As you can imagine, the renovation of a historic building comes with many complex challenges. But each of these challenges also provides the opportunity for discovering innovative solutions. WeWork, the shared workspace and service provider, has renovated the renowned Aviation House in central London to provide their tenants with 8 floors of office space that include the luxury of a modern office environment and amenities. This project presented challenges that included meeting WeWork’s requirements and the unique technical requirements determined by the space itself. LG worked with partners in the UK for a quick project turnaround while ensuring the satisfaction of the client.
Aviation House before and after renovations
The Project at a Glance
Aviation House was originally built between 1909 and 1911 in the borough of Camden in London as the Church of the Holy Trinity and was redeveloped as offices in 1999. With help from their partners, LG was able to complete the installation of their Multi V 5 VRF system within 10 weeks to deliver the 2nd largest LG Multi V reference site in all of the UK. Multi V 5 was selected based on many factors, including system durability, design and build-friendly model selection software capabilities, and superior LG technical support. Through this support from LG, the Multi V VRF system was easily customized to match WeWork specifications and UK regulatory requirements. LG UK worked in cooperation with an array of engineers, contractors and installers to deliver a full Cat A commercial office fit out across 8 floors in this historic location.
Noise level regulations were met with the use of CFD analysis
Challenges Along the Way
1. Strict Noise Regulations
One of the first challenges for this renovation installation was the management of equipment noise emission levels. WeWork Aviation House is tucked between commercial and residential areas and limited rooftop space required that some outdoor units be installed on the ground floor. According to requirements of the National Planning Policy in England, a soundproof barrier needed to be installed around the ground floor units. This barrier negatively impacted air suction capabilities of the units on the ground and ultimately caused them to lose overall capacity. LG was able to utilize CFD analysis to secure the targeted capacity with smooth air intake without causing short cycling of the system.
Exposed ceilings and duct without insulation presented a major challenge
in discharge air temperature management
2. High Evaporating Temperature
Another challenge for this installation was presented by the exposed ceiling structure of the building itself. In order to prevent condensation from forming on the ducts throughout the facility, a target discharge temperature of 12ºC or above was required. This would also require a higher evaporating temperature from the system. Indoor units are produced with a factory set evaporating temperature of 4ºC, which results in a discharge air temperature of 10ºC-11ºC. To overcome this issue, LG developed customized fan coil performance data to produce an evaporating temperature of 9ºC and a supply air temperature of 12ºC~14ºC.
Customized fan coil performance data was utilized to manage condensation forming on ducts
AC Smart 5 integration with the BMS was a critical requirement at WeWork Aviation House
3. BMS Integration
A precise and comprehensive control solution is imperative for an HVAC system in an office environment. To provide an optimal interface with the on-site BMS, LG installed their AC Smart 5 solution with BACnet gateway. AC Smart 5 provided seamless integration with the Aviation House BMS without any additional devices. Extensive testing was done to ensure full compatibility with the LG AC Smart 5 controller and the trend system of the BMS and system controllers.
From design and feasibility testing to installation and implementation, LG provided complete technical support and onsite assistance to ensure timely and effective delivery for this restoration project at Aviation House. With implementation of the latest in analysis software and capable partners, the WeWork Aviation House project thoroughly met all technical and regulatory requirements. LG proved to be not just an HVAC system provider but a true business partner from beginning to end.
