The Project
The Crescent was the centrepiece of the Fifth Duke of Devonshire’s plans to establish a fashionable Georgian spa town in Buxton. The grade 1 listed building is one of the most architecturally significant buildings in the country. The redevelopment and restoration will secure a substantial investment of circa £50 million in Buxton and put the town back on the national and international map as England’s leading spa town. The project will create more than 140 permanent jobs, 350 construction related jobs and many more permanent jobs indirectly through new spa-related businesses resulting in a boost to the local economy by over £4.5 million. The Crescent and Thermal Spa Experience and development of the Pump Room will also provide new a indoor attraction for residents, visitors, groups and schools.
Plans for the Crescent include an 80-bedroom 5* spa hotel occupying the majority of the Crescent and which will incorporate the magnificent Assembly Rooms and a thermal natural mineral water spa in the Natural Baths. The project will also feature six retail units on the front ground floor.
The project is estimated to cost over £46 million. Buxton Crescent & Thermal Spa Co Ltd will fund just under £18 million, with the rest coming from the public sector. Crucial to the success of the scheme is a £23.8 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, together with a £2 million grant from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and £0.5 million from Historic England. High Peak Borough Council and Derbyshire County Council each contribute £1 million.
Vinci Construction UK started work early in 2016 and it is anticipated that the Hotel Spa and Pump Room will open in 2019. The Buxton Crescent & Thermal Spa Heritage Trust Ltd will run the Visitor Experience in the Pump Room and a selection of spaces in the Crescent.
Objective
Having been empty and unused for many years, the restoration and redevelopment of the Hotel & Spa is a major project. It presents considerable construction challenges for the main contractor, Vinci, and the specialist contractors involved in returning this magnificent building to its former glory. The building, although suffering from many years of neglect, retains many original and important features which require careful consideration whilst undertaking the project works.
Solution
It was partly due to the specific challenges of the project that Imtech, the M&E services provider, decided to incorporate the Aquatechnik Safety System into their solution for the heating and potable water distribution system. The unique features of the system satisfied the challenges of the project due to its ability to meet the demands of long pipe runs with minimal joints, along with easy and quick installation. The wide-bore fitting system provides improved flow rates over similar systems, ensuring the associated energy costs are minimised. The PEX-Al-PEX construction provides long life and durability with excellent warranties to give the client and public-sector bodies piece of mind.
The existing structure of the building, along with the specific construction works required to comply with modern building standards, posed challenges for Imtech, which ordinarily would be extremely difficult to overcome. Utilising the ‘Multicalor’ pipe, which is available on coils (with no re-coil/memory when straightened) up to 32mm diameter, has enabled the routing of pipes to be made with minimal disturbance to the existing structure. Although the pipe is flexible enough to facilitate this, due to its 5-layer composition with a fully welded aluminium centre core, it retains sufficient rigidity to prevent excessive expansion, usually associated with a non-metallic pipework system. The modular and close coupling feature of the Safety-Pol fitting system enables fast and straightforward transitions between the levels and directions of pipe runs, saving time and space.
Summary
The Aquatechnik system has been supplied by UK distributor and stockist Smith Brothers Stores Ltd. Our Regional Product Specification Manager, supported Imtech and the project throughout with installer training and regular site inspections, helping with reports to assist Imtech with their comprehensive quality control process. They were delighted to report, “the project progressed extremely well, with a very high standard of installation and attention to detail having been made by Imtech and the engineers involved in the installation of the Aquatechnik system.”
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How do I find out more information?
Aquatechnik UK website – https://aquatechnik.co.uk/
Contact a Regional Product Specialist here – https://sbs.co.uk/sbs-training/
