A significant aspect of CoxGomyl’s impressive portfolio is the provision of replacement building access systems on existing structures. A recent example of the experience and expertise the CoxGomyl team can bring to this type of project is the replacement building maintenance unit (BMU) for 15 Westferry Circus in London’s Canary Wharf business district.
The building is a famous landmark thanks to the defining upper level of the Westferry Complex and as the marker for the 15 mile (24 km) point of the London marathon. Its anchor tenant is the multinational financial company Morgan Stanley. When an accident at the site put the existing building maintenance system out of commission, the CoxGomyl team were tasked with developing a new BMU for the existing roof space which had to meet several demanding criteria.
The budget was dictated by the scope of the client’s insurance payout meaning the project had to be delivered within those financial parameters. The new BMU needed to achieve satisfactory coverage and performance, including a complex roof geography with eight tiered levels, while also being less visually intrusive on the aesthetic of the building than the previous three BMU system.
CoxGomyl rose to these varied challenges, developing a single building maintenance unit which met all of the project requirements and undertook additional adaptations in response to the site surveys without impacting the cost.
Installation often presents an additional challenge for replacement facade access projects and in this instance the situation was even further complicated by the impact of the Coronavirus. A road closure was required for a crane to lift the BMU to the roof, but the council offices were closed due to the pandemic. A short notice emergency road closure was successfully agreed once council reopened in order to avoid the usual waiting times and subsequent delays.
