The right conditions

At the centre of The Bond precinct are three heritage buildings dating from the 1840s. Owned by Delmo and refurbished by Bovis Lend Lease, they comprise 1100m² of floorspace over five levels now occupied by Lend Lease.

Harvey Industries undertook the difficult job of designing and building the mechanical services system to ventilate and air-condition each of these buildings.

Company director, Peter Harvey, says the design of the system was governed by an emphasis on energy efficiency. For example, a thermostatically activated light on each level indicates whether the outside ambient conditions will allow comfortable occupancy of the building without the need for air conditioning.

The structural limitations of working within the sandstone heritage buildings also affected the design and installation.

"The electrical services and pipework had to be hidden within the existing building structure, which contained few hollow-core walls," says Harvey. "Rather than multiple air-cooled condensers, a central plant area proved the best solution."

Five Carrier Aquasnap chillers and multiple fan-coil and underceiling units service the buildings. Two of the chillers are reverse cycle to provide heating in winter. The air-conditioning on each floor is individually controlled by a touchpad, which can manually override the central timeclock, set to operate from 6am to 9am.

Story by: Trendsideas