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Core Engineering, building systems

Building systems (MEP)

The same London office tower, now with its services: heating, ventilation, power, water, drainage and fire protection. Scroll to follow each system. Moving arrows show the direction each one travels.

Whole building
Heating Cold water Drainage Air Power Fire

This 3D view needs a browser with WebGL. The written steps on the right still explain each system.

Overview

Services in the tower

Every system in the building needs a route from its plant to the spaces it serves. Most of them travel vertically through the core and the risers, then spread across each floor in the ceiling void below the slab.

When a system is in focus, its arrows show the direction it flows, and the structure fades so the services are easier to see.

01 · Heating and hot water

Heat made at the bottom, sent up the riser

A boiler or heat pump in a ground-floor plant room heats water. Flow pipes carry hot water up the riser, and return pipes bring it back to be reheated.

  • Plant: the boiler or heat pump is sized to the building's heat demand.
  • Distribution: flow and return pipes rise through the riser and branch off on each floor.
  • Coordination: pipes need insulation and room to expand as they warm up.

02 · Ventilation

Fresh air in, stale air out

An air handling unit on the roof draws in fresh air. A supply duct carries it down the front shaft and along the ceiling void on each floor. Stale air is taken out at the back and exhausted through the roof fan.

  • Balance: supply and extract airflows must match to keep each floor comfortable.
  • Size: ducts are large and take up a lot of ceiling void space.
  • Fire: dampers stop fire and smoke spreading where ducts pass through fire-rated walls.

03 · Electrical

Power from the switch room to every floor

Power arrives at a switch room on the ground floor and goes to the main board. From there, a cable tray in the riser feeds distribution boards on each floor.

  • Distribution: main board, then floor boards, then circuits to each outlet and light.
  • Cable trays: cables are laid with space around them so they don't overheat.
  • Separation: power cables are kept apart from water pipes.

04 · Cold water and drainage

One pipe rises, one falls

Cold water is pumped up one riser to supply every floor. Drainage runs down a separate pipe, because waste water has to flow away by gravity.

  • Cold water: supplied at enough pressure to reach the top floor.
  • Drainage: pipes must fall at a set gradient, so the route has to drop all the way down.
  • Layout: drainage is usually routed first, because it is the hardest to move later.

05 · Fire protection

Sprinklers across every floor

A fire riser feeds sprinkler pipes that run through the ceiling void on each floor. Sprinkler heads are spaced to cover the area below them.

  • Spacing: heads are placed so every part of the floor is covered.
  • Penetrations: every pipe through a fire-rated wall or slab must be sealed to keep the compartment intact.
  • Design: the fire strategy sets where the protection is needed.

06 · Coordination

Sharing the same ceiling void

Ducts, sprinkler pipes and cable trays all compete for the same space below the slabs. Engineers check their routes in a 3D model before anything reaches site.

  • Clash detection: the model shows where two systems try to occupy the same space.
  • Priority: systems that need gravity or large cross-sections are routed first.
  • Handover: the coordinated model and its asset data are passed on for running the building.