Royal Bank of Scotland, Aldgate Union, London

The overall project comprises 4 phases. MJN Colston were engaged on phase 1b which was the refurbishment of an existing 8 storey office including 3 basement levels and 2 roof plant levels within 1 Aldgate Union for the Royal Bank of Scotland over an initial 41 weeks services installation programme.

The mechanical services installations undertaken by MJN Colston were:-

• Chilled water installation serving a range of fan coil units, active & passive chilled beams, air handling units & close control air conditioning units. • Low temperature hot water heating installation serving a range of fan coil units, air handling units, perimeter trench heating & radiators • Condenser water installation • Local DX air conditioning • Natural Gas installation serving boilers & kitchen areas • Fuel Oil installation serving generators • Domestic water installations • Foul Drainage installation • Rain Water Drainage installation • Sprinkler installation • Dry Riser installation adaptations & refurbishment • Plant & Riser gantries

Due to the “fast track” nature of the project, it was procured via Mace Limited on a two stage basis. MJN Colston, working with Mace Limited provided cost advice to give “cost certainty” milestones at 60%, 80% & 100% during the tender process.

The project was divided into a number of specialist trade contractor packages, e.g. ductwork, BMS, electrical, toilet fit out, kitchen & restaurant fit out, generators, etc. In the majority of areas, MJN Colston were designated the lead coordinator for the production of the fully coordinated working drawings, liaising with all parties as necessary.

This package approach provided a number of challenges in ensuring the correct interfaces between the various trades was achieved.

Due to the limited space for storage & working imposed by an “island site” on the outskirts of the City of London, MJN Colston implemented a high level of pre-fabrication for the services installations within basement plantrooms, risers & roof plantrooms.

Pipework, up to 400mm diameter, was fabricated off site by one of our vendor rated specialist contractors & held at their premises for “call off” delivery as required. Deliveries were coordinated to suit site progress, available short term site storage, crane stoppages (wind / breakdown) & access requirements of other trades. Accordingly, MJN Colston allocated dedicated engineering resource to manage this process.

The project included a number of “business critical” areas, such as I.T. & Server rooms, that required to be operational & handed over prior to the project completion. This allowed the client to complete & commission the “I.T.” systems at the earliest opportunity in readiness for the building occupation.

Project Team

  • Client - Royal Bank of Scotland
  • Main Contractor - Mace Limited
  • Architect - Shepard Robson
  • Services Engineers - WSP
  • Quantity Surveyors - Turner and Townsend
  • Services Value - £9.7m