Mark Collins, managing director of Collins and Partners, says a flexible space concept, and one underfloor air-conditioning system in particular, can save money and meet new sustainability targets
COLLINS and Partners is a sales agency that provides HVAC
solutions to the construction industry. The biggest challenge for the firm right now - and the entire construction industry - is sustainability.


Mark Collins, managing director of Collins and Partners, thinks that sustainability regulations being laid down by the government are too performance and system based.

Collins mentions Part L of the Building Regulations, as well as local government initiatives such as the Merton Rule.

He says: 'This regulation appears to focus on the systems and products installed in buildings, rather than considering other aspects - such as architecture - which can contribute to overall efficiency.

'The best results can only be achieved with a holistic approach that involves the whole building, and all disciplines from the start.'

For instance, Collins reckons, the flexible space concept - incorporating the Hiross underfloor air-conditioning system from Advanced Ergonomic Technologies - at the start of a project can make dramatic savings in building costs and enhance sustainability.

'Because Hiross underfloor air conditioning can be installed in the floor void, the ceiling is left free for lighting and fire-safety systems, says Collins. 'This means the architect can then reduce the height of each floor. This approach reduces overall building height, significantly lowering the cost of building materials.' Standard air conditioning takes up about 600mm in a false ceiling. In addition to this space requirement, most intelligent offices, Collins says, now use raised access floor for cable management to network the PCs together. This has increased the height of
buildings by a further 150mm a floor.

Collins says if designers rethink this use of space by increasing the floor void by another 150mm, the void can be used to distribute
conditioned air to the office space as well as housing cables.

Typically, using underfloor air conditioning in this way equates to a reduction in the building height of as much as 10%-15% - a dramatic saving on high-rise buildings. This gives developers the chance to achieve the same lettable floor area for their investment, while generating huge reductions in component and labour costs, and dramatically shortening construction time, Collins says.

In addition, as well as offering a cost-efficient option, the Hiross system also offers a flexible solution. The system fully addresses the issues of future maintenance and office reconfiguration faced by building owners, Collins says.

He explains: 'The Hiross
offers a different solution - it is installed in the flooring void, in fully modular components, with minimal mechanical connections and wire-free partitioning. 'Total reconfiguration of the office space can therefore be accomplished in a fraction of the time, at a fraction of the cost, and with minimal disruption - this would not be the case with ceiling-based systems.'Collins' most recent success story, he says, is his role in the regeneration of Edwardian offices in central London. Collins and Partners advised the mechanical services consultant and the property investor on the use of the Hiross underfloor air conditioning.

'In 2004, the previous tenants of the building did not renew their lease. The developer was, therefore, handed back an Edwardian
property, which was functionally obsolete, and which desperately needed modernisation.'

'Installing air conditioning was essential to this regeneration,' Collins says.
The client's brief was to take a building from the early part of the 20th Century and to turn it into modern, high-spec offices.
However, the construction was not designed to house an
air-conditioning system or modern services. The floor-to-ceiling height, plus a proliferation of downstand beams, virtually ruled out the use of traditional ceiling-mounted systems.
Collins says Hiross was preferred because it offered maximum tenant flexibility, coupled with the maximum internal height achievable.

The system was used throughout all five floors. 'As an independent sales agent, I could advise the developer and consultant on the perfect solution for their ceiling height dilemma - the Hiross system. 'The project team's efforts and the use of the Hiross has transformed a poorly lit warren of dingy offices into a world-class, open-plan, modern, office complex,' says Collins.

Collins and Partners has seven companies on its books.'We are a sales agency that goes beyond offering just a sales or distribution channel for products. Instead, the company offers a wealth of systems and regulation expertise, which allows the firm to provide the right choice for a project,' adds Collins.

'We are able to offer an extensive range of HVAC products from one source. Despite this, many architects are still unaware of the advantages of using a sales agency, or even what a sales agent is.

'As a sales agency, we provide a distribution channel for HVAC products. However, people would be wrong to describe us just as salesmen. 'Our portfolio includes a full range of systems to enable us to provide clients a complete, unbiased, approach to HVAC system design. 'With our extensive range of products. we are able to give advice on the best system.'

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