Ability by Dimplex fan coil units (FCUs) are delivering heating and cooling for year-round comfort at The Other House, a prestigious new hotel created from the transformation of seven historic buildings on London’s Wellington Block in Covent Garden.
Founded in 2019, The Other House is redefining hospitality — blending the freedom of apartment-style living with the luxury of a hotel and the exclusivity of a private members’ club.
With sustainability at its core, the project uses air source heat pumps (ASHPs) to supply heated and chilled water to 220 Ability FCUs. The horizontal and vertical fan coil units are installed in 146 individual apartments, but also in the bar and restaurant areas, the atrium, wellness centre and reception spaces and meeting rooms.
Ability FCUs are integrated with the hotel’s bespoke Building Management System (BMS) that allows a high level of control, but also performance and energy use monitoring and maintenance reporting. The reporting and monitoring features were key for The Other House, enabling management to engage guests and encourage them to be more mindful of their energy use through various incentives, thus supporting stays that are both sustainable and comfortable.
Throughout the transformation, The Other House kept a strong focus on minimising environmental impact. The commitment to repurposing rather than rebuilding helped the scheme secure a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ design-stage rating of 78.9%. Support has been on hand from sustainability consultants at SCS throughout the construction phases to help achieve this status, and JWW Associates supported the fan coil solution from technical selection.
James Wythe, the director of JWW Associates LTD, notes: “This was a great project to work on, and I am pleased to have been the conduit in the collaboration between Derry Ltd, Introba and Ability by Dimplex that resulted in the success of this project.”
In any refurbishment, the original design and construction of the building shape performance requirements and create challenges not found in new-build projects. This was the case for Martin Bull, Senior Mechanical Engineer at Introba, when specifying fan coil units for The Other House Covent Garden.
A key task for Martin was to calculate the peak heating and cooling loads for each conditioned space to ensure optimum FCU sizing. The large existing windows and the characteristic irregular room shapes of the listed buildings increased heat losses, which had to be factored into the fan coil system design and sizing. In addition to thermal performance, acoustic output was critical — as a luxury establishment, The Other House required quiet operation to maintain a calm ambience.
Martin reached out to Ability for assistance and was impressed with the technical support, commenting: “Troy Chambers at Ability supplied all the technical information I needed on all of their FCUs. On a project such as this, there can be many iterations of the design to adapt to evolving site requirements.
“Troy’s in-depth knowledge of Ability’s FCUs and his speed of response is just what designers look for when dealing with time sensitive design changes.”
Another challenge was the temperature of the warm and chilled water supplied by the ASHPs. Air source heat pumps are very low hot water temperature systems. Ability supplied FCUs that could still meet the specified air temperature range of 14°C to 27°C — without increasing unit size or generating additional noise.
Highlighting the performance and adaptability of Ability FCUs, Martin says: “Ability had solutions for all the spaces in these historic buildings. In some areas with low ceilings, vertical FCUs were specified, while in tighter spaces, multi-linked panel filters were used to ease maintenance. They met the brief every time and have been a pleasure to work with — I would recommend them to other engineers in my team.”
Once specifications were agreed, Ability assigned Project Manager Richard Lampert to oversee delivery. Acting as client liaison, Richard ensured manufacturing schedules and delivery times aligned with project requirements. On site, Ryan Vickers, Project Manager at MEP provider Derry Ltd — named by the London Stock Exchange as one of the 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain — coordinated procurement, delivery, installation and commissioning of the FCUs.
Ryan has worked with Ability on a previous project and found having a dedicated point of contact at Ability invaluable. He comments: “Not all companies offer this level of dedicated service. It makes a real difference to the whole experience. Richard was very helpful and accommodating whenever plans had to be changed. This level of customer service, along with the quality of the fan coil units, makes Ability my preferred FCU supplier.”
In response, Troy Chambers of Ability comments: “It is very satisfying to get positive feedback from our customers as we pride ourselves on offering the best service we can from early design through to final commissioning. We were excited to be able to use our technical experience and extensive range of fan coil units to help keep the guests of such a prestigious hotel in a comfortable indoor environment throughout their stay.”
Indoor comfort is clearly key to CEO and founder of The Other House Naomi Heaton’s vision of the experience of staying at The Other House.
She says: “As somebody deeply passionate about how interiors can uplift your spirits and influence your sense of wellbeing, we’ve curated every detail to create an immersive and sophisticated environment, which transitions from one space to another to reflect your mood, whether to relax, work, nurture your inner self, or be in great company.”
Once home to Charles Dickens’ private apartments and the offices of his weekly literary magazine ‘All Year Round’, the building has been transformed into a luxurious home away from home for the guests of The Other House Covent Garden, who can stay all year round – or for a few days. Because of their compact footprint, Ability fan coil units remain discreetly out of sight, quietly delivering the comfort required to complement the hotel’s interiors.
Award-winning practice Falconer Chester Hall led the restoration of the site, home to seven buildings, dating back to the early 19th Century. To preserve the character and style of the area, wherever possible, the original fabric was retained – including the three Grade II listed buildings. New, striking three-storey glazed atrium now forms the centrepiece, flooding the lower levels with natural light and uniting the cluster of eclectic buildings. Additional floors were also introduced, offering panoramic city views and a new rooftop bar.
Retaining the fabric of a heritage building often results in rooms with distinctive features that can complicate the design and installation of heating and cooling systems to complement the decor. Ability addressed this challenge with a diverse range of compact, unobtrusive fan coil units that integrated seamlessly into the existing architecture. Supported by an experienced technical team, the high-quality units ensured every area of the hotel benefited from effective climate control without compromising aesthetics.
History and location were key factors in the decision taken to develop the site, as Naomi Heaton explains: “Our Covent Garden site embodies everything we want to achieve – sensitively restoring a historic space in prime central London and transforming it into something that truly caters for the modern, global traveller, resident and the local community.”
If you would like to find out how the Ability range of fan coil units could help meet the cooling and heating demands of your project, contact one of the company’s experienced team members for advice and technical and design guidance.
Image credits: The Other House
