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Waterloo Place

Fri, 06 Aug 2021 08:50:57 GMT

8-10 Waterloo Place, London SW1Y 4BE

BRINGING ALIVE THE VISION OF LIGHT IN A LIFT IN AN HISTORIC BUILDING

"Fujitec made us look good on this project."

Rony Eappen, Associate Director, D2E

CHALLENGE

Waterloo Place is full of history and grandeur. No. 8-10 Waterloo Place is a Grade II listed 18th century building located within the St. James conservation area. It has 5 upper floors of office space and basement and a ground floor and mezzanine which previously housed a branch of Lloyds Bank. There is an imposing, ornate central staircase, with listed ornate railings going all the way round and that run right through the 6 floors. The previous 8-person lift installed in the early 1960s, went through the central stairwell in a steel and back-painted glass structure.

In 2016, D2E, an independent international Vertical Transportation consultancy, were appointed to find a supplier for the lift part of the re-development of 8-10 Waterloo Place. The client and architectural team had a big vision for the building which included a statement making lift solution because of the prestige of the building and the impressive circular staircase. The design needed to be modern whilst respecting the heritage of the listed building.

APPROACH

The architectural vision for the lift looked stunning in CGI – the challenge D2E faced was refining the design so that it could be built and finding a lift manufacturer that could meet the specification, timing and commercial constraints. Led by Rony Eappen, Associate Director, D2EInternational VT Consultant (D2E), the team developed a product solution they were confident the lift industry could deliver, and that allowed the lift designers and manufacturers to contribute to the final outcome.

A tender was issued and 3 companies, including Fujitec, responded. The D2E due diligence process and tender analysis identified that the Fujitec bid was commercially and technically viable and the decision was taken to progress to the next stage. Rony Eappen was very aware of the engineering excellence delivered by Japanese companies, often better than found elsewhere, but was concerned about their reputation of being inflexible. Also, the UK market is fast-paced, requiring great flexibility and historic buildings don’t allow the space for the earthquake proof lift structures used in Japan.

OUTCOME

The project was finished to budget and schedule. It was a complete turnkey project with Fujitec undertaking everything on this complex project.

REGULATIONS

The project of course had to meet fire-regulations. Working in an open area in a Grade 2 listed building meant that not all fire regulations could be met, but the completed project was certified by the Fire Authority as being as close as it was possible to be.

SATISFACTION

D2E has been employed to look after the asset with Fujitec as the maintenance provider and for Rony and his team, a key test for such a project is operational reliability. With an industry average of 4 breakdowns a year, Fujitec’s record at 8-10 Waterloo Place is first-class:

2019 – zero call-outs
2020 – zero call-outs

“Fujitec UK did not make a sales pitch, instead they made a technically-led presentation that was delivered by the team who were going to do the work.

This, together with the strong commercials and capability to meet the tight timelines, convinced us to recommend to the client that Fujitec were the right supplier.”

Rony Eappen

Associate Director, D2E

For more information, call 01322 552450, Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm. For appointments, book through linkedIn@fujitec UK Ltd

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King William Street

Thu, 08 Jul 2021 14:36:15 GMT

24 King William Street, London, EC4 9A

MEETING A TIGHT SCHEDULE AND DELIVERING GOLD STANDARD LIFT PRODUCTS

“A combination of factors prompted us to choose Fujitec for this challenging project. Their willingness to prove that they could deliver a high-quality ride product, the samples they presented after an extensive market search, commercially competitiveness. Also, we knew they were keen to work with us to install their first Destination Control lifts in the UK, this was to be a flagship project so we knew we would have their full commitment.”

Leslie Beharry, Senior Building Services Manager, VolkerFitzpatrick

CHALLENGE

Today, 24 King William Street is an impressive building in an outstanding location – at the North end of London Bridge, central London. Prior to this it was a dated and underutilised 1980s steel framed office block that needed to be re-developed from steel frame and slab upwards and, in that process, two extra floors added together with a complete re-fresh of the key support services – security systems, access control and lifts.

The main entrance on the ground floor is an architectural statement that was to be enhanced during the development through a very high quality, bespoke, gold brass finish surrounding large glass panes. The ground-floor was used for reception and a number of upmarket retail spaces. The remaining 9 floors were Cat A office space, let floor by floor on a multi-tenant basis which meant the security systems, lifts and access control programmes had to be integrated to limit access to each floor.

The building needed 3 passenger lifts – two to hold 16 and one to carry17 persons – with one being a fire-fighting lift with a side entry door. They were to be fitted with energy efficient Destination Control – book a call for the floor you want rather than press a button for direction.

To align with the nature of the building and the architectural requirements, the finishes inside the lift cars were to match that of the building entrance. This created significant challenges as did the fact that the back wall was at an angle and the requirement was for the biggest lift to fit into the smallest part of the building.

APPROACH

VolkerFitzpatrick had won the building re-development contract and took on the challenge of demolition and re-build in a very difficult location. With no access for conventional cranes, the company successfully used spider cranes. The main superstructure was retained, but that’s all, making this complex for the lift installer because the building should be watertight before the lifts are installed.

A tender was issued to 4 companies including Fujitec. As part of the due diligence process, Leslie Beharry, Senior Building Services Manager, VolkerFitzpatrick, visited two Fujitec lift projects in London and was impressed with the quality of product and the smooth lift car ride. Fujitec provided samples and confirmed that they could deliver the level of finish required by the architects, examined the existing lift shafts at 24King William Street which were not exactly rectangular, the back wall was at an angle, and identified the additional steel struts necessary to ensure the lift shafts were the right shape for the lift car.

DESIGN

Customisation of our standard products to meet the specific design requirements

INTERIOR

Approval of the samples for the car interior finish

SOFTWARE

Software Engineer came over from Japan to develop the software interface, first of its kind in the UK, and integrate all the software programming, working closely with the security and Access Control suppliers.

Japan also sent a Commissioning Engineer to help complete the project

Fujitec were awarded the contract early 2017, with work starting mid-2017 and the project completed on time in March 2018. Feedback from the architects and the client was very positive, the finishes more than met expectations and the ride is very smooth making the whole lift experience impressive.

“The timing schedule was tight and at one point there was rain coming in because the building had not yet been capped. Fujitec did their absolute upmost to support us in this exceptional situation which highlighted the company’s commitment to complete the project on time. There was never a doubt that Fujitec were going to finish the project successfully, the commitment and response to changes as the project progressed were excellent.”

Leslie Beharry

Senior Building Services Manager, VolkerFitzpatrick