Caliban Tower / London Borough of Hackney

We are working with LB Hackney and Wates Living Space on the Caliban Tower project which is the construction of a new plant room within an underground garage, decommission of the existing rooftop plant room and installation of heat interface heating systems within 52 occupied dwellings within the 12-storey high-rise block.

Phase 1

The project is phased with the initial phase completing measured surveys and specification which we engaged with Butler and Young to complete on our behalf. Their specification was signed off in August 2018 with the following phase of mechanical works for the construction of the new plant room and booster tank rooms and installation of all new equipment including the building management system. The new heating system consisted of 3 x 300kw floor-standing boilers and flue rising above the 12th floor which required planning permission and subsequent planning application which again Butler and Young completed on our behalf.

The mechanical works were completed within a 10-week period although the planning application and determination caused a delay and was only completed at the back end of December 2018. The mechanical phase of works included an entire new distribution network of risers to be installed to all floors which was completed as part of the initial phased works. The new riser distribution pipework was located within the properties balconies and required diamond drilling on each floor. The riser pipework was installed and will be boxed in to match existing finishes.

The Team

The onsite team consisted of a dedicated Resident Liaison Officer, Project Manager, Mechanical installation teams and general builders. Once the commercial mechanical works had been completed the new risers could be pressure tested to allow the residents properties to be added to the new network. The RLO contacted the residents in the first instance through hand-delivered letters followed up by a communal meeting at the nearby residents association centre at an evening meeting to allow those residents who worked through the day to attend. At the meeting we introduced the contract team and walked through the works and how they would impact the residents whilst we were completing them in their homes. The flat installations consisted of 5 to 6 radiators in each flat and included a towel rail radiator all specified Stelrad Elite,  a new heat interface unit which runs from the new network riser installation and plant room installation due to the nature of the design which will allow both the new and old plant rooms to run at the same time.

The project itself started very slowly due to planning approval but once approved the works themselves were completed on time, to budget and received several thank you cards within the site compound.