St Marys Bristol Student Accommodation
Brief: ADL Mechanical & Electrical Contractors Ltd have been contracted to provide the Design Development; Supply; Installation & Commissioning of the mechanical & plumbing at St Marys Bristol.
Located in the heart of Clifton, Bristol, the historic St Mary’s Hospital has been thoughtfully transformed from a distinguished 20th-century private medical facility into premium student accommodation for Hello Student. Originally operating under the care of Catholic Sisters in the 1920s and later serving as a Nuffield Health hospital until 2013, the site’s locally listed Italianate principal building and entrance lodge were carefully preserved during its extensive redevelopment. As part of this major regeneration project, we were contracted to complete the comprehensive mechanical and plumbing works, helping to modernise the building's core infrastructure. Today, the 150-bed complex seamlessly blends its rich civic heritage with modern, energy-efficient systems to provide high-quality living spaces for the growing student population at the nearby University of Bristol.
The scope of the mechanical works consists of:-
o Gas boiler installation
o Hot & Cold Water Services
o Above Ground Drainage
o Ventilation
o Air conditioning
o BMS Automatic Controls
o Combined heating and power
o Sanitaryware
Programme: 40 weeks total
Mechanical Project Value: £1.3 Million
Project Overview: St Mary's Student Accommodation,
BristolProject Scope: Complete Mechanical & Plumbing Installations
Location: Upper Byron Place, Bristol
We were appointed to deliver the comprehensive design development, supply, installation, and commissioning of the mechanical and plumbing systems for the new student accommodation at St Mary's in Bristol. The site consists of four main blocks (A, B, C, and D) that provide a total of 153 student bedrooms alongside high-end common areas. The development blends historic preservation with modern development; Block A is a renovated existing building, while Blocks B, C, and D are entirely new constructions.
Key Mechanical & Plumbing Works
Heating & Hot Water Generation
Heating is driven by a central plant located in the basement of Block A, featuring four natural gas-fired Vaillant boilers alongside a Combined Heat & Power (CHP) unit.
The CHP unit is designed to run constantly to provide a base heating load and connects to a dedicated 1,000-litre thermal storage buffer vessel.
Blocks A and B are heated via radiators and are supplied with domestic hot water through two 1,000-litre calorifiers located in the main plantroom.
The Block C townhouses are equipped with individual Heat Interface Units (HIUs) to provide localised hot water, while Block D utilises 250-litre cylinders on each floor.
Pre-insulated underground pipework was installed to efficiently transfer low-temperature hot water (LTHW) between the different building blocks.
Cold Water Services
A new utility connection supplies a large 15,000-litre cold water storage tank located in the Block A basement tank room.
To ensure sufficient water pressure across all outlets on the site, a twin-pump cold water booster set operating in a duty/standby configuration was installed.
An in-line physical water softener protects the incoming mains supply, and a dedicated CAT5 booster set was installed to serve the landscaping and bin store outlets throughout the site.
Ventilation & Air Conditioning
The student studios feature tailored ventilation strategies, including continuous trickle extraction fans with humidity sensors or light-switch-activated boost functions.
Because the Block A basement common areas lack natural ventilation, they are served by ceiling-mounted Mitsubishi heat recovery units to introduce fresh air and efficiently exhaust stale air.
Refrigerant-based air conditioning systems were installed to provide dedicated cooling for the basement server room, as well as combined heating and cooling for the basement gym.
Safety, Drainage & Smart Controls
Comprehensive above-ground drainage was installed using U-PVC pipework for the upper levels, transitioning to high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipework at the basement level.
Dry riser systems were installed in Blocks A and D to meet strict fire safety requirements, providing fire brigade inlet valves connected to dedicated landing valves in the stairwells.
A comprehensive, Trend Building Management System (BMS) was installed to control, monitor, and meter the entire site's mechanical plant, incorporating safety shut-downs and gas isolation protocols.addition, the ASHP system is monitored via a dedicated Q-Ton Remote Monitoring System (QRMS).
