Any development which will boast sheep grazing on the roof, while people below trying their hand at the Olympic sport of curling, on an ice rink, surely must be classed as cool. And so it is for building services engineering company Ameon, as it works on a £2m contract to install electrical and mechanical services in one of the North’s most innovative leisure destinations – The Flower Bowl at Barton Grange, near Preston.
With an ambition to become a curling centre of excellence, The Flower Bowl will host a championship quality curling rink, with four ice sheets, a ten-pin bowling alley, three-screen cinema, restaurant, fish and chip shop, mini golf course and coffee shop.
The whole lot will be under an eco-friendly roof, laid with grass and grazing sheep.
Ameon’s managing director Robin Lawson said: “This is a tremendous project with real vision from the owners of Lancashire’s Barton Grange, and while it presents certain challenges, it’s an excellent opportunity to demonstrate our versatility in the leisure sector, and also showcase our abilities working with an array of environmentally- friendly technologies.”
For Ameon, based at the Whitehills Business Park, the cool part of the contract relates to the curling rink. Recovering heat used in the refrigeration process, which creates the ice, enables it to be used in an under floor heating system for other spaces in the centre.
Additionally, a specially designed air handling unit, will cut the air’s moisture ADVERTISEMENT content, so recovered heat can also be fed back into the curling hall heating system, to maintain comfortable temperatures, whilst removing moisture from the atmosphere.
Another eco-friendly by-product of the CO2 refrigeration process is chilled water, which is being diverted to cool air in the air conditioning system for the cinema complex. A variable air volume system is used for ventilation, and HEPA, UV, electrostatic and carbon filtration are combined in the huge kitchens to ensure extracted air is odour-free for neighbours. Ameon’s utilities arm is also helping construct a 800kva substation, which will also have a grass roof.
Taken from Blackpool Gazette.