196 - 18-35 Queens Road

‘The Barnum’ and Part O Regulation Changes

BQR Rear

Our 348-apartment PRS scheme, The Barnum, on Queen’s Road, Nottingham, is coming to a close, with on-site construction aimed for competition in Summer 2023. Our lead Project Architect on this job, Matt Kirk, has managed construction of several other large-scale apartment buildings, most recently including Leicester’s The Wullcomb for London developer Long Harbour, and an apartment and office building at New Walk Place, Leicester, which won Procon’s ‘Regeneration Project of the Year’.

Matt Kirk (Associate) has been with FEA for nearly 20 years and has gained significant knowledge of the trials and challenges of delivering large-scale schemes to difficult city centre locations.
“Each building provides its own set of challenges from which to gain new knowledge, and our approach to project delivery is a process of constant evolution.”

The Barnum was no different. The scheme, a joint venture between Network Rail and bloc Group, was delivered on behalf of Grainger, a forward-thinking London firm who joined the scheme post-planning and introduced a requirement for TM59 adherence in 2019. TM59 has been common practice in London, made compulsory through planning authority, but not in the Midlands. Queen’s Road was, at this stage, compliant only with TM52 as a route to Building Control compliance. Grainger’s progressive agenda led Matt on a steep learning curve to understand the implications of introducing TM59 on this post-planning scheme.

“The building’s fenestration was developed prior to Grainger’s involvement. The fenestration established during the planning stages balanced optimising daylight into the apartments, and meeting the window patterns of local historic buildings. If TM59 had been introduced pre-planning, it would have been sensible to reduce window sizes at the expense of daylight, limiting sun energy into the apartments. With planning elevations approved, we had to seek different options.

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M&E consultant Cudd Bentley completed a TM59 assessment of the building post planning. Their conclusion proposed a reduction in glass quantities or an increase in MVHR output. The planning authority did not welcome glass reduction as a post rationalisation so we had to very carefully increase the MVHR output. To achieve such we balanced risks including compromising contractual ceiling heights, and breaching acceptable internal ambient noise levels during operation. Maximising duct sizes and associated attenuators became critical, and the process required an increased level of micromanagement at the site design stage with Graham construction and their associated sub-contractors.

The option of openable windows for cooling ventilation was considered, but city centre sites such as these prohibit the use of openable windows for ventilation other than purge, due to noise and air pollution that were present on this site. The key aim of the new Part O is to limit the amount of sun energy entering a building, so less carbon energy is needed to mitigate this through cooling ventilation.”