AS PART of a £250 million regeneration plan, a new 10 storey, 250 room hotel complex is starting to take shape in Leicester – with completion expected in late 2019.
Two national hotel operators – Novotel Hotels and Adagio – have already signed up to operate the 252 bed hotels, which are being delivered by Charles Street Buildings Group (CSB), with national property, construction and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard delivering mechanical and electrical engineering (M&E), structural engineering and quantity surveying (QS) services for the project.
Graeme Milligan, national director at Pick Everard said: “Pick Everard has been delivering projects in Leicester for more than 150 years, so this is a project we’re particularly invested in.
“We’re working to quite a tight, complex site so the plans – as well as the delivery itself – has had its challenges. We managed to negotiate this by an organised road closure, with a significant level of traffic management in place and the installation of tower cranes.
“It has been important to consider how the development would fit into the local area so we’ve been working closely with the architects – Leach Rhodes Walker and Stephen George Partnership – to make sure that the look and feel of the city remains but is suitably enhanced and the public realm is improved upon.
“Energy efficiency has been considered as being of paramount importance for new hotels. The lifecycle of the buildings has been taken into account, with future maintenance and running costs factoring into the designs to ensure that it makes as little environmental impact as possible – while remaining aesthetically pleasing.
“From an M&E perspective, the designs included thermal modelling, which benefitted from the concrete mass of the building. Daylight analysis was also used throughout which influenced the final façade treatment.
“We also had to factor in the acoustic elements of the individual rooms and conference facilities, which all have stringent planned noise and straight noise levels to ensure that the guests’ experience is the best it can be. The ground floors of each building really do have the ‘wow factor’, creating a strong first impression upon guests and feature creative uses of lighting and architectural features.
“As a multi-disciplinary practice, with considerable experience in the hotel and leisure sectors, we’ve saved time and money through efficiencies gained by integrated working practices that are very specialist and not widely used in the industry.
“We’re incredibly proud to be involved with this project and look forward to seeing the new hotels in use next year, bringing more tourism and business into the city.”
