Project brief
A1 Flue Systems were part of a construction and re-development team tasked with the extensive refurbishment of this Grade I listed London landmark.
The building is protected by English Heritage, so much of the re-development work had to be carefully planned and approved. Adjacent to St Pancras Railway Station, the complex occupies much of the former Midland Grand Hotel which opened in 1873 and closed in 1935. As well as the construction of a new wing, 244 guestrooms have been created to form the 5-star Marriott Renaissance Hotel together with 68 residences, including 1 luxury penthouse. Major public rooms are adapted for use as restaurants, bars and hotel suites, with a number restored to their original decorative schemes. The famous Grand Staircase was also restored to its former glory to become the centre piece of the hotel.
Our design
Our involvement began with a full survey of the chimney and flue systems using CCTV systems in order to understand their size, routing and suitability for use. Architects and designers needed to have first hand knowledge of where heating and ventilation ducts could be placed in order to begin drawing up schematics for the new residences and commercial outlets to ensure their ideas for bathrooms, kitchens, living and communal areas could be accommodated. This would allow construction to begin, even though our final installation works would take some months to complete. The results of our CCTV surveys led to the initial schematics of some areas being changed dramatically and saved many problems later on in the construction phase.
Where possible we wanted to use existing chimney and flue systems. In total, we surveyed twelve chimneys and over 800 metres of various flue ways that had previously vented old coal fireplaces and stoves. These were all re-lined with industrial flexible flue liners to bring them up to the specification required for use with modern day appliances.
We were also appointed to complete the chimney and flue works for the main boiler house. We had to remove all the old linings and commissioned a specialist rope access team to abseil the interior of the chimney to remove old cast iron linings and replace with our specially manufactured stainless steel liners.
Testimonial
“Without a doubt the early work completed by A1 Flue Systems prevented some potential design headaches. Their specialist knowledge and expertise helped the architectural and design team to specify heating and ventilation systems that were fit for purpose. We have been very impressed with their ability to work in partnership and provide solutions which they have then gone away and manufactured to an extremely high standard. A number of times the design specification has changed and nothing has been too much trouble for them to adapt.”
