Edinburgh’s St James Quarter is unveiling the final landmark element of its regeneration of the historic city’s new Town with the opening of the W Edinburg. All the key elements of the 1.7m sq ft “urban resort” -including residential apartments, hotel and retail space- are being aired by Gilberts.
Gilberts’ involvement throughout St James demonstrates the company’s relevance for and dominance of high-end developments. The company has now delivered the internal atmosphere for what is believed to be the three biggest hotel projects in Scotland in the past year, all of which are in the city- W Edinburgh, Gleneagles Townhouse and the new Virgin Hotel. All three have also been major refurbishments and remodelling of historic, listed buildings in a World Heritage Site location
At the W Edinburghl- known locally as the walnut whip because of its iconic spiralling architecture- air throughout the 12-storey venue is delivered via Gilberts’ linear slot diffusers.
A combination of some 250 no. Gilberts’ GSL and high capacity JSL linear slot diffusers have been installed by M&E specialist FES for principal contractor BAM to the design developed by Introba.
Gilberts GSL and JSL units can be individually set to deliver variable strategies of air direction and volume depending on occupancy levels in the public, private and operational internal spaces. The units also offer flexibitility of installation methods to compliment the interior. Standard flanged and plaster-in versions have been used, in a range of finishes including black, signal white and grey tp compliment the decor. Thus the Gilberts’ diffusers achieve optimal energy efficiency through smooth, accurate and flexible airflow whilst maintaining the indoor air quality and providing the flexibility to enable future changes. These combine to help deliver sustainability- a key aspect of the project.
On the rooftop Gilberts has further supplied a bespoke 2m x 2m PHH75 penthouse louvre, specifically designed to accommodate the low 5° roof pitch to deliver ait intake and discharge over the hotel’s core ventilation shaft. Powder coated in graphite grey, the penthouse ensures adequate supply for the plant below whilst screening guests enjoying the rooftop “destination” bar and terrace.
“To be chosen to deliver such diverse and prestigious projects demonstrates the first-class technical expertise, quality and performance of Gilberts’ people and products,” says Ian Rogers, Gilberts Sales Director.
Founded 60 years ago, and still family-owned, Gilberts is the UK’s leading independent air movement engineer. It is unique in its ability to design, manufacture and test all products- including bespoke fabrications- in-house, to the extent it even designs and manufactures its own tools at its 140,000 sq ft head office and production facility.