Building services engineering
Building services engineering solutions including mechanical and electrical engineering, HVAC systems, sustainability ratings and much more.
AO Arena, Manchester
Our building services engineers supported the transformative redevelopment of the AO arena in Manchester, one of Europe's largest and most renowned indoor live entertainment venues.
The AO Arena’s capacity has been increased to 23,000 and now features enhanced guest amenities including a VIP entrance, a members-only bar and restaurant, and a modernised Mezzanine level with improved wayfinding and premium hospitality spaces. Also, a new lower concourse accommodating 2,000 people offers multiple concessions and upgraded facilities with enhanced customer safety measures, while a complete back-of-house overhaul provides an elevated experience for artists and crew.
Key details
Project name
AO Arena
Client
Lorne Stewart Engineering
Location
Manchester, UK
Services provided
- Mechanical engineering
- Electrical engineering
- Public health
Challenge
The primary challenge involved the major relocation of mechanical and electrical services, including navigating a congested services riser, to make way for VIP escalators. Also, new ventilation, heating, cooling and domestic water services needed to be installed to serve the new bars, restaurants and circulation spaces.
Close collaboration among the project team, particularly with the structural and architectural engineers, was necessary to address the physical constraints in the existing structure.
Solution
We successfully replaced the existing chillers with new low global warming potential chillers for the cooling system, which contributed to reducing the building's carbon footprint. We also delivered a ventilation system with heat recovery, allowing for 267 kilowatts of heat to be recovered, and integrated energy-efficient LED lights and controls to minimise energy consumption and enhance the building's sustainability. These initiatives collectively improved the building's operational efficiency.
Our CAD (computer-aided design) team utilised Magicad software to model a fully coordinated solution for the mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) design that seamlessly integrated with the architects' Revit model. The 3D visualisation not only enabled contractors to see the final solution and outcome but also significantly reduced the likelihood of errors, improving installation efficiency. This was critical as off-site manufacturing, including modular risers, was used to assemble the MEP systems which required careful planning and execution.
With the arena located in the city centre, our local office presence facilitated on-site technical guidance throughout the development process to ensure the arena remained operational and could continue hosting events without interruption. Adopting off-site manufacturing also optimised safety, efficiency and cost-effectiveness while streamlining the construction process.
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