The project

The new City Road Basin scheme in London’s Islington is a high-density residential and commercial development with parks, canal-side walkways and other leisure facilities. The housing at 145 City Road comprises a 40-storey tower, featuring accommodation from studio flats to three-bedroomed apartments and penthouses, some with roof terraces. There is an emphasis on high-technology businesses in the nine-storey commercial tower. Retail units of various sizes are available at ground level. Bringing all of this nineteenth-century semi-derelict area into positive public use is expected to cost over £1 billion. Already, the project is making a highly visible addition to the London skyline.

Our design 

A1 Flue Systems was commissioned to work on the residential tower. The client asked if a solution could be found to ongoing maintenance requirements, which would involve using a rotating management unit, lowered from a fixing on the roof, adjacent to the flues. The design answer was a special hinged mechanism for the flues, allowing them to be laid back out of the way, as and when necessary. The first flue was connected to a 250 mm diameter boiler rising into a 450 mm header system, complete with a 450 mm branch off, going to a 650 mm fan dilution system. Connection number two was for a 450 mm diameter flue capped off within the plant room, designed to house two condensing boilers. The CHP exhaust involved connecting to a 180 mm flue, also capped off within the plant room.

Comments

“A hinged flue system was a first for us and a clever, probably unique, approach to facilitating the building management unit as it swings into action for cleaning and maintenance across this 40-storey block. We were very happy with A1 Flues’ input throughout, from initial specification to the detailed design and on to operations on site. They were a good crew and a pleasure to work with.” David O’Neill, Projects Director, Vital Energi

Facts at a glance

Client name: Vital Energi

Location: London

Project value: £125,000

Time to complete: 12 weeks