The Brief: Norfolk House is a multi-tenanted office building located at the heart of Birmingham City Centre, adjacent to the central business district and landmark Bullring Shopping Centre. The initial refurbishment was of the second floor (thereby enabling the 2nd floor to act as a template for the refurbishment of all other floors). It had to provide a flexible and modern office workspace which was not only energy efficient but attractive to prospective tenants. The aim was also to increase the building’s tenancy by offering new, more vibrant modern office space.
The Engineering Difference: The limitations of the existing structure created issues from a services perspective; existing concrete beams left very little space within the ceiling void. Flat ductwork and very low profile lighting were sourced and utilised.
A metal pan-type suspended ceiling system requiring special consideration for the fitment of new lighting and mechanical services. The installed lighting therefore consisted of combined recessed modular light fittings within the metal-pan plus LED strip lighting to the perimeter of the bulkhead and within the raised plasterboard perimeter. A fully flexible addressable lighting control system was introduced thereby allowing the space to be easily sub-divided in the future if required.
Full on-site monitoring of electricity meters was also arranged. Each distribution board throughout the property is able to be accurately assessed by the building’s management in order to evaluate their own energy usage and also charge back to tenants via certified check-meters.