Kimpton have been appointed to deliver the mechanical package for the new BTR Scheme for Watkin Jones and Central Quay Cardiff on the old Brains Brewery site. The initial phased award is for £6.7m.
The scheme, which includes two interlinked 23 storey towers will create 718 apartments, ranging in size with 1, 2 or 3 bedrooms. All will have access to facilities such as a concierge, lobby, gym, gardens, roof gardens and terraces, as well as nearly 20,000 sq ft of leisure and retail space.
The development is being delivered to a significantly higher spec than any previous build we have seen in the BTR sector and features some very high tech heating, ventilation and hot water solutions.
The first of these is the 200 litre Internal heat pump cylinders. These are a genuinely practical solution that allow a realistic amount of water for a family, whilst deploying the best of heat pump technology to deliver low carbon hot water.
We have designed the system inside the apartments to allow all of this to be pre-constructed and piped off site, so installation times will be greatly reduced. These self contained pods will house the cylinder and expansion vessel as well as creating a home for the washing machine and airing space, even in the smallest apartments. They’ll be built and connected using copper pipe throughout too, so they are being built to last.
On the ventilation, the apartments will have a Multi Extract Vent (MEV) system, linked to a mechanical heat recovery system (MVHR) to minimise waste and improve efficiency across the board. These ensure any heat generated is cleaned and recycled, again to minimise carbon impact and running costs.
Safety, and fire safety in particular, is obviously critical in any project but particularly so with a pair of 23 storey towers. A twin piped Wet Riser, linked to the sprinkler system, has been created to help fight a potential fire.
A 67,500 litre reinforced GRP Tank in the basement plant room, is connected to a 90 kW pump system, that draws 128 amps when in full flow. This can deliver 750 litres per MINUTE and would empty half of this gigantic tank in 45 minutes.
As the fill time from the town main would normally be 36 hours, it shows you the huge capacity to deliver water to the location of a fire, when it’s needed. As a back up, and to help with an urgent refill, there’s also an inlet option to take water from a fire service pumper. On average in the UK, these hold around 1,800 litres.
Overall, it’s a superb project and one we are absolutely delighted to be involved with. It feels like the standard in BTR is being raised again and if this is what the next generation of BTR looks like, then it has a very bright future.
Kimpton have delivered nearly 12,000 PBSA and BTR rooms across the UK from Canterbury to London, Liverpool and Chester. We’re experts in low energy, low carbon solutions for the BTR and PBSA sectors.
Talking about the appointment, Tim Davis, General Manager of Kimpton Ltd said “We have worked with the team at Watkins Jones since the early days of student accommodation and BTR properties and have a great track record of working together and delivering exceptional schemes. This one is a bit special however and has the potential to become one of our biggest ever projects. So, as you can imagine, we’re excited and looking forward to getting on site and getting underway”
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