head-spacer-67.jpg

Canary Wharf Wintergarden, GB

Underfloor piping system from PB-1 delivers the perfect year-round climate.

London's Canary Wharf specified Polybutene-1 for the underfloor heating and cooling system of the Wintergarden complex. The PB-1 piping system was specified to create the perfect year-round climate. The Wintergarden's underfloor system was designed to maintain winter temperatures at 18° (+-2°)C and to control summer temperatures to a maximum of 26°C.

PB-1 case study provided by courtesy of Wavin B.V.
 


case-cw-002.jpg
case-cw-001.jpg
case-cw-006.jpg
case-cw-007.jpg
case-cw-003.jpg
case-cw-005.jpg

Canary Wharf – Premier Business District

London's Canary Wharf business district has become one of the capital's most vibrant areas. Around 90,000 people live and work at Canary Wharf which is now considered to be one of the world's most highly specified urban areas and has been extensively developed by some of the world's leading architects.
 

Glazed "urban rooms"

One key development at Canary Wharf was the creation of two public spaces, the East and West Wintergardens. Described as an 'urban room', the gardens are housed in two glazed structures which rise to some 30 metres at their highest point. Given that these structures are used all year round, an important consideration for the design team was how to maintain a comfortable temperature within the gardens during both the summer and winter months.
 

PB-1 piping system delivers heating and cooling

In heating mode the floor area provides radiant and convective heat, whilst in the summer the stone floors are cooled to act as a heat sink offsetting the solar gain through the massive glazed roofs. This system of climate control is more energy efficient than other methods, with the advantage of temperature control being applied to the 'occupied zone' rather than calling for large amounts of energy to be used in heating the high level space.

As well as the two principal garden areas at Canary Wharf, underfloor heating is also being used in a gallery link bridge at first floor level. This is where the flexibility of PB-1 was a definite advantage as the pipes could be easily cabled through restricted areas. This inherent flexibility allows pipes to be bent to a tighter radius without the need for preliminary tempering or pre-warming.
 

Low maintenance for high traffic areas

With fewer joints and access points, a PB-1 system also takes less time to install than other piping Systems. The Wintergardens is now used as a multi-purpose area for promotions, product launches and as a venue for public events. The gardens has become one of the busiest areas within Canary Wharf and therefore it is important to ensure any future maintenance requirements are kept to a minimum.

Since Polybutene-1 is highly resistant to cracking and corrosion, and has an operational lifetime design in excess of 50 years, it meets these needs in full. Pipe flexibility, ease and speed of installation and the operational lifetime are just a few of the many benefits PB-1 can bring to any installation.

The Wintergardens at Canary Wharf had specific requirements for the heating system to be used and Polybutene-1 satisfied all of the demanding design criteria.

. . . . . . . . .

Polybutene-1 is often referred to as Polybutene, Polybutylene, PB-1 or PB.

Polybutene-1 is not sold by PBPSA members for use in pipe applications intended for use in North America, and those parties require their customers or distributors not to sell products made from PB-1 into pipe applications for North America.