Diving in to refurbish Old Baths
Following a £4million refurbishment, an iconic Greater Manchester landmark has been saved from demolition and transformed into a sustainable, energy efficient media hub following a major regeneration project which included the installation of intelligent energy controls from CP Electronics.
The Grade II-listed Ashton Old Baths sat empty for 40 years before Manchester property developer PlaceFirst and Tameside Council implemented a complete refurbishment programme, which was designed and project-led by Modern City Architecture and Urbanism (MCAU). This was made possible with the support of grants of £1m from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and £1,712,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The result is a unique new digital, creative and media hub which is segmented into several self-contained, free-standing office pods inside the original structure of the building, which dates back to 1870.
As part of this modernisation programme, creating an energy efficient environment was important, not least because the audience for the office pods consists of innovative start-ups, for whom finance is often limited. To reduce unnecessary energy costs, and enhance the overall sustainability of the building, the refurbishment was completed using a number of presence and absence detectors from CP Electronics, the UK leader in energy control.
To maximise cost savings, it was important to install a lighting control solution which provides a good level of coverage without being obtrusive for tenants. Presence and absence detectors provide automatic control of lighting in the building. This also contributes to occupant safety by illuminating dark corridors and stairwells. To deliver this level of lighting control, a combination of adjustable head, flush mounted MWS3A microwave detectors, and compact, flush-mounted EBDSPIR passive infrared (PIR) presence detectors were specified.
www.cpelectronics.co.uk