Times brands 22 Bishopsgate ‘the model for a new generation of smart buildings’
31/3/19 : A recent feature article in the Times hailed 22 Bishopsgate as ‘the City’s smartest building and potentially ‘the model for a new generation of “smart buildings”.’ Responsibility for delivering the intelligent systems falls to TClarke, as Group CEO Mark Lawrence explains:
We have been working with our long term partners Multiplex on this project for several years and now as we approach ‘topping out’, the exceptional qualities of this building are being recognised. This Times article is well worth quoting extensively:
‘An “unheard of” range of technologies
A skyscraper that will be the tallest in the City of London could also be the model for a new generation of “smart buildings”.
With facial-recognition entry, at-desk climate control and a façade designed using the principles of Formula One aerodynamics, experts say that 22 Bishopsgate brings together an “unheard of” range of technologies.
Structural work on the 278m (912ft) tower — which stands about 300 metres from the Bank of England and a stone’s throw from Lloyd’s of London — will be completed in May at a cost of more than £1 billion.
The 62-storey structure will accommodate 12,000 workers and be taller than the nearby 225m Leadenhall Building (known as the Cheesegrater) and 30 St Mary Axe, the Gherkin, which is 180m. The Shard, just outside the City at London Bridge, remains taller, at 310m.
Unlike its eye-catching neighbours, 22 Bishopsgate’s silhouette has been described as “laconic” and, by one online critic, “a blancmange”. The tower’s interest lies instead in layers of technology that are mostly invisible. It is among the first buildings in the world to have a biometric security system based on facial recognition, so that employees can walk in without fumbling for passes. Other visitors will be texted a QR code to facilitate entry. Anyone whose face is flagged up by the police will trigger an alert.
Once at their desks, an app will allow workers to control how much light and heat they receive in their immediate surroundings. The same program allows them to book screening and meeting rooms, a broadcast suite, spa sessions, and dental and doctor’s appointments.
The significance for TClarke
We believe now, as we did on appointment, that 22 Bishopsgate’s groundbreaking technology features will very rapidly reset the standards – not just for iconic city projects, but for all commercial offices.
As the Times article sets out, these are not superficial benefits; 22 Bishopsgate’s technologies are aimed at substantially improving the utility of the building – to tenants, to individual users, to the owners through its lifetime and also to the environment. Achieving these goals on such a scale, demands excellent engineering and the solution of complex challenges, detail by detail.
TClarke Intelligent Buildings installed hundreds of miles of cabling infrastructure within the building fabric to facilitate those layers of technology. The network and controls which allow workers to control light and heat in their immediate surroundings via an app, were designed and installed by TClarke. The network and communications that support the incredibly rapid lift systems to travel at 8 metres per second were provided by TClarke. It is the same story in detail after detail. Moreover we have brought all the control features together in a single pane of glass.
As you can see by reviewing the scope of our packages, TClarke is playing a major role in making it all happen. We have already seen great benefit in being involved in this project, far beyond the commercial value. This project gives TClarke the kind of market leadership, based on proven expertise and capability, that advances our business.
As the article says, 22 Bishopsgate may not have the eye-catching looks or the quirky nickname – but in many practical ways that will have an impact over many years, this is the most significant commerical office development being built anywhere in the country right now.