Wellcome-Wolfson Institute, Belfast

Project information

Building: Wellcome-Wolfson Institute

Location: Queens University, Belfast

Contractor: Harvey Group

Project Completion: June 2015

Geberit Know-How

Geberit Mapress Stainless Steel
Geberit Mapress Copper
Geberit HDPE

Geberit Mapress Stainless Steel at the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute

Geberit piping at the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute, Belfast

Project overview

Why Geberit?

Project overview

The Wellcome-Wolfson Institute, located on the Health Science Campus at Belfast City Hosptial, is a state of the art, purpose-built building, specialising in scientific research to develop cures for eye disease and diabetes, plus a programme to understand the genetics of complex chronic diseases, such as cancer. Research includes drug discovery, patient-based investigation and clinical trials.

Completed in June 2015 by the Harvey Group, many of the building services installed have to deal with specific laboratory environment challeneges, such as chemicals and high temperatures. Finished in record time, the project took just 17 months, utilising the latest Building Information Modelling (BIM) - Northern Ireland’s largest Level 2 BIM project. This necessity for quick installation was one of the drivers behind choosing Geberit Mapress for the buildings water and natural gas systems.

Why Geberit?

Geberit Mapress Stainless Steel was used for the building’s low temperature, hot water and chilled water systems, for the mist fire supression system and natural gas. Geberit Mapress Copper services potable water, rainwater harvesting and high temperature drainage systems. Alongside Geberit Mapress copper, Geberit HDPE transports laboratory chemical water, safety cabinet and fume cupboard drainage.

HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) is resistant to high temperatures and aggressive media, such as chemicals – it can withstand around 95% of all commercially available alkalis, acids and chemicals - making it suitable for range of applications; including roof drainage systems and laboratories, as is demonstrated at the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute. Adding to the building’s sustainable credentials, Polyethylene is environmentally friendly and completely recyclable, with no toxic emissions released during its processing, or in case of fire.

The Wellcome-Wolfson institute demonstrates how BIM can be used successfully to help a building meet its requirements; in this case, being fit for purpose, sustainable and completed in a short timeframe. Products such as Geberit Mapress fit well with BIM, helping building designers and contractors get piped building services installed quickly, with a ‘right first time’ approach. The Harvey Group is the first solely-dedicated M&E organisation to go through the process of becoming BIM Level 2 accredited and one of only two UK contractors to reach this level – the first in Ireland. Robert and his team also won a Geberit award for this project - “Best Installer Team 2015”.

“We chose Geberit piping systems for the versatility, ease of installation and quality. The project was under specific time constraints and the Mapress press fit system worked with the BIM modelling in terms of getting the project completed in the fastest time possible. Apart from speed of installation, we also needed products that would cope with the challenges of the laboratory environment. Geberit HDPE in particular proved ideal for transporting laboratory chemical water.”

Robert Hall, Harvey Group

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