Client: Telereal Trillium
Architect: Axis Architecture
Castle Chambers, located in the centre of Historic York and a short walk from Clifford Tower is a commercial office space, latterly occupied by the Department of Work & Pensions and the Probate Service.
The challenging building, with a triangular corner aspect, has been converted to provide twenty-three 1 & 2-bedroom apartments and three studio apartments, over three floors, with A3 space at ground floor, providing continental pavement tables.
Solution:Positive was appointed to develop a services strategy to meet the requirements of the Clients brief and liaise with the utility providers to procure the utility infrastructure for the apartments, which required off-site reinforcement of the low voltage electricity distribution network.
Key challenge: Providing the required electricity supply capacity to the development required excavations and cable laying to be carried out through the narrow cobbled streets of York, on a route identified as being of archaeological significance. Before consent was granted for the cable laying operations, a series of trial holes were excavated along the proposed route, to the satisfaction of the City of York Heritage Officer. The agreed cable route was through pedestrianised tourist areas, requiring the excavations and cable laying to be carried out overnight to minimise disruption to the busy city centre area