Greenbank Student Accommodation

• Residential

Greenbank Student Accommodation

Summary

Student accommodation has become very high profile over recent years and the Greenbank project for the University of Liverpool was certainly one of the bigger ones. The Kimpton team delivered a broad range of mechanical, electrical and plumbing services to a large-scale project within a tight 16-month project.  We also added additional value by sourcing alternative equipment to that specified by the design consultant in order to reduce cost but maintain the high standard of finish.

Parties involved

The end user client for this project was The University of Liverpool.  The main contractor overseeing the project was the University’s in-house construction company, ULCCO Special Projects Ltd, to whom Kimpton were a subcontractor.  Kimpton have previously completed work on other projects for this client in the past couple of years.

Requirements

The Greenbank Student Village is a new development over 2 phases for the University of Liverpool just outside the city centre.  Phase 1 consists of a village of almost 500 en-suite bedrooms in two blocks, a gym and social spaces.  The construction company were looking for a sub-contractor to deliver all of the mechanical, electrical and plumbing installations within a tight timescale to enable students to move in for the new academic year.

Solution

The design consultant for the project had specified a range of fittings for the installation which Kimpton evaluated and priced up.  Through a significant piece of value engineering work, Kimpton was able to suggest and, with the agreement of the design consultant, source a number of more cost-effective alternatives to items including light fittings and radiators which saved the University money while still meeting the style and functional criteria.

The range of work included:

• Fitting out the plant room for heating and hot water to all of the ensuite bedrooms, kitchens and shared spaces. The sitewide heating is provided by a dedicated Energy Centre, consisting of gas-fired boilers and CHP’s (combined heat and power units). These generate all the heating load for the site which is then distributed to each plant room via an underground district heating network. Within each remote plant room this connects to a plate heat exchanger which provides the heating and hot water load for the various student areas.

Inside the plant room

• Installing supply and extract ventilation to all the private bathrooms and kitchens and to the public areas such as the gym and the Social Hub area.
• Wiring to all the electrical fittings from general & emergency lights, high and low voltage power systems and supplies, the PA system, fire alarms, door access, and intercom systems.

Kimpton’s experience in managing student living projects enabled them to deliver a high quality of work in a short space of time in difficult circumstances.  During the peak periods of the project, there were upto 80 Kimpton operatives on site.

The Perfect Plant Room

With so many trades on-site at the same time, coordination is critical to success.  Daily meetings with other contractors including kitchen fitters, painters and plasterboard contractors were necessary to ensure that everyone could achieve their goals safely and on time.

The Kimpton Benefit in Student Accommodation

Through the initial effort put into value engineering at the planning stage, Kimpton were able to save the University a significant amount of money on sourcing a range of alternative equipment manufacturers without compromising on quality, which ultimately kept the whole project on budget.

Kimpton delivered a broad range of mechanical, electrical and plumbing services to a large-scale project within a tight 16 month project.  The team’s experience of coordinating with many other trades contributed to the smooth running of a successful project.

The finished Greenbank Student Accommodation Project