The prominent building, located near The Bank of England and owned by the City of London Corporation, has been redesigned to provide 27,575 square feet of grade A office space, with a comfortable indoor environment provided by multi-award-winning Toshiba SHRM-e heat recovery VRF air conditioning. The high-efficiency system contributed to the building earning an Excellent rating from the Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for master planning projects, infrastructure and buildings.

Consultant Designer Group specified a total of 10 roof-mounted Toshiba outdoor VRF condensing units, connected to 135 ceiling-mounted slim-ducted indoor units, to provide heating and cooling for upper storeys, and a digital inverter condensing unit and hi-wall fan coil unit for the basement, with equipment installed by contractor London AC Ltd.

Key to satisfying BREEAM's energy monitoring requirement was the use of Toshiba's BMS-CT2560U-E Touchscreen Central Controller, used in conjunction with Toshiba's BMS-IFWH5E Energy Monitoring Interface. The controller enables landlords to effectively manage VRF heating and cooling in multi-tenant buildings, providing schedule programming and full function control of all connected indoor units.

Local indoor climate control is provided for each of the nine upper floors for use by the tenant, with the central controller connected to the building management system for high-level integration and monitoring.

'We worked closely with Toshiba and the installer to ensure the client's requirements for performance and finish were delivered,' said Tom Jones, Project Director, Designer Group. 'The BREEAM rating of Excellent requires very high energy efficiency, which was delivered by the combination of Toshiba’s heat recovery VRF system and digital inverter-controlled split system.'

In addition to delivering improved energy efficiency, the project also enhances the feeling of space. Ductwork and air diffusers serving offices are fully exposed rather being than hidden in ceiling voids, contributing to the modern ambience in the open-plan offices. 

The refurbishment and upgrading project was carried out for The City of London Corporation by main contractor 8build.