Mediacity to retain Pie Factory
PEEL Group is to retain the Pie Factory complex it built as cheap temporary space to house production facilities on the fringe of its MediaCityUK site.
A spokesperson for MediaCityUK said that around 25 out of 27 units in the former food factory had now been let taken by clients, and that it expected to sign deals for the remaining two units soon.
The spokesperson added that although The Pie Factory was initially envisaged as temporary studio space until its own 250,000 sq ft studio block completes next year, the type of projects being carried out in The Pie Factory were largely complementary to the type of filming it expects to take place in its studio complex.
Peel Group has also been demonstrating the environmental credentials of the £500m first phase of the MediaCityUK scheme this week, which includes a new TriGen scheme that will generate heat, power and cooling systems for the 36-acre first phase.
The scheme, which has been designed and installed by the Manchester office of consulting engineers Sinclair Knight Merz, will lead to a saving of around 20,000 tonnes of C02 a year when compared with conventional power supplies.
It will use water from the canal to cool waste heat generated by the system and in absorption chillers which will be used as an energy-efficient way of cooling the buildings on phase one – all of which have been given a BREEAM rating of either “Excellent or “Very Good”.
Sinclair Knight Merz Technical director Frank Mills said that the TriGen system would provide between 10-20 per cent of Media City’s power requirements.
Peel Group construction director David Glover said: “There are lots of cities looking at TriGen, but this one has been installed, it’s in the ground and I’m happy to say that it does work.”
The system will provide heat, power and cooling to the studio block, 218-bed hotel and the scheme’s two residential blocks containing 378 apartments.
Glover said that although Peel had not yet agreed a deal to sell energy to the BBC, the corporation’s buildings had been fitted with supply lines that will allow them to tap into the TriGen system should it desire.
He added that capacity had also been built into the system which would enable it to power future phases of MediaCityUK.
Glover said TriGen was installed as “something that’s been driven by our own aspirations” rather than out of necessity.
He said that he believed the sustainability level of a building “will have a material impact” on property valuations in future years as more carbon taxes are introduced.
As a result, he added that the group is looking at a number of micro-generation possibilities across other Peel Group sites, including the installation of photovoltaic panels on the top of multi-store car parks, where appropriate.
Phase one of MediacityUK is due to complete by the end of the year. Peel has already haded several of the BBC’s office buildings over to the Corporation so that fit-out work can begin.
Work on the 5,000 acre public realm aspect, which includes a new tram terminus, park space and cycle links, should complete by the end of September.
