FOCUS: EDUCATIONAL SERVICES


BSEE


CMD’s Betatrak takes centre stage at University of Warwick’s Faculty of Arts


With their flexibility, low maintenance and ease and speed of installaon, powertrack systems are oen the power distribuon networks of choice in the higher educaon sector. Universies have experienced huge change over the past few years as teaching and studying methods connue to evolve, fed both by trends in interdisciplinary learning and by technology. With change comes the need for agile buildings that can adapt easily, and mulfunconal spaces that oer flexible


accommodaon for dierent acvies and user groups. Against this backdrop, powertrack systems have become more appealing to specifiers than ever.


O


ne of the


universities that has embraced new approaches to education and embedded them


in its campus development plans is the University of Warwick. The university is investing in a significant campus development plan, aimed at enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge sharing. The idea is to co-locate subjects within the same building to allow a cross-pollination of complementary subjects through, formal learning, research and informal break out spaces.


Amongst the showpiece developments at the University of Warwick are the £33 million Faculty of Arts building and the £54.3 million Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building (IBRB), both of which have been specified with busbar underfloor power distribution system and floor boxes from UK


manufacturer, CMD Ltd. Across the two projects, CMD Ltd has provided more than 1.2m of the company’s 63A Betatrak busbar powertrack system, creating a flexible and scalable power distribution system.


Faculty of Arts


Designed collaboratively by Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios and Moses Cameron Williams (MCW) Architects, the Faculty of Arts Building at the University of Warwick will bring the arts and humanities departments together in the same environment for the first time. The new facilities


include lecture theatres and performance spaces, along with teaching facilities and offices. CMD’s Betatrak powertrack busbar system has been specified for the underfloor power distribution system in all the teaching and office areas. The appointed M&E Contractor, Derry Building Services, is responsible for installing the power distribution in the floor voids and has used 63A standard earth Betatrak to create the networks, with tap offs every 300mm as required, providing local access to power across the floorplate of each storey. Adrian Littlejohns from Derry Building Services comments: “Following installation of the distribution boards at each level of the new building we installed 91 CMD feed units to connect the Betatrak network. We were then able to connect lengths of the powertrack quickly and easy to create the network. We primarily used 3.6m lengths of Betatrak, which enabled us to install long runs quickly, but we also used the product in 2.4m, 1.8m and 1.2m lengths, which gave us the flexibility to take the power distribution into tight and awkward corners with the same plug and play ease of use.”


Floor Box Solution In all, the Derry Building Services


team has installed more than 1.2km of Betatrak throughout the Faculty of Arts building, taking power to more than 500 floor boxes via tap offs on the network. Originally, a bespoke floorbox solution was specified for the building but this would have been both costly and time- consuming, prompting the contractor to propose a change to the CMD’s fast-fit 20 Series floor boxes. Manufactured at CMD’s Rotherham factory, the fast-fit 20 Series floor boxes provided time- saving benefits, guaranteed consistency and standardisation that will enable ease of procurement should any additional floor boxes need to be retrofitted in the future. Adrian continues: “Initially the electrical consultant had been concerned that a standard floor box would not be robust enough for the busy student environment and they were particularly concerned about the durability and aesthetics of the trim.


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“The CMD team worked with us to value engineer the specification to their fast-fit 20 Series product, which provided savings on both procurement and installation costs, while offering a readily available solution that fitted the needs of the building. CMD supported us with product samples and detailed technical data to demonstrate to both the consultant and the client that the change of specification would provide the quality required, simplifying installation and making it faster.”


CMD’s four-compartment fast-fit 20 Series floor boxes were installed throughout the building, with RCD protection provided within each unit. Each floor box contains twin sockets in two compartments, with the RCD and data connections in the remaining two.


IBRB


The power distribution specification for the IBRB development was similar, with the same 63A standard earth Betatrak and a mix of three- and four-compartment floor boxes. This building will bring together up to 300 biomedical researchers from across the School of Life Sciences and Warwick Medical School so, once again, future flexibility was important. The use of the 63A Betatrak system not only allows for reconfiguration, it also provides the potential to increase the number of work stations and the variety of equipment in use. The teaching, study and write-up facilities have also been specified with 118 Rotasoc under desk modular power units, in the IBRB building, complete with feed units. This ensures


that the plug and play installation takes the electrical distribution direct to where power is needed at the desk, in a flexible installation that can be reconfigured easily as layouts and requirements change.


Manufactured by CMD Ltd at the company’s Rotherham factory, the Rotasoc under desk power module system connects to the Betatrak power distribution network via an infeed and RCBO circuit protection. The units allow a flexible configuration of power and data sockets at each workstation and, because the system is modular, additional units can be added on a plug and play basis should needs change. With a 32A internal busbar, the sockets provide smooth 3600 rotation, on- or off-load, increasing the flexibility for configuring and orienting equipment on the desk still further. David Hammond, capital programme director from the University of Warwick adds: “The university’s investment in these two buildings aims to drive collaboration in subject areas where we already have a strong reputation for excellence. We wanted to create buildings that embrace innovation and the potential for future change.”


Stephen Roberts, head of sales at CMD Ltd adds: “The education sector - the higher education sector in particular - is very forward focused and is adapting quickly to the needs of both students and commercial partners. Our underfloor and under desk solutions complement that progressive approach and we’re delighted to have been involved in the University of Warwick’s exemplar new campus buildings.”


BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER APRIL 2021 33


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