and dispersal For the project team tasked with the design and construction, the building’s location meant careful consideration had to be given to its day-to-day operation after opening. As is the case with all laboratory buildings of this type, fumes created by the research going on inside need to be dispersed into the atmosphere in the event of a spillage, but the building’s close proximity to residential properties and other laboratory buildings in the area meant emphasis had to be placed on finding the safest way of doing this. A particular consideration for the project team in the safe dispersal of air was the building’s close proximity to a tall residential block, sitting just 16 metres from the site. At 30 storeys, inadequate dilution and dispersal processes could have had an adverse impact on the block’s residents. To combat this risk, each of the extract streams from the building is
The newest addition to Imperial College London’s White City campus, The Sir Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Hub, is one of Europe’s tallest laboratory buildings; 1,296 concrete fins were used to help produce a modern, striking façade.
September 2020 Health Estate Journal 45
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