The Air Conditioning Company was brought in to design a complete air conditioning installation at The Summit, Centre for Conventional & Complementary Health in Highgate Village. The installation used top-of-the-range ceiling and wall-mounted units appropriate to the extremely high-spec finish required in all areas of a major refurbishment taking place at The Summit.
The Summit is a period building in the Highgate conservation area, which presented a number of problems for The Air Conditioning Company.
As the building is situated in a conservation area, the installation company (Airconco (UK) Ltd) was obliged to work within restricted hours to have the least impact on the local area. This was essential because of the conservation area restrictions and because three private residences are allocated on the same plot and share the same entrance to The Summit.
Airconco encountered two further problems regarding the brief: a) installing a fixed unit in the basement with restricted external access, and b) the building's steep hill location, where the rear of the building is below ground level and the walls are tanked (specially coated against dampness). Due to the tanking, it was impossible to chase into the walls, so the pipework could not go through the rear of the building.
Our engineers expertly dealt with problems at hand, with external units discreetly placed to the side of the building so that there was no impact on the façade or the local residents sharing the plot. The basement unit was piped through an old ventilation duct, preventing the need for any alterations. Clever use of the drop ceilings and wall cladding allowed pipes to reach the side-facing external units without being visible from anywhere inside the building and without breaching any tanked walls.
It was also essential that high-quality and extremely efficient units were used, as windows are not used for ventilation, and all of the front rooms are south-facing and get very warm, not only in summer but also in winter when the sun is low and shines directly into these rooms.
The rooms (consulting rooms) are let to healthcare professionals on an hourly basis, so the air conditioning units were required to cool or heat the space quickly in a matter of minutes. The Air Conditioning Company provided units equipped with a boost button to meet this requirement.
Equally important in a ‘consulting room’ situation is the noise factor. Clients visiting the consulting rooms could not be disturbed during consultations or treatments by noisy air conditioning. The noise levels on the units provided fell well within the required levels and feedback from clients using the consulting rooms is that they were comfortable at all times in terms of temperature and were completely unaware of noise from the air conditioners.
This was a particularly tricky installation, far more difficult than dealing with a new building situation, since it required sensitivity to the local surroundings and in particular sympathetic installation within what is essentially a beautiful listed building.