Chiller Replacement for Newcastle City Council

The Situation

A heritage listed, stunning sandstone building houses Newcastle City Council. Recently the building needed to replace its chiller operating their current HVAC system. For operations and events to continue uninterrupted during the replacement, a temporary chiller solution was needed.

The Challenge

Some unique features made this installation challenging. Firstly, the temporary chiller needed to be installed on ground level between two buildings, City Hall, which houses major events like conferences and weddings and the regional theatre. Minimising noise to both buildings would be a major consideration of the installation design.

Secondly; temporary pipes would need to be run up three levels on the outside of the building, but as the building is heritage listed, the temporary pipes would not be able to be anchored to the exterior of the building.

The Solution

To minimise the noise generated from the equipment, Active Air Rentals installed sound eco-barriers and temporary fences.

“We had staff on site who compared noise from either side of the barriers, and they were impressed, the feedback was that the barriers were very effective in reducing noise.” Steele Adams, Program Coordinator, Newcastle City Council, commented.

Using site-specific anchors and anchor points along with chains Active Air Rentals were able to install the temporary pipework without damaging the exterior of the building. The anchored pipework then connected the temporary chiller to the existing system.

The temporary solution ran in position for 15 days.