Twin165 is a winner

Competitive price, top quality and great looks proved to be the winning combination for Marshall-Tufflex’s Twin165 double compartment cable management system, gaining it specification within the award winning £8m refurbishment of Newcastle University Student Union’s (NUSU) Grade II listed building, located in the heart of the city campus.

While the exterior of the historic 1920s building remains unaltered, the interior has been transformed into a contemporary facility complete with 24hr IT cluster suites, bank, shops and a performance venue. The re-development won the Education Interior Design Awards 2011. The project team included architects Faulkner Brown, lead designer Alistair Stripp, main contractor BAM Construct, engineering consultant Buro Happold and mechanical and electrical engineers, SES (Shepherd Engineering Services Limited).

The success of the project can be traced back to the planning stages when a number of surveys were conducted to produce a ‘most wanted’ list from Newcastle students. Topping the request list was the introduction of social learning facilities and IT access, which are now in plentiful supply.

In order to service the IT equipment within the many student study areas and hot desks of the six floor building, SES required a large, twin compartment cable management system with a good sized bend radius to contain extensive power and data cabling. They therefore picked Marshall-Tufflex’s Twin165, a robust, CAT 6A compliant medium-sized PVC-U trunking split to provide 60% space for power delivery and 40% for data supplies. With a much bigger capacity for data than standard trunking of a similar size, it offers a new solution for educational establishments with an above average requirement for data cabling.

However other factors were also important, as Mark Lewins, SES explained: “Although size and cost was important we also required something aesthetically pleasing that would be suitable for the sympathetic refurbishment of a notable building and have the quality, fit and finish that a building of this nature demands. Having used Twin165 before we felt confident in putting it forward for specification approval from a quality, performance and aesthetics perspective.”

Twin 165 was supplied by Newey & Eyre’s Newcastle branch. Kevin Barker of Newey & Eyre said: “Although it is a price driven market, quality and service remain an important factor, especially in the provision of high performance products for challenging installations such as the NUSU building.”

Quick and easy to install, Marshall-Tufflex’s Twin165 incorporates a bend radius of 50mm with adjustable internal and external bends for greater flexibility when navigating a building’s irregularities, corners and angles, whilst its ability to future-proof installations allows for later reconfigurations.

www.marshall-tufflex.com