AET Flexible Space has been shortlisted for the ‘Project of the Year’ award at the ACR News Awards 2020 for its work supplying an innovative underfloor air conditioning (UfAC) system to One Benjamin, a new-build office in Farringdon designed by world-renowned architects Alford Hall Monaghan Morris.

AET’s underfloor air conditioning systems make use of the space beneath a raised access floor to create the air ventilation path, eliminating the need for ceiling-based services and associated duct and pipework.

At One Benjamin, each of the three floors was divided into zones of up to 300m2 depending on the orientation, potential use and occupancy density of the area. Each zone is then supplied with chilled or warmed air by a zonal air handling unit or CAM (Conditioned Air Module) and the conditioned air is then delivered into the space using a number of recessed fan terminals (Fantile™).

Headroom height was a key consideration during the design and build of One Benjamin, and by using the AET underfloor air conditioning system the contractors were able to eliminate much of the ceiling-based services, gaining an estimated 200mm of headroom. The reduced amount of building materials needed for an AET underfloor system, as well as its long-term flexibility, make it an excellent choice for sustainable building projects.

The original air conditioning design for One Benjamin specified four downflow units per floor: two supplying the rear zone of the building and two for the front zone. Each zone was split into two further zones; one supplying cool air towards the perimeter of the building (where it is needed more to combat solar gain), and the other providing warmer air to the central areas of the office space where there is less heat generated by the sun. However, the contractor felt that AET’s highly flexible system would be more suited to cope with the variations in temperature across the building caused by increased/decreased sunlight.

AET’s CAM-V system means there is a considerable amount of flexibility in where the Fantiles™ can be placed, allowing for easy reconfiguration depending on the particular needs or layout of an office. For maximum flexibility each Fantile™is supplied with onboard Fanspeed and Set Point adjustment, but in meeting rooms and cellular space AET offers Flextouch™ wall-mounted controllers which allow users not only to adjust the fan speed and temperature, but also CO2 control and humidity monitoring.

Overall, AET was able to provide One Benjamin with a high-performing and flexible air conditioning system which was more suited to its needs than the originally proposed downflow system. The building was completed in July 2019 for the Girdlers Worshipful Company and is now beginning to rent its office space and residential units.

The winners of the ACR News Awards will be announced at the awards ceremony on 26th March 2020.