The Cityzen team have worked on a number of care homes, helping to create welcoming spaces for those in need of care. So we were approached to provide M&E design services for this project.

We were initially told it was a basic house and that the services were in hand, but soon found out that the requirements for the building were far greater than for a domestic property.

We designed the electrical and mechanical equipment for the home, from lighting, power, data, fire alarm system, AOVs and air source heat pumps, to underfloor heating, trace heating and water services.

We also worked with the design team to ensure that the BREEAM assessment criteria were adhered to. We also undertook the energy modelling to ensure that building regulations were met.

At Cityzen we always advise people to get us on board early as this helps to coordinate the design with the rest of the team and ensure that early BREEAM assessment points are met. Unfortunately on this project we were only appointed to do the M&E design once the building had already got up to first floor level, so we were playing catch up before we had even started!

The M&E contractors, Baystar and A.J. Taylor, both performed excellently on site, responding to the main contractors needs to get the first fix items in and the building weather tight in a very short time time post-appointment. We also got to know the team from Woodhart Construction who did a great job of the ground works and brickwork.