A critical services upgrade within a live London data centre campus.
The Global Switch London Campus, home to the London East and London North data centres, sits just half a mile from the financial district near the city centre. As the campus continues to develop, London North has expanded its capacity while maintaining high energy efficiency and a low power usage effectiveness.
Recent works across the campus included replacing the old sprinkler systems in both the LONE and LONN buildings. As part of this, the ground floor of the LONE building was upgraded with a new sprinkler tank sized for optimal water storage capacity - designed by Osborn Associates - together with all the supporting building services the new plant room required.
Full MEP building services for the new sprinkler plant room.
Osborn Associates provided the new mechanical, electrical, public health, fire alarm and security building services for the LONE building's upgraded sprinkler pump room. Because of the high heat output from the sprinkler pumps, specific temperature management strategies were needed to keep the plant room operational - a ventilation system to limit overheating, paired with heating for frost protection so the installation stayed resilient in cold conditions.
Significant public health works integrated the existing cold-water mains with the new sprinkler tank. The electrical scope was extensive, covering the installation and commissioning of sub-main cabling, distribution boards, ordinary and emergency lighting, small power circuits, earthing and containment systems. The works also included fire alarm installation and the power supplies and interfaces for advanced access control systems, maintaining the secure environment a data centre demands.
Each deliverable was supported by detailed calculations, design drawings and equipment schedules, following a thorough evaluation of the infrastructure needs and strategic upgrade planning to ensure every new installation met the required safety and efficiency standards.
Balancing heat, resilience and security around live critical infrastructure.
Sprinkler pumps generate significant heat, yet the plant room also had to be protected against frost - two competing demands that the mechanical design had to reconcile within a single space, ensuring the life safety system it served remained available at all times.
Working within an operational data centre added a further layer of discipline. Every intervention, from the fire alarm works to the access control power supplies, had to preserve the security and continuous operation the facility depends on - making careful planning and precise coordination as important to this compact scheme as they would be on a far larger one.
