Image courtesy of Virgin Active

Client :Virgin Active Location : Empire Tower, Bangkok, Thailand Architect : Orbit Design Studio Project Value : Approx 300MB Completion Date : March 2014 Services • Mechanical • Electrical • Hydraulics / Plumbing • Fire Protection • Civil/Structural

With 265 clubs around the world, this will be the first Thai Branch of the world class Virgin Active Health Club brand.

The flagship health club will occupy approximately 4,500m2 across multiple floors of the Empire Tower in the Sathorn business district, and was designed by Orbit Design Studio.

The health club will include standard gym areas such as studio rooms, cardio & weight training areas, lockers, steam room, sauna, spinning rooms, as well as special facilities including a 25-metre indoor swimming pool, hydrotherapy room, ice room, salt room, experience showers, high altitude / low oxygen training room, relaxation / sleeping pods, mind and body studio and climbing wall.  The mind and body studio room temperature can be varied from 21oC to 38oC within 20 minutes.

EEC Lincolne Scott  performed the building survey of the mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection services to assess the condition of the base building MEP systems and suitability for supporting the Virgin Active fitout.

EEC Lincolne Scott also provided design and documentation of all M&E Services including air conditioning & ventilation systems, electrical and communications systems, fire protection & life safety systems and plumbing & hydraulic systems.

The MEP design includes an adaptation of the base building condenser water system dedicated to the fitout, which is used to transfer heat rejected from cooling plant to hot water heat pumps thereby improving thermal and space efficiency.  The main outdoor air pre-cooling AHU incorporated a heat recovery wheel to recover energy from the substantial volume of exhaust air from the locker rooms.

The indoor swimming pool and spa area required specific consideration to design an appropriate system for recovering as much energy as possible whilst ventilating and cooling the space with 100% outdoor air as well as maintaining required humidity and temperature and minimising the risk of corrosion.

Health clubs have different requirements from offices or residences. Such facilities require more fresh and conditioned air, and hot water that a typical fitout. EEC Lincolne Scott worked closely with the architects as well as Virgin Active to ensure a highly coordinated design, which matched the requirements of the project and the limitations of the existing building.

Structural consulting services were also provided for this project. An assessment of the potential impact of floor vibrations due to occupant motion (example: in aerobics room) during operation of the facility and impact to the building structure was conducted, along with the design of the feature staircases between floors and carbon fibre strengthening in specific areas.

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